Three Chicago universities have announced cases of coronavirus at their campuses.
They include a faculty member of DePaul University, a student of the University of Chicago’s business school and a member of Columbia College Chicago.
DePaul announced Wednesday that a faculty member who works at the 1150 W. Fullerton building tested positive for COVID-19.
The building, which houses the school’s Art, Media and Design department, its Health Services Clinic and a Chicago Public Library branch, is closed Wednesday for cleaning.
DePaul said the faculty member was last in the building on Sunday with someone not from DePaul, who also tested positive for the virus.
Separately, the University of Chicago Booth School of Business announced Tuesday that a student living off-campus tested positive for coronavirus. The student, who is the university’s first confirmed case of the virus, is being treated off campus, the school said in an email to students.
In the Loop, a member of Columbia College Chicago was diagnosed with coronavirus and is self-isolating, the schools said Wednesday in a letter to staff and students. The school did not say if the person is a student or faculty member.
The college said the person only visited the 33 E. Ida B. Wells building, which houses its journalism school and radio station, and had not been on campus since Friday.
“I am heartened by the fact that as of last night, they reported experiencing only mild symptoms and I wish them a full and seamless recovery,” Columbia College Chicago President and CEO Kwang-Wu Kim said in the letter.
The Ida B. Wells building will be closed for two days for a “deep cleaning,” and will open Friday to employees needing access to equipment, Kim wrote. All campus buildings and housing at Columbia College are set to close Sunday, March 22, until further notice.
All undergraduate and graduate classes at the University of Chicago will shift off-campus to “remote learning” at the start of the spring quarter, March 30.
DePaul University has already moved all of its final exams and most of its classes online.
On Tuesday, state officials announced the state’s first death related to COVID-19.
