*Image from the Morton College Facebook Page*

By Irene Romulo

UPDATED AS OF 3/30/20 AT 5:58 PM. - According to a robocall by president Larry Dominick, Cicero currently has 18 confirmed cases.

“Privacy laws prohibit government from identifying any of the individuals who have been diagnosed with COVID-19,” stated Ray Hanania, Town spokesperson in an emailed statement on March 30th.

“The Town is urging residents who feel they may have symptoms to immediately see a doctor and get a doctor’s advice … usually, if they appear to have symptoms, they are told to self-quarantine at home … more serious cases are urged to call 911 for immediate treatment,” the statement continues. “The town is also urging residents to pay their bills or fees using the telephone by calling the various departments. Credit cards are being accepted over the telephone.”

Update as of March 29, 2020: District 99, Morton College, and the Town of Cicero have confirmed that some individuals in Cicero have tested positive for COVID-19. It is unclear, however, whether any of these cases are the same ones or separate individuals.

On March 24th, District 99 confirmed that two people in the district tested positive for COVID-19. “One affiliated with Warren Park Elementary School, and one affiliated with Abraham Lincoln Elementary school,” read the Facebook post. The District did not confirm whether the people who tested positive are students, teachers or parents “due to the confidential natures of individual’s health records.”

On March 26th, the Town of Cicero reported that the Emergency Operations Center “confirmed that Cicero has its first case of the Coronavirus.” It is unclear whether this individual is the same as the cases already confirmed by District 99.

The Town spokesperson has not yet responded to a request for more information.

On Friday, March 27th, Morton College posted on their Facebook page that a student tested positive for COVID-19.

“We are unsure if it is the same case as the Town of Cicero as per HIPPA laws and CDC direction we are to maintain the privacy and anonymity of the individual who tested positive for COVID-19,” said Blanca Jara, Executive Director of Institutional Advancement, in an emailed statement.

As March 29th, there have been 1,419 confirmed cases in Cook County. The Chicago Reporter has built a site where readers can track the number of cases in Illinois as information becomes available. The tracker is available here.