COVID-19 Press Release: March 24, 2020
COVID-19 Update: March 24, 2020
This is a daily joint communication from the Sangamon County Department of Public Health along with Memorial Health System, HSHS St. John’s Hospital, Springfield Clinic and SIU Medicine updating you on the status of coronavirus (COVID-19) in Sangamon County. This communication will come each day as necessary.
At the time of this press release, the total number of confirmed cases between our five organizations is five, including one death. Currently, all of the active cases are no longer hospitalized.
*These numbers indicate current inpatient numbers at hospitals in Sangamon County. They do not include the status of testing conducted in private labs.
| March 24, 2020 as of 3 pm | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| COVID-19 positive new today | COVID-19 person(s) under investigation (PUI) | COVID-19 Deaths | |
| Memorial Medical Center | 0 | 15 | 1 |
| HSHS St. John's Hospital | 0 | 14 | 0 |
Students Returning From Spring Break
Across the country thousands of college students will be or have started returning home after spring break trips. Many millennials and even younger people might be ignoring social distancing warnings because they think coronavirus won’t affect them — but they’re wrong. While patients age 60 or older or those with underlying health issues face the highest risk of death from the virus, younger people are also getting seriously ill.
It is very important for these students to realize that most people are infectious before they are symptomatic. There’s the strong possibility that we could start to see cases popping up after the incubation period. It’s not just the spring breakers to worry about, their parents and grandparents are at high risk as well.
County Health would encourage these students traveling back home, especially from hotspots, to self quarantine for 14 days. Specifically they should stay away from seniors, anyone with lung or cardiac conditions, and immune suppressed people. Students should monitor themselves for fever by taking their temperatures twice a day and remain alert for cough or difficulty breathing. If they feel feverish or develop measured fever, cough, or difficulty breathing during the self-monitoring period, they should seek advice by telephone from a healthcare provider or their local health department to determine whether medical evaluation is needed.
*The discrepancy between total number and County Health number is created because the hospitals are caring for patients from outside counties and at multiple locations, and because some of the tests are being done by independent labs, rather than by IDPH/County Health.
