Gov. J.B. Pritzker and members of his senior staff plan to isolate and work remotely after one staff member tested positive for COVID-19.The staff member, who did not have symptoms, tested positive late last week. The staff member was in close contact with the governor and other staff members. “I want to assure you that the governor’s office is very much still fully operational & all aspects of the executive branch will function as they have been,” Pritzker wrote on Twitter. “No matter what challenges come our way, the people of Illinois have the resolve to get through this – together.”
Pritzker and all other staff members tested negative. The governor was re-tested early Sunday. That test was also negative.
About 20 staff members have been working at the James R. Thompson Center. The rest of the office staffers had already been working from home, according to a news release.
Staffers followed Illinois Department of Public Health guidelines, including daily temperature checks, wearing face coverings, social distancing and hygiene procedures.
The governor’s office at the Thompson Center will get a deep cleaning.
Staff members are monitoring themselves for symptoms. Pritzker and his staff will return to the office when IDPH officials say it is safe to do so, according to a news release from the governor’s office.
Pritzker will hold daily news briefings by video conference. Those briefings are live-streamed at illinois.gov/LiveVideo.
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