2 Smith Village Residents Die Of Coronavirus; 11 Test Positive

CHICAGO — Two residents at the Smith Village Senior Living facility near 113th and Western in the city's Morgan Park neighborhood have died after battling coronavirus, and a total of 11 residents there have tested positive, the facility confirmed on its website. A WGN report indicates seven of the 15 employees who had been tested as of Monday night also tested positive, with the other eight still awaiting results. Both resident deaths occurred on Easter Sunday.

All residents who have tested positive are in the nursing facility's skilled nursing wing, Smith Village Executive Director Mari Jatis said in a letter linked on their website. Last week, Smith Village had only one confirmed case of the coronavirus.

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Dr. Smain Sadok, Smith Village's medical director, contracted with an independent laboratory to test all residents of the skilled nursing care wing and Jatis said their next step is to arrange for testing for all of its employees. Test results for the other 41 residents of the skilled nursing care wing were pending as of Tuesday morning.

There's a "separate isolated area in the skilled nursing care wing as the place for residents who have tested positive," Jatis said.