WOODLAWN — A patient suspected of having COVID-19 is being treated by University of Chicago Medicine, the hospital confirmed Tuesday.
Officials notified faculty and staff of the patient’s admission in an email Monday night, as first reported by the Chicago Maroon.
The hospital is “still waiting on the lab results to see if it is, in fact, coronavirus,” a spokesperson said Tuesday afternoon. Officials are “not sure when we’ll have the results.”
In the email, officials said the hospital “has been preparing for this eventuality since COVID-19 became a global health concern in January.”
The hospital “is working closely with local, state and federal health officials” and is “following rigorous isolation and infection control protocols to ensure the safety of our staff, patients and our neighbors,” according to the email.
If confirmed, the patient would be the fifth case of coronavirus in Illinois. Two of the confirmed patients, both Chicago residents, have made a full recovery, according to NBC 5.
The other two, a married couple in their 70s, are in “good condition” and are being treated in isolation, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
“Right now, the virus has not been found to be spreading widely in the U.S., and the risk to the general public remains low,” according to the state health department.
The University of Chicago moved a study abroad program away from Hong Kong to London last month over coronavirus concerns, the Maroon reported.
Elsewhere in the city, the International Housewares Association announced Monday it would cancel its annual show at McCormick Place over concerns about the virus’ spread, according to Crain’s Chicago Business. An estimated 60,000 people attend the show annually.