COVID-19 roundup
Sunday, Mar 29, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Cook County Sheriff press release…
As of 5 p.m. on 03/28/2020 , a total of 190 detainees in DOC custody have been tested for COVID-19.
Of those:
89 detainees have tested positive.
9 detainees have tested negative.
92 detainees have pending test results.
Additionally, 12 Sheriff’s Office staff have tested positive.
Cermak Health Services staff are closely monitoring the detainees on the living units where these individuals were housed and will test any detainees who are symptomatic.
Man, that’s horrible.
IDOC is reporting 10 staff and 11 incarcerated people have tested positive, with 86 pending results. IDOC is releasing pregnant women as a precaution.
* Kankakee Daily Journal…
Kankakee County officials reported Friday that six of the 20 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the county were from a long-term care facility.
The Daily Journal learned those six cases came from Shapiro Developmental Center in Kankakee. Three are residents at the facility.
* On to schools. Here’s the Center Square…
Illinois schools won’t have to make up days missed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but will have to implement remote learning starting Tuesday, the Illinois State Board of Education announced.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker closed public and private schools statewide from March 17 through at least April 7. Through Monday, those days were declared “act of God” days. Starting Tuesday, schools will be required to use remote learning.
Remote learning days “count toward the minimum length of the school year and absolutely do not need to be made up,” according to a news release from the Illinois State Board of Education. […]
The State Board of Education’s Remote Learning Recommendations “strongly encourage that school districts’ local grading policies during Remote Learning Days embrace the principle of ‘no educational harm to any child’ and that school districts adopt grading models of pass or incomplete,” according to a news release.
In addition, Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s signed an executive order that suspended all state assessment testing for the spring.
* Empty…
* More stories…
* Why the Second Wave of the 1918 Spanish Flu Was So Deadly: The first strain of the Spanish flu wasn’t particularly deadly. Then it came back in the fall with a vengeance.
* Relief package billions can’t buy hospitals out of shortages due to coronavirus: The problem isn’t a lack of money, experts say. It’s that there’s not enough of those supplies available to buy.
* The U.S. Tried to Build a New Fleet of Ventilators. The Mission Failed.
* Pentagon eyes Chicago, Michigan, Florida, Louisiana as coronavirus spreads
* Reports of prescribers stocking up on drugs for family: The Executive Director of Illinois Pharmacists Association says they’ve gotten reports from members and pharmacies that prescribers were calling in the prescriptions in large amounts for themselves, immediate family, or people close to them, and rarely for their patients who need them.
* Critical Medical Supplies Are Stuck in China With No Planes to Ship Them
* Community health centers face shutdowns as the coronavirus drives patients, funding away
* Telemedicine helps system absorb caseload while fighting coronavirus
* Coronavirus crisis hurting Census outreach for Latinos
* Madison County political parties gear up for November elections: “You can’t go to large gatherings of people because there are no gatherings, and nobody wants you to come knocking at their door.”
* Coronavirus relief plan gives Cook County reprieve on food stamps
* Coronavirus concerns imperil Illinois’ equine industry: “As this goes on, two weeks, three weeks, we could be OK,” said Tony Somone of the Illinois Harness Horsemen’s Association. “But as it hits four weeks, five weeks, six weeks, we’re going to see some horsemen struggle to feed themselves and feed their horses.”
* Grocery stores advised to prohibit use of reusable bags during coronavirus pandemic
* Southern Illinois hospitals establish guidelines for community donations of protective equipment
* Coronavirus closings hit some employers hard, others not so much
* Rockford eyes $750 fines to enforce order to close
* Finke: Pritzker gets help delivering his message
* Churches are adapting to new normal caused by coronavirus outbreak
* For hotels, staying open requires constant attention, upbeat approach
* From whiskey to hand sanitizer: Vandalia distillery making sanitizer for emergency workers
* First COVID-19 case in Fayette County prompts disaster proclamation
* Pritzker pushes back cannabis license application deadline
* Facts Matter: Ice cream won’t make you vulnerable to COVID-19
* Florida governor blocks Miami Herald, Tampa Bay Times from coronavirus press conference
Read more here: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article241591161.html#storylink=cpy
* Cuomo To National Guard: ‘This Is A Rescue Mission’
