* Politico…

Hospitals in New York City are running out of dialysis fluids as thousands of coronavirus patients develop kidney failure, an unexpected development that could presage the next critical supply shortage nationwide.

Approximately 20 percent of coronavirus patients in intensive care around the city need the kidney treatment, often for weeks, a development that many providers did not see coming. FEMA held a call Monday with FDA and CMS to discuss the possibility of issuing emergency use authorizations to import more dialysis fluids, according to a document obtained by POLITICO.

But shortages are already testing hospitals in New York, where more than 202,000 people have become infected and almost 11,000 have died. The same day that federal regulators met, major New York hospital systems convened to discuss the emerging dialysis crisis. Some are struggling with dire shortfalls of dialysis fluids and trained nursing staff, and have reached out directly to manufacturers for help, according to two people on the call.

* I asked the Illinois Kidney Care Alliance’s spokesperson if that was happening in Illinois…

Some of our coalition members have been involved in the response to the increased need for renal replacement therapy, which has put pressure on many hospitals in New York and elsewhere.

In New York and New Jersey, patient numbers requiring renal therapy are five or more times normal volumes. We have not yet seen this phenomenon in Illinois, but that doesn’t mean we won’t. Illinois already has more than 30,000 patients with serious kidney disease, and a sharp increase in demand for equipment, supplies, solutions and nursing support could bring unprecedented challenges. But our coalition members stand ready to bring our experiences and lessons learned in New York to assist in the crisis response in Illinois.

* A shortage does exist here for this drug, however…

As hydroxychloroquine has been touted as a possible treatment for COVID-19, patients with autoimmune diseases such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis have struggled to fill the prescriptions they rely on to keep their condition manageable. The Food and Drug Administration reported March 31 there is a shortage of the drug.

A French study of 36 COVID-19 patients last month found those given HCQ and an antibiotic saw a reduction in their viral load — results President Donald Trump has highlighted. Other studies have found mixed results for HCQ’s ability to treat or prevent COVID-19, and a larger French study this week found the drug didn’t have a significant effect on the disease.

Dr. Rosalind Ramsey-Goldman, a professor of rheumatology at Northwestern, says hydroxychloroquine is an essential medicine for lupus patients.

Sold under the brand name Plaquenil, HCQ helps treat symptoms such as fatigue and joint pain, lessen flares and prevent organ damage. And HCQ has fewer side effects than other drugs lupus patients take, Ramsey-Goldman said.

* Man, this company. Ugh…

Three Smithfield Food employees have tested positive for COVID-19, prompting extra precautions at the meat-processing plant, according to the Warren County Health Department.

The department said Friday it is conducting “extensive contact tracing” regarding the employees, one of whom lives in Warren County while the other two live in Rock Island County. The department did not describe their health status. […]

A Smithfield Foods plant in South Dakota has been shut down since last week. Thursday, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention staff toured the Sioux Falls plant, three weeks after the first COVID-19 case involving a Smithfield employee was determined on March 24. The CDC team is assessing conditions and developing an action plan needed to safely reopen the hog harvesting facility.

* On to the Tribune’s live blog…

Layoffs, furloughs, pay cuts begin as architects see building slow and fear worse is ahead

Chicago alderman proposes benefits fund for essential city workers who die in a disaster, such as coronavirus pandemic

Man charged with attacking nurse on CTA bus after accusing her of coughing on him

Third Chicago police officer dies after contracting COVID-19

COVID-19 outbreak at Lincoln Park nursing home leaves 4 dead, 10 others sickened as workers run low on protective gowns, other supplies

With CPS report cards due, some teachers decry plans to grade students during shutdown

Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Illinois is expanding testing to include anyone with symptoms, as officials announced the state death toll has topped 1,000.

* Sun-Times live blog…

McCormick Place field hospital now accepting COVID-19 patients

Antiviral drug being tested at UChicago Medicine shows promise against COVID-19

COVID-19 SBA loan funds exhausted: At Devon Bank, ‘applications with no place to go’

Chicago COVID-19 survivors share their stories

‘I feel like I lost the battle for my husband,’ widow of dead Cook County Jail detainee says

Chicago police announced Thursday 49 more confirmed cases of COVID-19, raising the total number of cases in the department to 288. Of the cases, 276 are officers and 12 are civilian employees, Chicago police said.

* Roundup…

* COVID-19 patients may be most contagious one to two days before symptoms appear, study finds

* Here are the drugs that could treat coronavirus. But don’t expect a magic bullet.

* With the coronavirus, the right action looks like an overreaction as it’s happening.

* K-12 schools in Iowa won’t resume classes this year

* 17 cases of COVID-19 reported at Riverside’s Miller Healthcare

* Pandemic-related restrictions prompting changes in coffin choices, funeral services

* Don Welge, president of Gilster-Mary Lee, died Thursday of COVID-19 complications