* Unlike the cancellation of the International Housewares Association event (56,000 people) this is a somewhat smallish event (5,500 attendees), but it’s the second convention cancellation in a few days and is therefore a worrisome development. Crain’s…

Software giant Oracle today announced it will shift an upcoming conference scheduled at McCormick Place to an online-only format amid coronavirus concerns, becoming the second event this week to cancel its trip to the Near South Side convention because of the outbreak.

“Due to increasing concerns about the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, and to help protect the health and safety of our customers, employees, partners, and everyone who helps host the event, Oracle is postponing the in-person component of our upcoming Oracle Modern Business Experience conference,” the Bay Area-based company said on its website. The conference had been slated for later this month. […]

The cancellations deal a blow to the convention center and the many hotels and businesses that thrive on its event visitors. Tourism bureau Choose Chicago estimated the nine major events scheduled there over the next 90 days would account for more than $460 million of spending.

…Adding… Good news…

The National School Boards Association (NSBA) is closely monitoring the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation as it relates to the upcoming NSBA Annual Conference in Chicago on April 4-6.

We want to assure conference participants and attendees that your health and safety are of utmost concern and our top priority. We are in close communication with Choose Chicago (the Chicago Convention and Visitor Bureau) and McCormick Place authorities. In addition, we are seeking guidance from the local health, public safety, and transportation authorities to make sure that appropriate disease prevention, monitoring, and response protocols are in place for the conference.

Based on the information currently available, NSBA’s current plan is to proceed with the conference as scheduled. We look forward to seeing you in Chicago.

* Meanwhile…

Public health leaders in the state are getting ready to make their way to Washington D.C. They will update Congress about the local impact of COVID-19 (coronavirus). Before heading there, the director of the state’s department of public health updated state lawmakers about the need for more resources to continue fighting the virus.

“The risks to the Illinois public still remains low but we still want people to pay attention to what’s going on around the world and to prepare,” said Dr. Ngozi Ezike, Illinois Department of Public Health director.

Dr. Ezike said the state will need more testing supplies to combat the novel coronavirus. “We are using them daily, I know at last count was about 2,200 so we are requesting for the CDC to send additional reagents so that when this runs out, there won’t be any pause and we will continue to test.” […]

Ezike said the agency is considering drive-thru style testing where people can pull up and be tested in their cars, eliminating the risk of spreading the virus. For now, new labs in Springfield and Carbondale are open in addition to the original testing lab in Chicago.

While 22 people in Illinois are awaiting test results, Ezike said 116 people have been tested for the virus in total. Only four people have been diagnosed with the illness, no one has died of the aliment in Illinois yet.

* Greg Hinz…

A state and city that have had trouble paying their bills even in good times are facing a potentially budget body blow as the coronavirus begins to infect the local economy.

Fiscal experts and some officials are warning that a region that serves as a logistics and meetings center and as a major international exporter is particularly vulnerable to disruption from the spreading virus. That means less tax receipts at a time when government needs more. […]

“We don’t have any reserves. We don’t have any unrestricted funds that are being held in abeyance,” either at the state or city level, warns Laurence Msall, president of the watchdog Civic Federation.

“It is reasonable to forecast tens of millions of dollars of revenue impact for the city and hundreds of millions for the state, depending on how long a possible recession continues,” he added. Both state and city officials should be doing the same thing now, in his view: “They should be refreshing their Plans B and preparing alternatives.”

* Roundup…

* Man hospitalized in Arlington Heights with coronavirus had not traveled abroad recently

* Coronavirus fears cause Illinois college to cancel basketball games: The Chicago State University men’s basketball team will not travel for two regularly scheduled Western Athletic Conference games this week, and its women’s team will not host two games, the school said late Tuesday, citing the spread of the coronavirus.

* Northwestern University cancels all international spring break trips amid coronavirus fears

* Feder: 4 ABC 7 employees stay away from work fearing possible exposure to coronavirus - According to media reporter Robert Feder on Tuesday, precautions were taken after an interview with a food service worker at Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights, where a coronavirus patient is being treated.

* Chicago To Deliver More Cleaning Supplies To Schools Amid Coronavirus Concerns

* Archdiocese of Chicago Issues Coronavirus Protocols For Parishes

* Stocks sink after Fed chief’s virus warning

* Worst of coronavirus is yet to come for U.S. factories - Unlike retailers or airlines that feel the immediate hit of missed lattes and canceled flights, the supply-chain pain wrought by the coronavirus takes more time to manifest.

* Coronavirus shakes hotel industry—including Hyatt - The Chicago-based hotel operator said new corporate travel restrictions in North America and Europe would hurt results and make it difficult to forecast the rest of the year.

* Kendall County Health Department chief provides update on coronavirus spread: Dr. Amaal Tokars, executive director for the Kendall County Health Department, said during the Tuesday, March 3 County Board meeting that health officials have been working with community members as the spread of the coronavirus continues. She said local health officials aren’t aware of any cases in the county currently. “And I say those words very carefully,” Tokars said. “We don’t know of a case, because you can see cases coming up in the country where people don’t know where those originated from.”