COVID-19 Update: Two cases of coronavirus confirmed in Williamson and Jackson county

By Kallie Cox, News Editor
March 19, 2020

Two positive cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in Williamson and Jackson counties on Wednesday.

Both of the individuals who tested positive for the virus are women in their 50s and are in isolation in their homes, but have not been hospitalized as of time of publication.

The Jackson county woman is thought to have been exposed to the virus in another state, according to a release from the Jackson County Health Department.

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The Jackson County Health Department said they have begun an investigation into the woman’s case and they are notifying anyone she may have had contact with.

Workers at SIH were alerted about the Williamson county case via email.

“The screening process we have in place is working,” Marci Moore-Connelley, chief medical officer at SIH, said in the email alert. “I am confident appropriate precautions were taken to minimize the risk of exposure to other patients and staff. Staff involved in the care of this patient have been notified.”

The news of these cases came just after Gov. JB Pritzker updated the state and said Illinois now has 288 cases of coronavirus.

(See more: COVID-19 update: Illinois has 288 positive cases of coronavirus across two counties)

News Editor Kallie Cox can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @KallieECox. To stay up to date with all your southern Illinois news, follow the Daily Egyptian on Facebook and Twitter.