JJC Student Has Coronavirus, Mitchell Announces

JOLIET, IL — On Wednesday night, Joliet Junior College President Judy Mitchell issued a letter to students informing everyone that one JJC student has tested positive for the new coronavirus.

Mitchell, JJC's college president since March 2016, indicated the student "self-identified after being released from a Cook County hospital and testing positive for the virus."

Mitchell wanted everyone to know that Joliet Junior College is not at liberty of revealing the student's name or other personal information.

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"Due to HIPAA regulations and the medical investigation now being conducted to trace this individual’s activities, this is all I can share at this time. He was last on campus March 5 and is currently under quarantine at home," Mitchell advised everyone late Wednesday.

Community college students have not been on any of the JJC campuses this week. The school's website reminds everyone that all JJC campuses are remaining closed through March 28.

However, given Wednesday night's turn of events, JJC's president now wants the faculty and workers to stay away from their respective campus as well.

"Please do NOT come to campus until further notice," Mitchell urged her employees. "While we planned to open briefly tomorrow and Friday to let faculty and staff retrieve items from their offices to continue conducting work remotely, due to this new information, you will not be allowed to enter.

"This is a critical time, and I cannot emphasize enough that we need to take this seriously and act responsibly. Please continue to follow public health regulations outlined by our state, federal government, and the CDC."

In the spirit of transparency, Mitchell wanted everyone to know that her administration would be contacting the Cook County Health Department on Thursday morning, March 19, "for specific protocol, but I wanted to let you know as soon as I could what has occurred.

"I am sure you have many questions. Please know we still do not have many answers yet, only that this student has self-identified as testing positive for this virus. We will continue to keep you informed as we learn more. I am certain with the exponential increase of cases identified across the state and country each day, we will need to adapt our college operations accordingly.

"Please stay safe and healthy," Mitchell urged everyone in closing.

Statewide, Patch reported that Illinois' coronavirus case count jumped from 160 Tuesday to 288 Wednesday.

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