Friday live coronavirus updates: Chicago won’t move to phase 3 with rest of Illinois
Chicago won’t reopen next week with rest of Illinois
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Friday that Chicago’s health metrics show the city isn’t ready to move to phase 3 of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s Restore Illinois plan.
Lightfoot said the city could reach that point in June.
The Chicago mayor also said she would make a decision next week on whether Lollapalooza can go on this summer.
Metro-east residents want employees to wear masks, survey shows
Metro-east residents are ready to go back to shopping and dining out, but would be more comfortable if employees at shops and restaurants wear masks and gloves, according to a survey by Alton Main Street, Riverbend Growth Association and the Great Rivers & Routes Tourism Bureau.
The survey organizers did not verify where the respondents lived, but was distributed through local email lists and social media groups.
Nearly 40% of the survey’s 2,300 respondents said they will be ready to immediately begin shopping and dining out when Illinois moves into phase three of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s reopening plan at the end of May.
But 46% of respondents said they would be “much more likely” to shop or dine at a business where the employees wear face masks, and 51.5% said they would strongly prefer going to a business with strict capacity limits.
People also preferred the idea of eating and shopping outside, with 51.5% saying they would be more likely to visit a business if they had outdoor options.
Curbside pickup will likely continue to be a popular option, with 68% of respondents saying they would prefer to continue ordering for pickup or delivery in the months after businesses begin to reopen.
St. Clair County distributed more than 66k units of PPE
St. Clair County has distributed more than 66,500 units of personal protective equipment, or PPE, to first responders since the coronavirus pandemic began, according to board Chairman Mark Kern.
The equipment includes more than 11,300 N-95 masks, 1,600 bottles of hand sanitizer, nearly 500 boxes of gloves and more than 1,700 gowns. The PPE was distributed to police, fire, paramedics, hospitals, nursing homes, dental offices and funeral homes.
The supplies came from the state and PPE obtained by the county itself.
COVID-19 surpasses overdose deaths in Madison County
Madison County Coroner Stephen Nonn said deaths from coronavirus have surpassed fatalities from drug overdoses in the county.
Since the beginning of the year, 43 people have died from substance abuse, while 47 people have died from the COVID-19 virus since just April 15 in Madison County. The number of coronavirus deaths could have been worse, Nonn said.
“Fortunately, the mortality models have not played out the worst-case scenario”, Nonn said in a news release. “But still, families are experiencing loss all the same and their grief is compounded by restrictions on the funeral industry that the family must endure when they want to say their final goodbye to their loved one.”
Because coronavirus deaths normally occur in a hospital, the doctor declares the cause of death, not the coroner. But the coroner’s office still assists the county Department of Public Health in evaluating a deceased person for signs of COVID-19, Nonn said, using testing swaps when necessary.
Edwardsville Community, Catholic Charities the recipients
Two metro-east charitable foundations have received $175,000 in grants from the Illinois COVID-19 Response Fund, which raises money and distributes it to nonprofit organizations that serve people and communities hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
Edwardsville Community Foundation received $100,000 and Catholic Charities of Southern Illinois, an arm of the Catholic Diocese of Belleville, received $75,000, according to a news release Thursday.
The Illinois COVID-19 Response Fund was established by United Way of Illinois and the Alliance of Illinois Community Foundations, in cooperation with Gov. J.B. Pritzker. It’s chaired by Penny Pritzker, former U.S. Secretary of Commerce under President Barak Obama, founding chairman of the Chicago investment firm PSP Partners and the governor’s sister.
The fund has received more than $30.5 million from 2,800 donors since March 26 and so far has distributed $16.7 million to 62 nonprofit organizations, which in turn have re-granted it to 800 more, the release stated. In its third and latest round of distributions, nearly $6.3 million went to 31 organizations.
“This is an all hands on deck effort to help our most vulnerable fellow Illinoisans at this time of such great need,” Penny Pritzker stated. “We are so grateful to the thousands of individuals and organizations who have stepped up to provide critical services and support for people in every part of Illinois.”
In the latest round of distributions, the fund used a data-driven process to identify counties hit hardest by the pandemic from a health and economic standpoint, the release stated. It considered unemployment figures, number of coronavirus cases, percentage of vulnerable populations and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Social Vulnerability Index.
Chestnut to help homeless during pandemic
Chestnut Health Systems will use a $150,000 grant to help homeless people in Madison, St. Clair and McLean counties during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a news release.
