Friday’s coronavirus live updates: Shelter-in-place order, schools out until April 8
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Keep up with all the coronavirus news in southwestern Illinois
Stay updated with the events in southwestern Illinois that have been canceled or postponed because of coronavirus concerns.
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Here’s a roundup of coronavirus news on Friday. We will be frequently updating this story throughout the day.
Illinois governor issues ‘shelter-in-place’ order
Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued an order Friday telling all Illinois residents to shelter in place.
“My bedrock has been to rely upon science,” Pritzker said of his decision. “To avoid the loss of potentially tens of thousands of lives, we must enact an immediate stay-at-home order for the state of Illinois.”
The governor emphasized that residents will still be able to make essential trips such as going to the grocery store, gas station, doctor, hospital or pharmacy, and crucial workers will still be able to do their jobs.
For more on this order, go to BND.com.
Schools to remain closed until April 8
Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Friday Illinois schools would remain closed until April 8 to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
The governor originally ordered on March 13 that private and public schools would close from March 17 through March 30.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced schools in the city would remain closed until April 20, while the governor of Kansas said students wouldn’t return to class for the rest of the school year.
How many local, Illinois, national cases?
According to the latest available numbers from Friday, seven people in the metro-east have tested positive for coronavirus, between St. Clair, Madison and Clinton counties.
Nearby Washington, Jackson and Williamson counties each have one coronavirus case, according to Illinois officials.
There have been a total of 585 coronavirus cases in Illinois, including five deaths.
The state health department said the fifth person to die was identified as a Cook County woman in her 70s.
Across the U.S., there have been 15,219 cases and 201 deaths, according to statistics from Friday.
The World Health Organization announced Thursday that the number of confirmed cases worldwide is exceeding 200,000.
“It took over three months to reach the first (100,000) confirmed cases and only 12 days to reach the next 100,000,” the organization stated in a daily report released Thursday.
Third death reported in Missouri
A St. Louis County woman died from the new coronavirus, marking the third COVID-19-related death reported in Missouri, officials said Friday.
County Executive Sam Page, who made the announcement during a news conference Friday evening, said the woman was in her 60s. She “had multiple health complications” before she was diagnosed with COVID-19 earlier this week, he said. The patient died at the hospital.
Officials say it is unknown how the woman contracted the virus.
Southern Illinois is getting more coronavirus testing sites
Southern Illinois residents with coronavirus symptoms have at least three places they can go to get tested after they get a doctor’s referral — and more testing sites are coming.
SSM Health announced Thursday that it set up drive-thru testing sites in Mount Vernon and in Centralia. Memorial Hospital and the St. Clair County Health Department also have a drive-thru testing site in Swansea, which opened Thursday.
BJC HealthCare said it is planning to open more testing sites in the St. Louis region, including in the metro-east, in the coming weeks.
For more info about the testing sites, go to BND.com.
Tax deadline pushed back
The deadline to file taxes with the IRS will now be July 15, according to U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin.
“All taxpayers and businesses will have this additional time to file and make payments without interest or penalties,” Mnuchin said on Twitter.
Food pantry seeks donations
The Community Interfaith Food Pantry in Belleville is asking the public for help stabilizing its supplies as local residents stock up to wait out the coronavirus.
Donations of food and personal hygiene items help more than cash, said Executive Director Michael Foppe.
March of 2019 brought an average of 16 needy families a day to the pantry store, which is located at 1218 W. Main St., Belleville. That number bumped up to 19 a day earlier this week, then to 42 on Thursday.
For more information about donating or volunteering, call 618-355-9199, go to the group’s page on Facebook or its website at www.feedbelleville.org.
Southwest Airlines cancels flights at Midway
The Associated Press reported Friday that Southwest Airlines has canceled all of its fights in and out of Midway International Airport in Chicago, days after federal authorities closed the airport’s control tower after technicians tested positive for the coronavirus.
The decision resulted in over 173 flights canceled Friday, The AP reported. A date for a resumption of flights was not announced.
Funerals limiting number of guests
Metro-east funeral homes are limiting the number of mourners at visitations, funerals, memorials and graveside services and taking extra precautions with cleaning and sanitizing to help slow the spread of coronavirus.
“We’re keeping services private with immediate family members only,” said Jenna Renner Graser, a funeral director for George Renner & Sons Funeral Homes, which include locations in Belleville, Freeburg and Smithton.
