OTTAWA – At this time, the LaSalle County Health Department has not had to close any food establishment for COVID related issues, but some have chosen to close voluntarily. The LCHD said Monday that they work very closely with business owners when they have an employee test positive for COVID-19.
The LaSalle County Health Department will contact anyone determined to be a close contact of a positive case and ask them to quarantine for 14 days and monitor for symptoms. Close contacts are defined as anyone who was less than 6 ft. away for 15 minutes or longer to an infected person. The department asks each confirmed case to identify anyone they had close contact with 48 hours before they started to have symptoms or 48 hrs. prior to their positive test.
Quarantined or isolated workers cannot work at the business until they are released from isolation or quarantine by the health department.
They also noted that to protect patient privacy, they do not routinely name the business/establishment they are employed at. However, they would potentially name the business/establishment if there is concern that the general public may be at risk of infection or they can’t identify individuals who need monitoring after possible exposure.
Anyone with questions is encouraged to contact the LaSalle County Health Department at 815-433-3366.
