Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison Tests Positive For COVID-19

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison has tested positive for COVID-19, and will be self-isolating for at least the next two weeks.

"Fortunately, I am feeling well with very little symptoms. Upon receiving my positive test results, I immediately contacted anyone that I knowingly came in contact with and encouraged them to be tested," Morrison wrote in a post on Twitter.

Morrison, a first-term member of the Cook County Board for the 15th District in the northwest suburbs, was the youngest person ever elected to the board when he defeated three-term incumbent Tim Schneider, the chairman of the Illinois Republican Party, in 2018 at age 28. He's also the first openly gay member of the board.

"I will be following Illinois Department of Public Health and Cook County Department of Public Health guidance and will be self-isolating for at least 14 days and will not resume any in-person activities until a confirmed negative test," Morrison wrote.

In an email to CBS 2, Morrison said he had contact with two staffers over the last two weeks, and "all precautions were taken during those times, including social distancing and the use of masks." The commissioner said both staffers will be tested for COVID-19 as a precaution.

"One of my first calls upon learning my results was to [Cook County Board President Toni] Preckwinkle and anyone I knowingly came into contact with," Morrison wrote.

Preckwinkle and Morrison appeared together at a press conference last week. Preckwinkle's office said she was tested Tuesday after learning a staffer in Gov. JB Pritzker's office had tested positive for the virus, and Preckwinkle's test results came back negative.

"I wish Commissioner Kevin Morrison a speedy recovery," Preckwinkle wrote in a post on Twitter. "All of us at Cook County look forward to having you back and healthy very soon. Get well soon, Commissioner @Kevin4Cook"