“And the times are not being published for the public because we are working under (U.S. Centers for Disease Control) recommendations to limit gatherings to 10 people or less.”
Some families are choosing to delay memorials until after the coronavirus threat has subsided so more people can attend, said Charlie Kassly, owner of Kassly Mortuary in Fairview Heights.
Hospitals limit visitors
St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in O’Fallon is restricting the number of visitors allowed inside as coronavirus begins to spread through the community.
Only patients in obstetrics, hospice, surgery or the emergency room are allowed a single visitor. One parent or guardian will also be able to visit their children if the child is younger than 18 years old and receiving inpatient services in pediatrics.
The hospital is also making an exception for patients with outpatient procedures to have a visitor if they need help getting to their car, possibly in a wheelchair.
St. Elizabeth’s said the restriction on visitors takes effect Friday. People can continue to check in on their family and friends who are patients at the hospital by calling 618-234-2120.
Earlier this week, other hospitals announced similar restrictions on visitors, including Memorial hospitals in Belleville and Shiloh, Touchette Regional Hospital, Anderson Hospital, Barnes-Jewish Hospital and St. Louis Children’s Hospital.
Go to BND.com for more on this.
Missouri announces more COVID-19 cases
As of Friday, 47 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Missouri, according to officials.
St. Louis has three confirmed positive case and two presumptive positives, for a total of five. St. Louis County has seven cases confirmed and two that are presumptive positives, for a total of nine.
One person in Boone County has died from the COVID-19 respiratory illness.
Cleaning buses, MetroLink trains
MetroLink trains and buses are being disinfected with “COVID-19-approved treatments,” including fogging. They are also cleaned throughout the day at route turns and midday changes.
Trains and buses are pulled off the system to be disinfected “immediately” if someone on board shows symptoms, such as coughing, according to information St. Clair County Board Chairman Mark Kern received from MetroLink.
“I think it’s important to note that because many of us rely on public transportation in this time, so we want to keep that running, and we want to keep it running safely,” Kern said during a news conference Thursday.
For more information about how MetroLink is handling the coronavirus outbreak, go to BND.com.
Belleville restricts access to city offices
After Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced a shelter-in-place order Friday, Belleville Mayor Mark Eckert said that all Belleville city offices will remain closed to the public as previously announced.
However, essential city services will still be provided including police and fire protection, sanitation/trash pick-up and sewer services.
The city’s two libraries will remain closed through April 7.
Eckert said in a letter to residents on Friday that city parks will remain open for individual use but not for group activities. Also, he said the playgrounds are closed.
To pay sewer bills, residents may drop checks or money orders at the sewer payment drop boxes located in the second block of South First Street next to the County Parking Garage, and at the north entrance of City Hall at 101 S. Illinois St.. You can also call 618-233-6810 to pay over the phone or visit www.paymentservicenetwork.com/ to pay online.
All employees will work as regularly scheduled.
“Please be patient with our public services, first responders and public officials; this is a unique situation for us all, and we are often stuck between making a bad decision or worse decision,” Eckert said in a letter to Belleville residents earlier this week.
Cahokia suspends non-essential services
Cahokia Mayor Curtis McCall Jr. said that non-essential city services have been suspended.
The police department will remain in full operation and city finance staff will work a reduced daily schedule. Public works and the roads departments will be on duty only as needed.
All other city services will be closed but employees will continue to be paid, McCall said.
Residents who have urgent questions or concerns should call 618-332-4288.
Edwardsville seeks to help nonprofit groups
The city of Edwardsville is offering an initiative to assist community nonprofit organizations as they serve those in need throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
In an effort to streamline communication, minimize oversights and duplication of efforts, the Edwardsville YMCA, the Edwardsville Public Library and Main Street Community Center are working together to help connect the needs of nonprofit organizations with community resources. In the coming days, the coalition will reach out to nonprofits in the area and ask them to identify the needs and challenges they face in serving the community during this crisis.
The coalition will ask community groups, churches, service organizations and private citizens to identify the resources and specialized skills they and their volunteers possess that may assist other local organizations. Area nonprofits are encouraged to contact Natasha Howard at nhoward@edwymca.com.
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.
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
This story was originally published March 20, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
