Coronavirus fears prompt Naval Station Great Lakes to suspend in-person graduation ceremony

The Navy’s boot camp in north suburban Chicago will prohibit guests from attending graduation ceremonies — adding itself to a growing list of Chicago-area closures affected by concerns of coronavirus.

Naval Station Great Lakes will continue holding graduation ceremonies, but “out of an abundance of caution,” guests won’t be allowed to attend starting March 13, the U.S. Navy Recruit Training Command wrote in a Facebook post.

Instead, guests can view the ceremonies live-streamed online.

The Naval Service training command “will continue to monitor the situation and consult with medical experts to decide when it is appropriate to resume guest attendance at graduation ceremonies,” the statement says.

There are no cases of coronavirus confirmed at the base.

By Tuesday afternoon, four Chicago-area schools were closed due to contact with coronavirus.

Resurrection College Prep High School on the Northwest Side was the latest school to dismiss classes after a school member was in contact with a person who test positive for the virus.

On Monday, Anshe Emet Synagogue and Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School closed after a parent of a student was diagnosed with coronavirus.

Loyola Academy in Wilmette canceled classes for a second straight day Tuesday after administrators learned a student had come in contact with one of the state’s nearly dozen coronavirus patients.

Students and staff of Vaughn Occupational High School in Chicago’s Portage Park neighborhood have been advised to quarantine themselves after a class aide tested positive for the disease. The school will be closed for the rest of this week.

As of Monday, more than 650 infections and 26 deaths had been reported in the United States.