Chicago one of five sites to begin testing people with flu-like symptoms for coronavirus

Chicago has been picked as one of five sites nationally to begin testing people with flu-like symptoms for the new coronavirus, officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday.

CDC officials described it as a precautionary measure, and local health experts stressed this week that the chance of contracting the coronavirus in Illinois remains “low.”

“This is an extra level of our response that will help us detect if and when this virus is spreading in the community,” Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told reporters during a conference call.

Messonnier said national efforts remain focused on the prevention of “sustained” spread of the virus.

“But we need to be prepared for the possibility that it will spread,” she said.

The new testing will make use of existing public health labs that, in addition to Chicago, include Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York City and Seattle, Messonnier said. The eventual goal is to expand testing nationally.

“We are taking those five sites’ influenza surveillance systems and adding on laboratory testing at public health labs for novel coronavirus,” Messonnier said.

So far, only two people in Illinois have been diagnosed with the sickness and both have been released from the hospital and recovering at home, officials have said.