Friday live coronavirus updates: 17 more parks, rec areas can open in southern Illinois
What’s new in Illinois’ stay-at-home order?
Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s new stay-at-home order went into effect Friday with some modifications to the previous order that expired at the end of April.
You are required to cover your face when you go to a place where you can’t maintain 6 feet of distance from others.
Greenhouses, garden centers and nurseries may reopen, but must follow social distancing rules. Animal grooming businesses are also now considered essential businesses. While retail stores won’t be considered essential businesses under the new order, they are allowed to reopen to fill phone and online orders through curbside pick-up or delivery.
Some southern Illinois state parks reopened under the new stay-at-home order for hiking, biking, fishing, boating and other activities. Golf is also allowed, but under strict guidelines to ensure social distancing.
State adds to list of outdoor areas that can open
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources has expanded the list of state-run parks and recreation areas that can reopen.
The initial list of parks released April 23 included just six locations in southwestern and southern Illinois. On Friday, it included 17 more.
Here are the state-run sites in southwestern and southern Illinois that are now open:
- Beall Woods State Park in Mount Carmel
- Beaver Dam State Park in Carlinville
- Cache River State Natural Area in Belknap
- Cave-in-Rock State Park in Hardin County
- Dixon Springs State Park in Golconda
Eldon Hazlet State Recreation Area in Carlyle
Ferne Clyffe State Park in Goreville
Fort de Chartres State Historic Site in Prairie Du Rocher
- Fort Massac State Park in Metropolis
- Giant City State Park in Makanda
- Hamilton County State Fish and Wildlife Area
- Horseshoe Lake-Alexander State Fish and Wildlife Area in Miller City
- Kinkaid Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area in Murphysboro
- Lake Murphysboro State Park
- Lewis and Clark State Historic Site in Hartford
- Ramsey Lake State Recreation Area
- Red Hills State Park in Sumner
- Saline County State Fish and Wildlife Area
- Sam Parr State Fish and Wildlife Area in Newton
- Stephen A. Forbes State Recreation Area in Kinmundy
- Tunnel Hill State Trail in Vienna
- Washington County State Recreation Area in Nashville
- Wayne Fitzgerrell State Recreation Area in Whittington
Gambling still suspended in Illinois
The Illinois Gaming Board extended the suspension of all video gaming operations and casino gambling “until further notice.”
“The Gaming Board is monitoring developments regarding COVID-19 and will continue to make decisions based on science, public health guidance, and applicable law and rules,” the board wrote in a news release Thursday.
“Because it’s one thing to say, well, half of our hospital beds are ICU beds are available, but if that number is 35, right, that’s a very small number,” the governor said. “And if the population … is such that the 35 beds wouldn’t be able to cover that population if there was a surge, then we are concerned about an area. So it has to do with much more than just a population in an area, and it has a great deal to do with how much health care is available in that area.”
City of St. Louis won’t open with rest of Missouri
The city of St. Louis will remain under a stay-at-home order after May 4, which is the reopening date for the rest of Missouri, according to a news release from Mayor Lyda Krewson’s office on Thursday.
Her order supersedes the “Show Me Strong Recovery Plan” announced by Missouri Gov. Mike Parson.
“It’s just not safe right now to begin to reopen the City of St. Louis,” Krewson stated. “We need to see at least 14 days of sustained decrease in the number of new COVID-19 cases before we can consider reopening. By moving that process too quickly, we could put our family members and neighbors at risk for contracting the virus. I understand many of you wish to return to work and your normal lives, but we must remain vigilant to continue to slow the spread.”
Executive Order No. 7, the city’s current stay-at-home order, will remain in effect until Director of Health Dr. Fredrick Echols determines the threat of increased COVID-19 spread has diminished, according to the release. Only businesses deemed essential may remain open.
Residents are asked to report violations to the Citizens’ Service Bureau at 314-622-4800.
Cahokia testing site opens Friday
SIHF Healthcare announced Friday that a drive-thru COVID-19 testing site opened at the Cahokia Fitness & Sports Complex. It is the fifth SIHF Healthcare collection site to open in the metro-east.
The new site’s address is 509 Camp Jackson Road in Cahokia.
The public can call 618-646-2596 to be screened for testing based on their symptoms, possible exposure, age, work environment and underlying health conditions, according to a SIHF Healthcare news release.
If they meet the testing requirements, they will receive a window of time to arrive at the site, SIHF Healthcare stated. Results are expected to be available within about 48 hours.
The other SIHF Healthcare testing sites are in Belleville, East St. Louis, Granite City and Wood River.
Human Services provides $20 million for telehealth services
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has awarded $20 million to increase telehealth access and infrastructure for providers and families to help prevent and respond to COVID-19, according to a news release Thursday.
It will be used to increase capability, capacity and access to telehealth and distant care services for providers, pregnant women, children, adolescents and families, and will assist telehealth providers with cross-state licensure to improve access to health care during the pandemic.
“This new funding will help expand telehealth infrastructure that is already being used during the pandemic to provide essential care, especially to the most vulnerable, including pregnant women and children with special health care needs,” said HHS Secretary Alex Azar.
HSHS to furlough hospital employees
Springfield-based Hospital Sisters Health System, which operates St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in O’Fallon, announced Thursday that it will furlough employees as hospitals deal with the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The hospital system did not disclose which hospitals will have furloughs or the number of employees affected. HSHS said there are both voluntary and involuntary furloughs, but the announcement did not say how long the furloughs would last or which types of positions are affected.
