Monday’s coronavirus live updates: Illinois reports new deaths bringing total to 12
Confirmed cases increase; deaths reported
The number of COVID-19 cases statewide in Illinois as of Monday was 1,285, an increase of 236 from Sunday. There were a total of 12 deaths statewide reported Monday as well.
One of the new cases confirmed Monday was in Monroe County, and another case was announced in St. Clair County.
Eleven coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the metro-east with the announcement on Monday of the new patients in Monroe and St. Clair counties. No deaths have been reported in southwestern Illinois.
Here’s a breakdown of the area cases:
▪ St. Clair County has four cases: One woman is in her 60s and the other is in her 70s. They both traveled overseas and were recovering at home. The third case is a man in his 50s. The fourth is a woman whose case comes from community spread.
▪ Madison County has two cases: A man in his 60s and a man in his 30s. Both traveled internationally and are now recovering at home.
▪ Clinton County has three cases: A woman in her 60s, a man in his 60s and woman in her 20s. None had traveled internationally.
▪ Washington County has one case: A man in his 30s who had traveled to Chicago. He is self-quarantining.
▪ Monroe County has one case: A woman in her 40s who traveled within the U.S. She is recovering at home.
In Missouri, officials have announced the death of a St. Louis County woman in her 60s, who has been identified by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch as Judy Wilson-Griffin, a nurse at St. Mary’s Hospital.
The city of St. Louis also reported one death on Monday, a woman in her 30s.
St. Louis County had 90 COVID-19 cases as of Monday while the city of St. Louis had 22 positive cases.
New online platform for unemployment benefits
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Monday that the state upgraded the online system for people to apply for unemployment benefits while they are out of work during the coronavirus outbreak. He said the system had been overloaded with the number of applications coming in at one time.
“... This is just an unprecedented number of people that are seeking unemployment claims during this time period. I don’t think we’ve ever seen this before even in periods during the 2008-2009 crisis,” Pritzker said.
Anyone who is laid off due to closures, such as restaurant and bar employees, can apply for benefits at https://bit.ly/33qI5sx.
Coalition formed to manufacture personal protective equipment
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the state has received a fraction of the personal protective equipment — gloves, masks and other items — it requested from the federal government, including just 10% of the amount of masks and none of respirators it sought.
Now, Pritzker is turning to businesses like tattoo parlors and nail salons that are closed during the coronavirus pandemic to ask for donations of their stores of masks, he said Monday during his daily news conference.
The state also formed an “essential equipment task force” to ramp up production of those items that health care workers and public safety personnel need, according to the governor.
Pritzker said Illinois and other states are “running up against obstacles that shouldn’t exist,” criticizing the federal government for not doing more to help states respond to the pandemic.
Illinois works to add health care workers
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation issued a proclamation Monday to increase the number of health care workers during the coronavirus pandemic.
The proclamation allows out-of-state doctors, nurses, physician assistants and respiratory care therapists to provide care to Illinois residents who are affected by COVID-19, according to a state news release.
Health care workers in Illinois whose licenses are inactive, expired or haven’t been renewed will also be allowed to work temporarily during the outbreak.
Applications are available online at the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation’s website.
O’Fallon City Council to hold special coronavirus meeting
Mayor Herb Roach has called for a special O’Fallon City Council meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Monday to grant additional authority in a local emergency declaration related to COVID-19 goals.
The declaration of emergency was under the recommendation of St. Clair County to help improve the city’s response to COVID-19 and ensure O’Fallon is eligible to recover some costs associated with combating the pandemic.
“We are working hard to combat the spread and impact of COVID-19 in our community. The steps that we are taking have a financial impact on the city’s budget,” Roach said. “With this emergency declaration, O’Fallon will now be eligible to recover some of those costs once we have defeated this virus.”
Under state law and city ordinance, the mayor can declare an emergency at any time by proclamation.
The declaration can be located at https://www.ofallon.org/home/files/declaration-of-emergency-regarding-covid-19.
Third Circuit Court continues all trials in civil, criminal and traffic divisions
The Third Judicial Circuit Court in Madison County responded to COVID-19 by continuing, or delaying, all of its jury and non-jury trials in civil, criminal and traffic divisions for another 30 days.
In a news release, Chief Judge William Mudge said that the order was enacted “to protect the health and safety of court patrons, staff, judges and the general public.”
The court continued all arbitration, mediation, foreclosure matters and any hearings or trials associated with those dockets for 30 days as well.
All plenary orders of protection, emergency orders of protection and both plenary and emergency civil stalking no contact orders were also extended for 30 days. In the release, the court said parties may seek emergency relief from those orders only by filing a motion with the assigned judge. Those hearings are to be heard by the assigned judge at their discretion and conducted remotely via telephone, video and other electronic means.
No wedding or civil union ceremonies will be conducted in the court for 30 days.
Governor makes call for volunteer help, blood donations
During his Sunday briefing, Gov. J.B. Pritzker called upon Illinoisans to volunteer their time to help vulnerable populations and to donate blood.
“Even with a stay-at-home order, nonprofits and organizations are continuing to operate and fulfill their missions to help those in need,” he said.
Volunteer opportunities can be found at serve.illinois.gov. Any business or organization wanting to donate personal protective equipment can find out how to do so by visiting www2.illinois.gov/sites/serve/Disaster/Pages/COVID-19-PPE-Donations.aspx or by emailing ppe.donations@illinois.gov.
Celena Roldan, CEO of the American Red Cross of Illinois, urged people to donate blood. The United States faces an “unprecedented” shortage of blood because of canceled blood drives, Roldan said. More than 6,000 blood drives have been canceled across the country. In Illinois, more than 120 have been canceled.
“It is critical for the community health to maintain blood collection during this challenging time to ensure patient survival,” Roldan said. “One of the most important things you can do to ensure we don’t have another health crisis is to give blood.”
There’s no evidence that respiratory viruses can be transmitted through a blood donation or transfusion, and donating blood does not weaken your immune system, Pritzker said.
Postponed and canceled events
The News-Democrat has compiled a list of events in Illinois and St. Louis that have been canceled due to concerns about coronavirus.
You can find the list at BND.com.
Get the latest news on coronavirus
BND.com will keep you updated through the day with 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:
State of Illinois’ coronavirus page: coronavirus.illinois.gov
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/summary.html
Federal government’s coronavirus page: cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
How to contact the BND with tips, concerns
If you have suggestions about something for the BND to cover regarding the coronavirus pandemic or if you see a report that sounds suspicious on social media or anywhere else, please drop us a note at newsroom@bnd.com and include a link. We’ll check it out.
This story was originally published March 23, 2020 at 8:53 AM with the headline "Monday’s coronavirus live updates: Illinois reports new deaths bringing total to 12."
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