© Shutterstock University of Chicago Medical Center admitted its first patient suspected of having coronavirus.

CHICAGO, IL — The University of Chicago Medical Center said it is treating its first suspected coronavirus patient. Medical center officials said they admitted a patient who may have the illness late Monday.

In an email, the hospital said it is "following rigorous isolation and infection control protocols to ensure the safety of our staff, patients and our neighbors," according to NBC Chicago. If confirmed, the patient would be Cook County's fifth coronavirus case and also the fifth in the state.

The announcement came hours after the Illinois Department of Public Health said it had confirmed the fourth presumptive coronavirus case in the state. The fourth patient, who tested positive for coronavirus through in-state testing that was being confirmed by the CDC, is the wife of a man who tested positive for the illness over the weekend.

On Monday, IDPH said the man was being treated in isolation at Northwest Community Hospital In Arlington Heights, while his wife is well enough to stay home. She is also in isolation. Both are in their 70s.

Meanwhile, two employees of Arlington Heights School District 25 and their two children are also in isolation at home after possible exposure to coronavirus. School district officials said the family came in contact with a babysitter who has a relative who is believed to have coronavirus.

The first two coronavirus cases in Illinois were a Chicago woman and her husband. Both have recovered after being treated at a suburban hospital and were released from home isolation.

As of Monday, state health officials said 286 people were being actively monitored for coronavirus.

What is coronavirus?

Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that include the common cold as well as much more serious diseases. The strain that emerged in China in late 2019, now called COVID-19, is related to others that have caused serious outbreaks in recent years, including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the U.S. was on Jan. 21.

The disease, which apparently originated in animals, is now transferring from person to person, although the mechanism is not yet fully understood. Its symptoms include fever, coughing and shortness of breath, and many patients develop pneumonia. There is as yet no vaccine against COVID-19 it and no antiviral treatment.

According to the CDC, the best way of preventing the disease is to avoid close contact with people who are sick, to avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands, to wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, and to use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol if soap and water are not available.

To avoid spreading any respiratory illness, the CDC recommends staying at home when you are sick, covering your cough or sneeze with a tissue and throwing the tissue in the trash, cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched objects and surfaces.

Also read:

Jean Dubail, Patch Staff, contributed to this article