Pregnant woman becomes first Lake County jail inmate to test positive for COVID-19

A pregnant inmate at the Lake County jail tested positive Tuesday for COVID-19.

The woman, the first current inmate to test positive, remains in the medical unit and is not with the general jail population. No other inmates or correctional staff members have tested positive for COVID-19, Lake County sheriff's Sgt. Christopher Covelli said.

The woman, in her 30s, was taken to Lake County jail Thursday morning. She had been arrested by North Chicago police on a failure to appear arrest warrant alleging felony retail theft and felony theft. In addition to the warrants, she was charged by North Chicago police with obstruction of justice and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Early Thursday afternoon she was taken to Vista East Medical Center because she appeared lethargic, Covelli said in a statement Tuesday.

Doctors diagnosed her with a non-COVID-19 medical issue and she was sent back to Lake County jail Thursday evening.

On Friday, the woman began going through withdrawal symptoms and was seen by the jail's medical staff. Her withdrawal symptoms appeared similar to COVID-19 symptoms, so the jail medical personnel did a COVID-19 test on the woman. The results came in positive Tuesday morning, according to Covelli.

Lake County jail officials reported Friday that a male inmate released the Monday before tested positive for COVID-19 two days later. The inmate had complained of flu-like symptoms, but they had abated and his temperature was normal when he was released after a plea agreement.

More than 50 Lake County jail inmates have been released or shifted to the Illinois Department of Corrections since the COVID-19 outbreak started in an effort to reduce the risk.