A 16-year-old detainee of the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center has contracted COVID-19 — the first resident of the jail to test positive for the disease.
The teen was admitted to the jail March 30 and had not been exposed to the general population, according to a statement from Pat Milhizer, the Office of the Chief Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County.
The detainee was quarantined with new residents per a policy that separated admissions for 14 days from the general population, Milhizer said.
The teen had a fever and headache Saturday, and was moved to the jail’s medical unit, Milhizer said. The teen was tested for COVID-19 Sunday and the test results came back Monday, he said. The detainee is now fever-free, recovering under medical supervision until April 18.
Six other residents who had contact with the detainee will be tested for COVID-19 and will not be admitted to the general population until April 18 at the earliest, he said.
The other new admissions of the jail will be moved to another area of the jail while the previous space for new admissions undergoes a deep cleaning, Milhizer said.
Throughout March, judges released 190 juveniles from the detention center, lowering the number of residents to 168 today, Milhizer said. By comparison, there were 210 residents on March 15.
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Also Monday, the Office of the Chief Judge announced that two more employees tested positive for COVID-19, raising the total in the office to 11.
One employee works for Juvenile Probation and Court Services at the Juvenile Center and last reported for work on March 23, Milhizer said. The other employee works at the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center and had no contact with any juvenile residents. That employee last reported for work March 19.
