Will County Clerk Moves Polling Places Out Of Retirement Homes

WILL COUNTY, IL – Will County Clerk Lauren Staley Ferry announced that several polling places that were stationed inside retirement homes will be relocated due to concerns about coronavirus.

The polling place locations that are being changed are:

• Joshua Arms, Joliet Precinct 35 - Moving to Nowell Park 199 Mills Road, Joliet;
• Willow Falls, Lockport Precinct 21 - Moving to Crest Hill City Hall, 1610 Plainfield Road, Crest Hill;
• St. James Wellness Center, Crete Precinct 06 - Moving to Crete Fire Station 2, 25048 S. Klemme Road, Crete;
• Village Woods, Crete Precinct 11 - Moving to Crete Fire Station 1, 26730 S. Stoney Island, Crete;
• Timbers of Shorewood, Troy Precinct 07 - Moving to Troy Middle School, 5800 W. Theodore St., Plainfield.

The clerk's office said it has mailed letters to every registered voter in these precincts to notify them of the polling place change. In addition, the clerk’s office will place signs at the entrances of the original polling places directing voters to the new locations.

The new locations also will be posted on the county clerk’s website.

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Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that include the common cold as well as much more serious diseases. The strain that emerged in China in late 2019, now called SARS-Cov-2, is related to others that have caused serious outbreaks in recent years, including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). The first confirmed case of COVID-19, the illness caused by SARS-Cov-2, struck the U.S. on Jan. 21.

The disease, which apparently originated in animals, is now being spread from person to person, although the mechanism is not yet fully understood. Its symptoms include fever, coughing and shortness of breath, and many patients develop pneumonia. There is as yet no vaccine against COVID-19 and no antiviral treatment.

According to the CDC, the best way of preventing the disease is to avoid close contact with people who are sick, to avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands, to wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, and to use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol if soap and water are not available.

To avoid spreading any respiratory illness, the CDC recommends staying at home when you are sick, covering your cough or sneeze with a tissue and throwing the tissue in the trash, and cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched objects and surfaces.