Wednesday live coronavirus updates: Fairmont Park Police warn of virus outbreak
Fairmont City warns of COVID-19 outbreak, stresses social distancing
Fairmont City Police are urging residents practice social distancing in response to a recent outbreak of COVID-19 in the community.
In a Facebook post, police urged residents to help flatten the curve by social distancing and warned that police would be breaking up any large gatherings that violate Gov. J.B. Pritzkers stay at home order. The department also said village parks will remain closed until further notice.
“We can’t emphasize enough the message related to doing your part by social distancing and helping our nation and world by slowing this pandemic. But while we all need to come together and be strong, we also need to be understanding and flexible,” the post read.
Hofbräuhaus to reopen this week, after closing due to COVID-19.
Belleville’s Hofbräuhaus is set to reopen this week, after closing in March due to COVID-19.
The German restaurant and Biergarten will reopen at 4 p.m. Friday, offering seating carryout service with new restrictions to comply with state and local guidelines.
The new rules include temporary hours of operations from 4 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and six-person party limits.
New sanitation procedures also will be followed by restaurant staff and menus and condiments will all be single use.
New management took over operations at Hofbräuhaus in December after the restaurant had to close last fall due to unpaid sales taxes. When the restaurant closed, it also owed $21.7 million to a bank in Missouri.
New IL will give out millions to help people, businesses hurt by COVID crisis
Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Illinois’ new Emergency Rental Assistance Program, Emergency Mortgage Program and Business Interruption Grants Program at a press briefing Wednesday.
The three programs are hoped to aid those most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic through grant funding. The Emergency Rental Assistance and Mortgage programs each have been allotted $150 million in funding that will go toward grants to help families avoid eviction or losing their homes.
The two programs will launch in August and will offer $5,000 grants to 30,000 Illinois renters who are struggling to pay rent due to the virus and $10,000 grants to up to 15,000 mortgage payers in the same fiscal situation.
During his announcement, Pritzker also announced the state’s eviction ban will be extended until July 21 in order to ensure a “smooth transition” for those who need the programs.
Pritzker said the Business Interruption Grants program was also an important part of the state’s rebuilding effort. He said the program is a way for the state to help small businesses “get back on their feet.”
Nearly $270 million in grants will be awarded to small businesses who have struggled due to COVID-19 with special funding going toward businesses with specific hardships. Pritzker said small businesses will be able to submit their applications beginning on Monday for businesses that have been heavily restricted or shut down due to COVID-19.
Accuracy still unknown for many coronavirus tests rushed out
WASHINGTON (AP) — How accurate are the coronavirus tests used in the U.S.?
Months into the outbreak, no one really knows how well many of the screening tests work, and experts at top medical centers say it is time to do the studies to find out.
When the new virus began spreading, the Food and Drug Administration used its emergency powers to OK scores of quickly devised tests, based mainly on a small number of lab studies showing they could successfully detect the virus.
That’s very different from the large patient studies that can take weeks or months, which experts say are needed to provide a true sense of testing accuracy.
The FDA’s speedy response came after it was initially criticized for delaying the launch of new tests during a crisis and after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stumbled in getting its own test out to states.
But with the U.S. outbreak nearly certain to stretch on for months or even years, some experts want the FDA to demand better evidence of the tests’ accuracy so doctors know how many infections might be missed.
There have been more than 2 million confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. and more than 115,000 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Cases in nearly half of U.S. states are rising.
In recent weeks, preliminary findings have flagged potential problems with some COVID-19 tests, including one used daily at the White House. Faulty tests could leave many thousands of Americans with the incorrect assumption that they are virus-free, contributing to new flare-ups of the disease as communities reopen.
“In the beginning, the FDA was under a lot of pressure to get these tests onto the marketplace,” said Dr. Steven Woloshin of Dartmouth College, who wrote about the issue in the New England Journal of Medicine last week. “But now that there are plenty of tests out there, it’s time for them to raise the bar.”
Southwestern Illinois coronavirus cases
Here are the latest available statistics from southwestern Illinois health departments as of Wednesday afternoon:
- St. Clair: 1,698 positives, 130 deaths, 11,765 tests administered, 36 pending results recovery, 1,232 recoveries, 40 hospitalizations
- Madison: 752 positives, 66 deaths, 10,537 tests administered, 467 recoveries
- Randolph: 279 positives, seven deaths, 2,539 tests administered, no hospitalizations, 270 recoveries
- Clinton: 214 positives, 17 deaths, two hospitalizations, 160 recoveries
- Monroe: 113 positives, 12 deaths
- Macoupin: 47 positives, four deaths, 3,804 tests administered, 42 recoveries, no hospitalizations, no tests pending
- Perry: 44 positives, 40 recoveries
- Jersey: 29 positives, one death, 22 recoveries
- Washington: 20 positives, 18 recoveries
- Bond: 19 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 Wednesday:
- Illinois: 134,185 cases, 6,485 deaths
- U.S.: 2,224,814 cases, 119,625 deaths, 904,182 recoveries
- World: 8,345,995 cases, 448,719 deaths, 4,364,062 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 17, 2020 at 8:37 AM with the headline "Wednesday live coronavirus updates: Fairmont Park Police warn of virus outbreak."