Sunday live updates on coronavirus: St. Clair County announces second death
St. Clair County announces second COVID-19 death
A woman in her 30s is the second person to die from the coronavirus in St. Clair County, the health department said Sunday.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of the latest victim of COVID-19,” St. Clair County Board Chairman Mark Kern said in a news release. “This is another tragic loss to our community and again, a reminder that no one is immune to COVID-19. Everyone must continue to protect themselves, their family, friends and colleagues, by following the preventive measures and social distancing guidelines.”
The first death in the county, a woman in her 80s, was announced Friday.
Authorities said both women had underlying health conditions.
The department said it would not release further information about the second woman to protect her privacy.
At a live stream with the St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency, the county said it had tested 253 people as of Sunday afternoon, with 29 people testing positive. That number is an increase of five from Saturday.
Kern and Samantha Bierman, a spokesperson for the health department, reminded people to abide by the shelter-in-place order and social distancing guidelines.
“We are clearly still rising and have not hit our peak yet,” Bierman said.
Randolph County announces its first two cases
The Randolph County Health Department announced Sunday that two people had tested positive for coronavirus, or COVID-19.
The two cases are contact-related, the department said in a news release. The patients are the first confirmed COVID-19 cases within the county.
The two new patients have been isolated and are being monitored by the Randolph County Health Department, the Illinois Department of Public Health and local health care workers, the release said. The county health department is working to reach anyone who came into contact with the two people.
A Missouri resident who works in Chester has also tested positive for COVID-19, but is being monitored by a Missouri health department. The Illinois Department of Public Health did not count that case as a Randolph County case.
COVID-19 cases in metro-east
Overall, the metro-east now has 51 positive cases.
Here is the break-down as of Sunday afternoon:
▪ St. Clair County: 29, two deaths
▪ Madison County: 10
▪ Clinton County: 5
▪ Monroe County: 4
▪ Washington County: 1
▪ Randolph County: 2
State, nation, world case totals climb
According to the Illinois Department of Public Health and Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering, these are the latest coronavirus case totals as of Sunday afternoon:
▪ Illinois: 4,596 positive cases and 65 deaths
▪ U.S.: 132,637 positive cases and 2,351 deaths
▪ World: 704,095 positive cases and 33,509 deaths
Grocery store restrictions
Metro-east residents can expect to see changes at grocery stores in the coming days and weeks due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker listed several recommendations during his daily news briefing on Saturday. They resulted from talks between his administration and the Illinois Retail Merchants Association on how to better protect shoppers and employees from COVID-19.
“To be clear, there’s nothing new that customers need to know for shopping, other than to be vigilant about their social-distancing practices,” the governor said. “As we’re asking stores to make their requirements as clear as possible, it is up to each individual to follow our social-distancing requirements.”
Here are the recommended changes at grocery stores that Pritzker listed:
- Signs at entrances, informing customers they must stay 6 feet away from each another.
- Continuous announcements of social-distancing rules on public-address systems.
- Floor markers to show people where they should stand in checkout lanes.
- Efforts to encourage cashless purchases to move customers through lines faster.
- Dedicated staff members whose job is to walk the floor and enforce social distancing.
- Shield guards between customers and checkers and baggers.
- Temporary bans on reusable shopping bags.
- Promotion of online ordering and pickup to reduce the number of in-store shoppers.
- Greater use of self-service check-out stations.
Village of Marissa will enforce social distancing
Marissa Mayor Chad Easton said Saturday the village would start “enforcing” social distancing to protect the community from spreading the COVID-19 coronavirus respiratory disease.
“... Any outdoor activities at the parks or anywhere else in town where people are congregating will be ordered to disperse. This includes playing basketball and the use of the playground equipment at the Village Parks,” Easton stated in a post to the village’s social media.
“Please understand that we are trying to protect the citizens from this pandemic.”
Distilleries switch to hand sanitizer
Stumpy’s Spirits in Columbia and Old Herald Brewery & Distillery in Collinsville normally make vodka, gin, whiskey and other liquor, but they’ve switched to hand sanitizer to help with the shortage caused by coronavirus.
Stumpy’s is selling 750-milliliter bottles, five-gallon buckets and 55-gallon drums, but online ordering has been halted temporarily so the distillery can catch up and fill orders it already has received. Old Herald is giving away a small bottle (about six ounces) of hand sanitizer to customers who order carryout food or drink and donating bulk supplies to assisted-living centers and emergency responders.
Distilleries across the country are producing hand sanitizer because the transition is fairly easy, and the federal government has given them the OK to do it if they follow U.S. and World Health Organization guidelines.
St. Louis area coronavirus cases increase
The number of coronavirus cases in Missouri increased to 903, with 12 deaths, the Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services reported Sunday.
St. Louis County now has 323 COVID-19 cases.
In the City of St. Louis, there were 93 cases as of Saturday evening.
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.
Want to help? Here’s what you need to know
The BND has compiled a list of ways you can help during the coronavirus pandemic.
Go to BND. com to learn about the opportunities to volunteer your time or donate to help communities in the metro-east without putting yourself or others at risk.
You can sew face masks, read stories for people with vision loss and deliver meals to seniors.
If you know of a recognized charitable organization looking for help that isn’t listed, please tell us about it; send an email to newsroom@bnd.com or fill out the BND’s Southwest Illinois coronavirus service and assistance guide online 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.
If you’re a health care worker, we’d like to hear from you
The BND would like to speak with nurses, doctors and other health care professionals who are on the front lines caring for patients in doctor’s offices, clinics and hospitals during this difficult time. We’re interested in hearing about your challenges and rewards, frustrations and accomplishments. How is this affecting you? Send us an email at newsroom@bnd.com.
This story was originally published March 29, 2020 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Sunday live updates on coronavirus: St. Clair County announces second death."
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