Burr Ridge Coronavirus: A Confirmed Case?

BURR RIDGE, IL — Some confusion existed in recent days about whether a confirmed case of the coronavirus had been reported in Burr Ridge. Now, it appears as if there hasn't been one.

In a confidential email Thursday, Burr Ridge Mayor Gary Grasso told village trustees that a resident of a local senior complex had tested positive for the coronarvirus while at an area hospital for another medical reason.

"We have been asked to keep this update confidential for now. Pls do so," Grasso told the trustees.

Trustee Zach Mottl said he released the email listed as confidential to Burr Ridge Patch because he felt it was important to be open with the public about the spread of the coronavirus. He said the village had promised it would do so.

In a reply to Grasso and the trustees, Mottl said he disagreed about keeping the case confidential, although he believed the name of the person should be kept private.

"Withholding information is not a good way to keep the public trust and to keep people calm," Mottl wrote. "You need to call back whoever told you to keep it confidential and ream them out for being wrong! Criminally wrong perhaps, and it's in violation of the policy you told us the village was following."

After sending his email Thursday, the mayor dropped the language from his daily public bulletin on the coronavirus stating that no confirmed cases had been reported in Burr Ridge.

Asked about his email to the trustees, Grasso said in a text message Tuesday that there were no reported cases at the senior complex, which he said he confirmed with its director. He said a former resident of the complex had tested positive. As of last Friday, he said the person was reported as doing fine and not living at the complex.

"As of today, there are no known reported positive cases in Burr Ridge," Grasso said.

He said the trustees have been updated on the situation involving the senior complex. "I've kept officials timely informed of what I'm told," he said.

After Patch's story was published, Grasso relayed the same information about the resident at the senior complex in his daily public bulletin.

Kevin Sur, a spokesman with the DuPage County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said his office was not giving information on the number of cases for each town. "That's the responsibility of municipalities," he said.

So far, DuPage County has reported one death as the result of the coronavirus and 106 confirmed cases, Sur said.

Read more:

Coronavirus In Illinois: March 24 Update As Cases Hit 1,285

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