Along with St. Elizabeth’s, HSHS also operates St. Joseph’s Hospital in Breese and St. Joseph’s Hospital in Highland. It has 12 other hospitals in Illinois and Wisconsin.
Durbin wants more protections for meat-processing workers
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin told members of the United Food and Commercial Workers union Thursday that President Donald Trump’s executive order to keep meat-processing plants operating ignores the recommendations of public health experts, according to a news release.
Durbin, an Illinois Democrat and member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, met with union members in Springfield. He also discussed his support for more personal protective equipment and coronavirus testing for plant workers, as well as hazard pay and paid sick leave.
“President Trump’s executive order to require meat and poultry producers to continue operations ignores the health and safety realities of this pandemic,” Durbin said. “While talking with UFCW leadership and its members today, I assured them I would fight to protect their health and safety as they risk their lives, working shoulder to shoulder, on meat-processing lines in Illinois and across the country.”
Republican congressmen ask Pritzker for ‘phased reopening’
U.S. Reps. Rodney Davis, Adam Kinzinger, John Shimkus, Darin LaHood and Mike Bost have sent a letter to Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, urging him to adopt a plan to begin a phased reopening of businesses critical to the state’s economy.
The congressmen heard from “concerned constituents” after the governor extended his stay-at-home order through May 30, according to a news release emailed Thursday.
“Illinois is a diverse state and the coronavirus has impacted communities in different ways,” the letter stated. “As we work to start the phased reopening here at home, we cannot do so with a blanket, one-size-fits-all plan. Sadly, this week marked the deadliest day Illinois has faced with the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and yet we still have several counties reporting zero cases of COVID-19.
“As we continue to face rising numbers of coronavirus in certain areas, we need to continue getting the necessary resources to aid those areas. But we also need to recognize that areas without any cases of the virus need to be treated differently,” the congressmen wrote.
“We’re urging Governor Pritzker to take a regional approach by starting the reopening process in low-risk areas. With improved and increased testing, and an emergency response plan in place should an outbreak occur, the Governor should move forward on allowing Illinoisans the opportunity to make informed decisions on how they can safely return to work.”
Governor discusses regional reopening for Illinois
Gov. J.B. Pritzker has said at least twice this week at daily news briefings that he is open to taking a regional approach to loosening rules put in place to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
On Wednesday, he said there is “more to come” on a regional reopening announcement. Then on Friday, the governor said he would consider gradually opening regions prior to May 30 that have seen infection rates and intensive care unit bed occupancy decreases for 14 days in a row.
Southwestern Illinois coronavirus cases
Here’s a breakdown of the 1,195 COVID-19 cases in southwestern Illinois as of Friday afternoon. These numbers are updated by 4 p.m. daily at BND.com.
- St. Clair: 496 positives, 39 deaths, 2,122 tests administered, 55 tests pending
- Madison: 339 positives, 22 deaths, 75 hospitalizations, 99 recoveries
- Clinton: 106 positives, four deaths, 454 tests administered, 19 recoveries
- Randolph: 109 positives, two deaths, three hospitalizations, 58 recoveries
- Monroe: 70 positives, 11 deaths
- Macoupin: 30 positives, 593 tests administered, 24 tests pending, 21 recoveries
- Perry: 24 positives
- Jersey: 13 positives, one death, eight recoveries
- Washington: 11 positives, seven recoveries
- Bond: Six positives, one death, 109 tests administered, nine tests pending, three recoveries
- Calhoun: One positive, one recovery
Southwestern Illinois nursing home outbreaks
Here are the latest numbers available on nursing homes and other long-term care centers in the metro-east that are experiencing coronavirus outbreaks.
ST. CLAIR COUNTY
As of Friday, May 1, this is the information on known or suspected COVID-19 patients either because of a positive test result or their symptoms.
- Four Fountains in Belleville - 53 patients and six deaths (Two more patients than what was reported Thursday).
- Memorial Care Center in Belleville- 43 patients and five deaths.
- Lebanon Care Center - 21 patients and two deaths.
- BRIA of Belleville - 12 patients and two deaths.
- St. Paul’s Home in Belleville - Five patients.
- Colonnade in O’Fallon - Two patients.
The St. Clair County Health Department provides updated numbers daily during 3:30 p.m. live streams by the St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency on Facebook.
MONROE COUNTY
As of Saturday, April 25, this is the information on residents and employees at an assisted living facility who tested positive for COVID-19. The health department has noted no change in the number of people to test positive at the facility in daily updates since Saturday. On Friday, May 1, an additional death was announced.
- Garden Place Columbia - 29 patients and 10 deaths. (Two patients are from another county so they are not included in Monroe’s countywide total.)
CLINTON COUNTY
As of Thursday, April 30, this is the information on residents and employees at a long-term care center who tested positive for COVID-19.
- Carlyle HealthCare Center - 63 patients and four deaths. Of the patients, 42 are residents and 21 are employees. All of the people who died were residents.
MADISON COUNTY
As of Friday, April 24, this is the information on residents at long-term care facilities who tested positive for COVID-19.
- Edwardsville Care Center - 54 patients and 12 deaths.
- Eden Village Care Center in Glen Carbon - 11 patients.
- Stearns Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Granite City - One patient tested positive and one is considered a “case contact positive.”
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 May 1, 2020 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Friday live coronavirus updates: 17 more parks, rec areas can open in southern Illinois."
