15 Coronavirus Cases At Will Co. Health Dept.

JOLIET, IL — Fifteen employees at the Will County Health Department have now tested positive for the new coronavirus, the county agency announced Thursday afternoon.

Health department spokesman Steve Brandy told Joliet Patch it is his understanding that all of the employees are at home recovering "and doing the best they can. I don't know the names of the people who tested positive."

The Will County Health Department employs about 300 people, Brandy told Patch.

On Monday, March 30, Will County's Health Department said it made the decision to close its doors and most employees are now working from home. That decision was made after one health department employee tested positive for the coronavirus, the agency revealed Thursday.

By Thursday, the test results from the Walmart parking lot site in Joliet and the other test site near Chicago have increased the number of positive coronavirus cases from one to 15.

"A lot of people tested negative too," Brandy said.

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While the county health department branches in Joliet, Monee, and Bolingbrook have closed for now, Will County's Community Health Center in Joliet at 1106 Neal Ave. is continuing to see patients by appointment only, Brandy's news release indicated.

The Bolingbrook CHC office at 323 Quadrangle Drive, Suite 335 is also seeing patients by appointments.

Will County residents who feel they need care at CHC but do not have appointments are asked to call ahead at 815-727-8670. Please let staff know over the phone if you are coming to the Joliet or Bolingbrook location, and upon arrival you will be screened at the door. If an appointment is deemed necessary, all efforts will be made to have you seen that day, the agency stated.

For essential WCHD services outside of the Community Health Center, residents can call the main WCHD line at 815-727-8480.

“While the 501 Ella Avenue building has been vacant, a cleaning and restoration company has been providing a deep cleaning to affected areas,” Health Department Executive Director Sue Olenek said in Thursday's news release.

“We are very glad so many were able to do this and that we also made the decision when we did to have our employees work remotely. As Will County’s public health home, we are out on the front line and we need to protect the public as well as our staff. Fortunately, we had already taken action back on March 20th to lock our doors during business hours and have limited public access since we were very concerned, especially for walk-ins that came in with small children.”

The Will County Health Department has also activated a COVID-19 Hotline, which can be reached at 815-740-8977 for general information about Coronavirus.

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