Tuesday live coronavirus updates: Program can help you with utility bill
Need help with your utility bill? Check out this program
If you have trouble paying your utility bills because of the coronavirus pandemic, two agencies in St. Clair and Madison counties may be able to help you.
The St. Clair County Community Action Agency and Madison County Community Development will accept applications for assistance through June 30, according to an Ameren Illinois news release.
These agencies oversee the Illinois Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, also known as LIHEAP, a federally-funded program that provides utility bill payment assistance to families and individuals who meet income-eligibility guidelines.
The agencies received additional funding for assistance this year as part of the coronavirus aid program approved by Congress this year, the news release stated.
For more information about the LIHEAP application process in St. Clair County, call 618-257-9246.
In Madison County, call 618-296-5300.
Ameren said customers who do not meet income requirements for LIHEAP can call 800-755-5000 for information about “several alternative utility bill payment options designed to alleviate financial burdens during COVID-19.”
Chicago cancels Lollapalooza, Jazz Festival
The city of Chicago announced Tuesday that it would cancel all large festivals this summer, including Lollapalooza in Grant Park in an effort to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
The other events canceled include: Chicago SummerDance and Taste of Chicago in Grant Park; the Chicago Air and Water Show at North Avenue Beach; and Chicago Jazz Festival in Millennium Park.
“We must provide ways for people to enjoy the spirit of a Chicago summer while prioritizing health and safety,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in a news release. “As difficult as it is to remove these in-person events from our calendar, we are pulling out all the stops for an inventive, engaging and fun festival season this summer.”
WHO expert clarifies remarks on virus spread
By The Associated Press
A top World Health Organization expert has tried to clear up “misunderstandings” about comments she made that were widely understood to suggest that people without COVID-19 symptoms rarely transmit the coronavirus.
Maria Van Kerkhove, the U.N. health agency’s technical lead on the virus pandemic, insisted Tuesday that she was referring only to a few studies, not a complete picture, in the comments she made Monday.
Van Kerkhove’s remarks on Monday raised confusion and questions among outside experts and health officials who have recommended and in some places required that people wear masks to try to prevent the virus from spreading.
The “clarification” she provided during a WHO social-media chat showed many questions remain about whether infected people who don’t show symptoms of illness such as fever, dry cough or difficulty breathing can transmit the virus to others.
Van Kerkhove said: “What I was referring to yesterday were very few studies, some two or three studies that have been published, that actually try to follow asymptomatic cases.”
“That’s a very small subset of studies,” she continued. “I used the phrase ‘very rare,’ and I think that that’s (a) misunderstanding to state that asymptomatic transmission globally is very rare. What I was referring to was a subset of studies.”
Southwestern Illinois coronavirus cases
Here are the latest available statistics from southwestern Illinois health departments as of Tuesday afternoon:
- St. Clair: 1,490 positives, 112 deaths, 9,855 tests administered, 1,007 recoveries, 19 test results pending
- Madison: 652 positives, 65 deaths, 7,943 tests administered, 447 recoveries
- Randolph: 276 positives, six deaths, 1,993 tests administered, three hospitalizations, 266 recoveries
- Clinton: 196 positives, 17 deaths, two hospitalizations, 158 recoveries
- Monroe: 104 positives, 12 deaths
- Macoupin: 47 positives, three deaths, 2,890 tests administered, 41 recoveries, two hospitalizations, two tests pending
- Perry: 43 positives, 40 recoveries
- Jersey: 26 positives, one death, 22 recoveries
- Washington: 20 positives, 18 recoveries
- Bond: 12 positives, one death, one hospitalization, six recoveries, 214 tests administered, one test pending
- Calhoun: One positive, one recovery
State, nation, world statistics
Here are the latest available statistics from the Illinois Department of Public Health and Johns Hopkins University’s coronavirus map as of Tuesday:
- Illinois: 129,212 cases, 6,018 deaths
- U.S.: 1,968,221 cases, 111,194 deaths, 518,522 recoveries
- World: 7,172,874 cases, 408,244 deaths, 3,336,231 recoveries
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 June 9, 2020 at 2:38 PM.
