On Tuesday, May 5th, Governor Pritzker released Restore Illinois, a five-phased plan that will reopen our state, guided by health metrics and with distinct business, education, and recreation activities characterizing each phase. The plan is based upon regional healthcare availability, and it recognizes the distinct impact COVID-19 has had on different regions of our state as well as regional variations in hospital capacity. For more information, visit the link Restore Illinois FAQ.

Governor Pritzker announced that reopening Illinois would include Contact Tracing. What is Contact Tracing and what’s involved? Lake County Health Department and Community Health Center created a short video summarizing it, available on Youtube.  Follow this link to view the full details: Contact Tracing Video

Some take-a-way points:

• if someone tests positive, they are asked about his/her symptoms, travel & medical history, and others they have come into contact with.
• those contacts will be informed that they may have been exposed to COVID-19. The infected person’s identity is not revealed.
• the contacts are asked to isolate themselves for 14 days: stay at home, separate yourself from others, check your temperature and possibly get tested for COVID-19.
• if the contact tests positive, tracing begins again.

For comprehensive information on COVID-19, including helpful resources, guidelines and updates, visit Lake County Health Department and Community Health Center.