Coronavirus

Here’s a recap of the major coronavirus news in southwestern Illinois on Monday

By Mike Koziatek

Updated March 20, 2020 4:22 PM

Keep up with all the coronavirus news in southwestern Illinois

Stay updated with the events in southwestern Illinois that have been canceled or postponed because of coronavirus concerns.

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Here’s a roundup of the coronavirus news on Monday:

Driver’s license offices to close

Illinois will close all of its driver services offices effective Tuesday Through March 31, Secretary of State Jesse White announced Monday.

“Expiration dates for driver’s licenses, identification (ID) cards, vehicle registrations and other transactions and document filings will be extended by 30 days through an emergency rule,” White said in a news release.

New cases in Illinois

The state announced 12 new cases of coronavirus on Monday, bringing the total to 105 cases in 15 counties.

Illinois Primary is going forward

Although Gov. J.B. Pritzker has ordered schools and restaurants to close keep people from gathering, the Illinois Primary scheduled for Tuesday will not be canceled, the state Board of Elections said Monday.

“Primary voting typically is a swift transaction that can be done at a safe distance from other voters,” spokesman Matt Dietrich said in a news release.

“Also, at this point there is no date in the foreseeable future when we can expect greater safety with any certainty. Taking action to move to an all-mail ballot system, as has been suggested by some media members, fails to take into account the needs of many disabled voters who are unable to cast paper ballots by mail,” Dietrich said.

Belleville closing city offices to the public

Mayor Mark Eckert announced that all city of Belleville offices will be closed to the public from Tuesday through March 30. All employees should report to work as regularly scheduled.

The announcement said all essential services like police and fire protection, trash pick-up and sewer services will not be affected.

Dispensary orders move online

Collinsville’s medical and recreational marijuana dispensary announced Monday that it would only have online orders as of Tuesday. Illinois Supply & Provisions began selling recreational marijuana on Jan. 1 at 1014 Eastport Plaza Drive.

St. Louis Zoo closes

The St. Louis Zoo is closed until further notice, effective Monday, in an effort to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.

“All public and private events as well as educational programs are canceled through April 3. The zoo will determine plans to reopen closer to April,” the zoo said in a news release.

Jeffrey Bonner, president and CEO of the zoo, said there’s over 13,000 animals in the zoo, but they have not been affected by COVID-19, or coronavirus disease 2019.

“The animals in our care are doing well and our animal care scientists and veterinarians have established procedures that protect the animals’ health, keeping them safe from exposure to disease,” Bonner said in the news release. “Although the COVID-19 virus may have originated from an animal source, in its current form, it is not yet known to cause disease in any animal species.”

Video gaming ban

After ordering all casinos to close, the Illinois Gaming Board has ordered the suspension of all video gaming machines beginning at 9 p.m. Monday until March 30.

“The public health of patrons, video gaming industry employees, Gaming Board staff, and all others is of paramount importance,” Board Administrator Marcus Fruchter said in a news release.

Madison County needs judges

Madison County Board Chairman Kurt Prenzler posted a message on Facebook Monday saying the county needs election judges to work the polling places from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday for $150/a day.

For more information, call 618-692-6290.

State Parks shut down

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources has closed all state parks, fish and wildlife areas, recreational areas and historic sites.

Also, all scheduled events have been canceled.

For more information, call 217-782-6752 or send an email to Dnr.parksadmin@illinois.gov.

St. Clair County updates

St. Clair County officials said Monday no new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in the county. Two positive cases were announced on Saturday.

County Clerk Tom Holbrook said 7,000 people have already voted in the Illinois Primary by early voting and mail-in ballots. The state has announced the primary will be conducted as scheduled Tuesday and Holbrook said pollworkers will have sanitary wipes to keep the polling places clean.

The St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency will air an update from county officials on Facebook Live daily at 3:30 p.m.

Wedding ceremonies

If you plan on getting married in the coming weeks at either the St. Clair or Madison county courthouse, you can’t bring along friends and family members.

Also, other restrictions have been put into place to reduce the number of people who need to be in the courthouses.

St. Clair County is delaying action on status conferences, small claims, and petty and traffic court cases.

Ameren delays disconnections

Ameren Illinois has announced that it will “suspend service disconnections and forgive late payment fees for non-payment through at least May 1” for residential and business customers who may have trouble paying their bills because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

For more information, call 800-755-5000 for residential customers and 800-232-2477 for business customers.

Postponed and canceled events

The News-Democrat has compiled a list of postponed and canceled events in Illinois and St. Louis due to concerns about coronavirus.

You can see the list at bnd.com.

Get the latest news on the coronavirus

BND.com will keep you updated through the day and the week with any additional information about the spread of coronavirus through southwestern Illinois.

You can also find the most complete and up-to-date information from government sites including: