Friday live coronavirus updates: State lawmaker suing Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker
Here is a roundup of coronavirus news you need to know Friday:
Pandemic expected to hit school finances hard
Gov. J.B. Pritzker already has warned of expected shortfalls in the state budget, which provides an average 27% of funding for about 850 school districts across the state. And no one seems to know how the health and economic crisis caused by the coronavirus will affect local property taxes, which account for 66%.
Some school districts are taking action now to give them flexibility in financial decision-making. Triad Community Unit School District 2 laid off 10 paraprofessionals on Monday night, Superintendent Leigh Lewis said. Belleville School District 118’s board voted Tuesday to authorize the borrowing of $5 million, if needed, against future tax revenues.
School officials found some comfort in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, passed by Congress to help the United States cope with unprecedented unemployment and other hardships caused by COVID-19. President Donald Trump signed it into law March 27.
Part of the $2 trillion stimulus package is earmarked for education, including an estimated $569.5 million for Illinois schools, according to Pritzker’s office. The amount going to each district will vary widely.
IDNR reopening some state parks on May 1
Some state parks in southern Illinois will reopen on May 1 when the state’s modified stay-at-home order goes into effect, including Fort Massac State Park, Giant City State Park, Stephen A. Forbes State Recreation Area and Wayne Fitzgerrell State Recreation Area.
An IDNR news release says other sites, including state historic sites, will remain closed until further notice.
Visitors are told to bring alcohol-based hand sanitizer and face coverings with them. Additionally, people are being told to visit state parks only by themselves or with members of their household.
State representative suing Illinois governor
Republican state Rep. Darren Bailey, who represents the 109th district, announced Thursday he was suing Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
“My lawsuit asks the court to find that Gov. Pritzker overextended his power by issuing additional ‘stay at home’ orders after his original disaster proclamation, which expired on April 9, 2020,” Bailey wrote in a news release. “Enough is enough! I filed this lawsuit on behalf of myself and my constituents who are ready to go back to work and resume a normal life.”
To date, Bailey’s district has been one of the least affected areas of Illinois with just nine reported COVID-19 patients and no deaths. Overall, the state has seen more than 36,000 people test positive for the respiratory disease and 1,688 deaths as of Thursday.
Scott AFB airmen helping out in Illinois, New York
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Thursday announced the activation about 210 more Illinois National Guard soldiers and airmen from throughout the state to support its COVID-19 response, bringing the total to about 860, according to a Guard news release.
That includes two medical technicians and about 20 other airmen from the 126th Air Refueling Wing at Scott Air Force Base. They will be part of temperature checkpoint teams to help Illinois Department of Human Services staff at Shapiro Developmental Center in Kankakee.
“Each checkpoint includes one person to take temperatures and one person to document temperatures and responses to the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) screening questions per checkpoint,” the release states. “They are alleviating staff members to enable them to care for patients. Staff members have temperatures taken every four hours daily.
“The facility has provided the 126th ARW team with personal protection equipment, touchless thermometers and required training. The Airmen reported to their wing for ... processing and screening Sunday and to the developmental center on Monday. The mission is temporary, and is expected to last approximately a week.”
Activations also include about 13 airmen with the 126th Air Refueling Wing at Scott and about 12 airmen with the 183rd Wing in Springfield, who will assist with the build-out of an alternate care facility in Melrose Park.
About 20 airmen from the Air Force Reserve of the 932nd Airlift Wing at Scott have also been deployed to areas of need. Most of those airmen flew to New York on Wednesday to assist medical staff there, according to the Air Force base.
Testing sites to open in Belleville and Granite City
SIHF Healthcare, which operates clinics in 22 communities in central and southern Illinois, is opening two new coronavirus testing sites in Belleville and Granite City in cooperation with Touchette Regional Hospital in Centreville and with state and local agencies.
A testing site opened Thursday at SIHF Healthcare, 7210 W. Main St. in Belleville, according to a news release. A testing site also will open Friday at SIHF Healthcare, 2166 Madison Ave. in Granite City. Hours at both are 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The company already operates a testing site in East St. Louis.
People who want to be tested for COVID-19 must first call 618-646-2596 between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. and be screened with questions about symptoms, possible exposure, age, work environment and underlying health conditions. Those who meet eligibility requirements of the Illinois Department of Public Health and U.S. Centers for Disease Control will be assigned a window of time to arrive.
Patients will not be charged for screening or testing. If someone has insurance, the provider will gather that information during the phone call, but there will be no cost to the patient. Results should be available in about 24 hours.
Callers who don’t meet requirements will receive instructions on how to isolate at home unless symptoms worsen.
Four Fountains has 24 known or suspected COVID-19 cases
The number of people affected by the coronavirus outbreak at Four Fountains in Belleville increased each day from Sunday to Friday.
The St. Clair County Health Department announced Friday afternoon that a total of 24 people who work or receive care at the facility now either have a formal diagnosis through testing or they have symptoms of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus.
The total has grown from eight people on Sunday, when the health department first released information about long-term care facilities that are experiencing outbreaks. By Wednesday, it had more than doubled to 17 people.
One person connected to Four Fountains has died, the health department said Sunday. There has been no increase in deaths to date.
Two more long-term care centers in St. Clair County have outbreaks
On Friday, the St. Clair County Health Department announced that St. Paul’s Home in Belleville and Lebanon Care Center in Lebanon have each had three people test positive for COVID-19 or show symptoms of the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus.
Nursing homes and other long-term care centers treat anyone with symptoms as if they have COVID-19 after there has been a diagnosis there, according to state officials.
Three other facilities in the county with outbreaks have not seen a change in their numbers since Wednesday. Four Fountains has recorded more COVID-19 patients daily.
Here are the latest numbers on known or suspected COVID-19 patients at long-term care facilities released by the health department:
- Four Fountains in Belleville: 24 patients, one death
- Memorial Care Center in Belleville: 14 patients, one death
- BRIA of Belleville: 12 patients, one death
- St. Paul’s Home in Belleville: Three patients
- Lebanon Care Center: Three patients
- Colonnade in O’Fallon: Two patients
Southwestern Illinois coronavirus cases by county
St. Clair County health officials announced Friday that three more people have died after testing positive for COVID-19, bringing the county’s total number of deaths to 22.
Also on Friday, Madison County health officials announced two more people had died after testing positive, a woman in her 80s and a man in his 90s. The county’s death toll since the pandemic started is now 16.
Garden Place in Columbia, located in Monroe County, also has reported another coronavirus-related death. Monroe County now has nine deaths. Twenty-nine people have tested positive at Garden Place. Two people live in another county. Clinton County also reported its first death this week.
The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in southwestern Illinois has reached 914 as of Friday, while the number of deaths has increased to 49.
Here’s a breakdown of area COVID-19 cases as of Friday afternoon:
- St. Clair: 362 positives, 22 deaths, 61 hospitalized, seven on ventilators, 1,496 tests administered, 55 tests pending.
- Madison: 277 positives, 16 deaths, 70 hospitalized, 82 recovered.
Clinton: 74 positives, one death, 316 tests administered, four hospitalized, 16 recovered.
- Randolph:79 positives, one death, three hospitalized, 48 recovered.
- Monroe: 65 positives, nine deaths, seven recovered.
Macoupin: 25 positives, 339 tests administered, 25 tests pending, 15 recovered.
- Jersey: 12 positive cases, 85 tested, five recovered.
- Washington: Seven positive cases.
Perry: Seven positives.
- Bond: Five positives, 79 tests administered, three tests pending, three recovered.
- Calhoun: One positive, one recovered.
Governor extends stay-at-home order with modifications
Pritzker announced Thursday that he will extend a statewide stay-at-home order through May due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
His existing executive order expires April 30. The new one, effective May 1, includes modifications, including a phased reopening of state parks; strict guidelines for golf courses; the designation of garden centers as essential businesses; permission for some retail stores to fill orders for pick-up and delivery; and a requirement that essential businesses and manufacturers provide face coverings for employees.
In addition, the governor is requiring everyone to wear masks or face-coverings when in public indoor spaces, such as stores, and outdoor spaces where they can’t maintain a 6-foot distance.
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.
Recovering from COVID-19? The BND would like to talk to you
Have you recovered from coronavirus or are you in the process of recovering from COVID-19? We would like to hear from you on how you dealt with the respiratory disease. Send us an email at newsroom@bnd.com.
This story was originally published April 24, 2020 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Friday live coronavirus updates: State lawmaker suing Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker."
