File photo
File photo
First responders and medical personnel who are serving on the front lines of the COVID-19 fight in the Bourbonnais area will be able to self-quarantine at Olivet Nazarene University and avoid putting their own loved ones at risk.
Olivet Nazarene University made three residence buildings where students typically live available for those first responders looking for a place to self-quarantine.
University Executive Vice President David Pickering said dorm rooms became available when the university — like many in the U.S. — switched to an online teaching format to help keep students isolated during the coronavirus pandemic. As a result, the university opened the buildings and are offering space to personnel at Riverside and St. Mary’s hospitals as well as Bourbonnais first responders and local law enforcement, who wish to self-quarantine.
“Their goal is to protect their families and friends, and our goal is to provide a place where they can stay,” Pickering said in a Daily Journal report. “We can support the work that they are doing as the front-line people.”
As of May 10, Illinois reported 76,085 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, including 3,349 deaths. Kankakee County has 540 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
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