Sunday live coronavirus updates: Officials urge residents to stay safe over holiday
White House bans travel to U.S. from Brazil
The White House has announced travel restrictions to the United States from Brazil to prevent spread of the coronavirus.
On Sunday, Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said that the ban applies to foreign nationals who have been in Brazil in the 14 days before they sought to travel to the United States, according to the Associated Press.
The report stated that Brazil is Latin America’s hardest-hit country.
President Donald Trump has already banned travel from the United Kingdom, Europe and China, all of which have been hit hard by the virus and warned of restricting travel from Brazil last week, the report stated.
Pritzker releases guidelines for businesses to reopen in Phase 3
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has released guidelines for businesses and workplaces to reopen in the state after the stay-at-home executive order set to expire on May 29, paving the way for an estimated 700,000 Illinoisans to return to work.
The guidelines came with a set of industry-specific toolkits, a news release from Pritzker’s office said Sunday. The guidelines and toolkits can be found online through the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity’s website at www2.illinois.gov/dceo/pages/restoreILP3.aspx.
Pritzker’s Restore Illinois Plan, announced May 5, includes five phases. Phase 3, or “Recovery,” of the plan includes the reopening of retail, offices, manufacturing, barbershops and salons, summer programs, various outdoor recreation activities and bars and restaurants for outdoor dining.
St. Clair County officials urge residents to stay safe over holiday
It might be a holiday weekend, but friends and families will still need to maintain social distancing and wear masks outside the home, St. Clair County officials reminded residents Saturday.
“There are people who are wanting to get out and celebrate the Memorial Day weekend,” Emergency Management Agency Director Herb Simmons said. “Here in the county, 79 families are without their loved ones. So, keep that in mind as you celebrate this holiday weekend.”
County Board Chairman Mark Kern urged residents to reach out to loved ones who may be having a difficult time.
“It’s these times when we all need to band together, be kind with each other and it’ll help us get through this,” Kern said.
UMSL will continue to waive fees for online classes
The University of Missouri-St. Louis announced Saturday it would continue to waive fees for online classes through the fall semester.
The decision is an effort to “help students and families as they manage the financial challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to a statement from the university.
The university had already waived online class fees for the summer semester.
“While the university is planning for a return to in-person classes for the fall, UMSL has increased its fully online and blended course offerings to give students the flexibility and meet student preferences for course formats,” the university’s statement read.
Southwestern Illinois coronavirus cases
A total of 2,269 people in southwestern Illinois have tested positive for COVID-19 and 169 people have died since the pandemic began, health officials reported Sunday.
Here are the statistics for southwestern Illinois counties as of Sunday:
- St. Clair County: 1,070 positives, 82 deaths, 53 hospitalizations, 682 recoveries, 6,105 tests administered, 74 tests pending
- Madison County: 535 positives, 54 deaths, 98 hospitalizations, 272 recoveries, 5,077 tests administered
- Randolph County: 262 positives, three deaths, three hospitalizations, 1,476 tests administered, 218 recoveries
- Clinton County: 176 positives, 16 deaths, six hospitalizations, 924 tests administered, 74 recoveries
- Monroe County: 93 positives, 11 deaths, 8 hospitalizations, 33 recoveries
- Washington County: 18 positives, 15 recoveries
- Bond County: 12 positives, one death, one hospitalization, six recoveries, 214 tests administered, one test pending
- Macoupin County: 42 positives, one death, three hospitalizations, 36 recoveries, 2,634 tests administered, 11 tests pending
- Perry County: 40 positives, 29 recoveries
- Jersey County: 20 positives, one death, 17 recoveries
- Calhoun County: One positive, one recovery
State, nation, world coronavirus cases
On Sunday, the Illinois Department of Public Health announced 2,508 more people have tested positive for COVID-19 and 67 more people have died statewide. Illinois has seen a total of 4,856 deaths across the state during the pandemic and a total of 110,304 people have been diagnosed with coronavirus.
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 4:45 p.m. Sunday:
- United States: 1,639,872 people tested positive; 361,239 people recovered; 97,599 people have died.
- World: 5,375,648 people tested positive; 2,149,412 people recovered; 343,721 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 24, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Sunday live coronavirus updates: Officials urge residents to stay safe over holiday."
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