Gov. J.B. Pritzker dons a mask at a news conference in Springfield earlier this year. (Capitol News Illinois photo)

After a member of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s staff tested positive for COVID-19, the governor and all other close contacts will self-isolate for a 14-day period, pursuant to state and federal public health guidelines.

The staff member was tested on Wednesday, Sept. 23 during weekly testing for the governor’s office and was negative. After experiencing symptoms, the staff member was tested again Monday, Sept. 28 and the test confirmed as positive. according to a statement from the governor’s office.

The staffer attended events with the governor on Sept. 23 in Chicago, Thursday, Sept. 24 in Marion and Sunday, Sept. 27 in Marseilles. Both the governor and the staffer were wearing masks during the entirety of their interactions, according to the governor’s office.

The staffer has been interviewed and a contact tracing effort is underway to ensure all close contacts are notified. Event organizers at each impacted event have also been contacted and made aware of the staff member’s positive results as well as appropriate next steps, according to the governor’s office.

In accordance with state and federal guidelines, the governor and all close contacts will self-isolate for 14 days. In addition, all staff who currently report to the office are being tested and must test negative before reporting back to the office. Yesterday, all samples that were ran to test for COVID-19 came back negative.

Staff members reporting to the office have followed all public health safety protocols including weekly testing, daily temperature checks, wearing face coverings, social distancing and strict hygiene procedures. The office undergoes a weekly deep cleaning and an additional deep cleaning was conducted Monday night.

The governor will continue to hold regular COVID-19 press briefings which are live-streamed at illinois.gov/LiveVideo as well as on Facebook and Twitter.

COVID-19 positive numbers continue to rise in Northwest counties