Senior Center Closed, Meetings Canceled Over COVID-19 Concerns

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — All non-essential public meetings in Highland Park have been canceled, and the Highland Park Senior Center is closed until further notice, city officials announced Wednesday. All senior center programming throughout city has been suspended, and no meetings have yet been rescheduled.

"It is important to emphasize that the current risk to residents of Highland Park remains low," Mayor Nancy Rotering said in a release. "These pre-emptive cancellations are in response to expert advice to help keep our community healthy and protect our most vulnerable citizens."

The Highland Park Connector Bus, which provides local free transportation for seniors and people with disabilities, will continue with normal service. Staff have stepped up the cleaning and disinfecting of the city-funded bus route to reduce the spread of all illnesses, according to the release.

City Manager Ghida Neukirch said shuttering the senior center and canceling its programs was a difficult decision to make, but ultimately in the best interests of public health. Neukirch cited data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicating senior citizens who contract COVID-19 are at the greatest risk of severe symptoms and serious complications.

Highland Park hosted convened a meeting Tuesday with representatives of the Highwood, Deerfield, Moraine Township, the Park District of Highland Park, the Highland Park Public Library, School Districts 109, 112 and 113, NorthShore University HealthSystem and the Lake County Health Department, according to city staff. The group plans to meet on a weekly basis to collaborate and share resources and information.

The first Lake County resident to test positive for the novel coronavirus was announced Wednesday by health officials. City staff said they had no information indicating the newest case had a connection to Highland Park. Another patient, who is not a resident of the county, is being treated for COVID-19 at an undisclosed Lake County hospital.

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There were 25 cases of coronavirus in Illinois as of Wednesday, according to Gov. JB Pritzker, who recommended residents "think critically" before attending large events and consider requesting a mail-in ballot for Tuesday's primary.

Thursday afternoon is the deadline to request a ballot to vote by mail. No polling places in Lake County are expected to be relocated due to concerns of the virus, but County Clerk Robin O'Connor recommended voters bring their own pens and avoid voting at peak times.

Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that include the common cold as well as much more serious diseases. COVID-19 is the disease caused by the virus "severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2" or SARS-CoV-2, which was first identified last year in the city of Wuhan, China. The virus is related to others that have led to outbreaks in recent years, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, and Middle East respiratory syndrome, MERS, and its symptoms include fever, coughing and shortness of breath and appear anywhere from two days to two weeks after exposure.

There is no vaccine against the novel coronavirus, which was officially declared a "pandemic" by the World Health Organization Wednesday, and no antiviral treatment is available. Unlike influenza, no one's immune system has antibodies against it. And infectious disease experts say its mortality rate is "much higher" than the seasonal flu, although how much higher in the United States remains to be determined.

The disease apparently originated in animals and has been spreading from person to person in the United States, although its transmission mechanism is not yet fully understood.

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Senior citizens, along with people with pre-existing health conditions and weakened immune systems, are most at risk of developing a severe case of COVID-19. Public health officials hope to minimize the growth rate of new infections to reduce the risk of overloading the health care system and endangering more lives.

To prevent the spread of the virus within communities, the CDC recommends frequent handwashing, regularly disinfecting commonly used spaces, avoiding touching the eyes, nose, and mouth, and staying home when sick. A hand sanitized with at least 60 percent alcohol can be used if hand-washing with soap and water is not possible.

More information is available online from the Lake County Health Department, Illinois Department of Public Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Illinois Novel Coronavirus Hotline is 800-889-3931, and can be called at any time. Emails can be sent to: dph.sick@illinois.gov.

"Our priority is the health and safety of all who live, work, and play in Lake County," said Lisa Kritz, director of prevention for the Lake County Health Department, announcing her department is investigating the travel history and recent contacts of the county's first case of the virus. "We continue to use every available resource to prepare our communities for additional cases of COVID-19."