(Capitol News Illinois) – Health experts warn respiratory illnesses are still circulating, even as numbers trend down after a brief post-holiday surge.
Outbreaks of COVID-19, Flu, and RSV have been reported in state facilities in the Bellwood, Champaign, Marion, Metro East, Peoria, Rockford and West Chicago regions in January. Those numbers are trending down as the month nears its close.
The Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs reported Wednesday that 13 residents and 12 staff members at the Illinois Veterans’ Home at LaSalle tested positive for COVID-19 in recent days. All were experiencing mild symptoms and had been offered antiviral treatments. No one had been hospitalized as of Wednesday.
“Illinois’ five Veterans’ Homes continue to closely monitor its staff and residents for symptoms of COVID-19 and all infectious diseases,” IDVA Director Terry Prince said in a news release.
The LaSalle facility has curtailed events and activities that bring residents and staff together in groups – including dining. Visitations are continuing, and families have been notified of the outbreak, IDVA reported.
The state’s overall current illness activity is rated as “low,” according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Meanwhile, the CDC reported Monday influenza is the virus prompting the most emergency department visits nationwide.
(Reporting by Jennifer Fuller and Cole Longcor, Capitol News Illinois)
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government. It is distributed to hundreds of print and broadcast outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, along with major contributions from the Illinois Broadcasters Foundation and Southern Illinois Editorial Association.
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