DUPAGE COUNTY, ILL. (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- DuPage County is issuing a disaster proclamation as health officials screen visitors and staffers at a Willowbrook nursing home after a resident tested positive for coronavirus.County Board Chairman Dan Cronin said the proclamation takes effect tomorrow morning and activates DuPage's emergency plan.
The woman with coronavirus is a 60-year-old resident of Chateau Care, a private long-term care facility, according to a spokesman.Health Department Executive Director Karen Ayala said the woman is hospitalized in stable condition. Since confirmation of the positive results Friday night, public health workers have been at the home working to determine which staffers and visitors were in contact with the woman and if they should isolate themselves or get tested. Ron Nunziato, a representative of the nursing home's owner, said residents are at higher risk and "we anticipated it wasn't if - it was when - a resident would become affected".Ayala said they've been preparing for such a situation since late January and "we are absolutely not surprised nor are we panicked" that a resident has coronavirus.