The nonprofit agency specializes in mental-health counseling and addiction treatment with locations in Belleville, Collinsville, Maryville and Granite City. It received the grant from MeridianHealth, a company that contracts with the state of Illinois to provide managed care for Medicaid and Medicare clients.
MeridianHealth awarded grants to four agencies for a total of $500,000. According to the release, Chestnut will use the money to:
- Enable clients to be served virtually and from a safe distance by buying laptop computers, cell phones and other technology for its large clinical work force.
- Cover additional costs for support, supervision and food to enable residents to stay in Chestnut owned or operated apartments and to have continued access to 24-hour support.
- Enable increased staff presence at food drop-offs, homeless shelters and school drop-off and pick-up sites to do clinical outreach and assessment and to provide linkage to counseling resources.
- Buy and donate essential products for homeless women and children through the Girls Club in Madison County.
- Donate essential products such as food, toiletries, thermometers and hand sanitizer to homeless shelters.
- Provide emergency financial assistance for Chestnut patients to pay for housing, food and utilities.
“People experiencing housing insecurity or homelessness lack protection from the environment, access to proper hygiene and connections to critical primary health and behavioral health care,” CEO David A. Sharar stated in the release.
“Combined with community spread of COVID-19 and a higher likelihood of underlying health issues, these factors mean a greater risk for this population of contracting the virus. Meridian is a valued partner in Chestnut’s mission to deliver quality primary health and behavioral health care to all who need it.”
Southwestern Illinois coronavirus cases
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the metro-east has had 2,125 cases and 153 coronavirus-related deaths.
Here are the statistics for southwestern Illinois counties as of Thursday:
- St. Clair County: 961 positives, 73 deaths, 53 hospitalizations, 548 recoveries, 5,402 tests administered, 53 tests pending.
- Madison County: 512 positives, 47 deaths, 98 hospitalizations, 271 recoveries.
Randolph County: 256 positives, three deaths, four hospitalizations, 1,402 tests administered, 207 recoveries.
- Clinton County: 172 positives, 16 deaths, six hospitalizations, 874 tests administered, 74 recoveries.
- Monroe County: 91 positives, 11 deaths, 8 hospitalizations, 33 recoveries.
Macoupin County: 42 positives, one death, two hospitalizations, 2,310 tests administered, 28 recoveries, 157 tests pending.
Perry County: 40 positives, 29 recoveries.
- Jersey County: 20 positives, one death, 16 recoveries.
- Washington County: 18 positives, 15 recoveries.
- Bond County: 12 positives, one death, one hospitalization, 214 tests administered, six recoveries, one test pending.
- Calhoun County: One positive, one recovery.
State, nation, world coronavirus cases
The Illinois Department of Public Health announced 2,268 new positive COVID-19 cases on Thursday and reported that 87 more people had died. The statewide number of positive cases is 102,686 and the death toll is 4,607.
According to data from John Hopkins University & Medicine Coronavirus Resource Center, this is how many people have been affected by COVID-19 across the nation and world as of 7:30 p.m. Thursday:
- United States: 1,562,714 people tested positive; 294,312 people recovered; nearly 95,000 people have died.
- World: 5,047,377 people tested positive; 1,924,231 people recovered; 329,816 people died.
Want to help? Here are some ideas
The BND has compiled a list of ways you can help during the COVID-19 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 throughout the day with information about the spread of the coronavirus in southwestern Illinois.
You can also find the most complete and up-to-date information from government sites including:
- State of Illinois’ COVID-19 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
Who to call about mental health
Here are some resources from mental health professionals for anyone struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic:
- Touchette Regional Hospital’s Mental Health Support and Resource Line: Call 618-482-7158 to talk to trained therapy staff.
- Illinois Human Services Mental Health Division’s Call4Calm: Text the word “talk” to 552020 to text with a mental health care professional for free.
- Centerstone of Illinois, Inc.: Call 618-462-2331 for virtual mental health services.
- Chestnut Health Systems: Call 618-877-4420 for virtual mental health services.
- Narcotics and Alcoholics Anonymous: Call 618-398-9409 or email metroeastnapr@gmail.com to learn about virtual meetings.
- Regional Disaster Mental Health Volunteer Response Team: Call a support line for health care professionals at 618-381-5173.
Contact BND with tips, concerns, suggestions
If you have suggestions about something for the BND to cover regarding the COVID-19 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.
We’d like to hear from health-care workers
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.
Willing to share your COVID-19 story?
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 22, 2020 at 12:00 AM.
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