COVID-19 roundup
Monday, Sep 27, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Mark Maxwell…
All hospitals and health care facilities in Illinois must begin keeping records that monitor vaccination status and Coronavirus test results for all of their staff, according to a new emergency rule issued by the state on Friday.
The Illinois Department of Public Health quietly filed the emergency rules with the Secretary of State’s office at the close of the first week under Governor Pritzker’s new vaccine mandate for health care workers. Pritzker’s mandate would require all workers at health care facilities and schools to be fully vaccinated or submit to weekly testing. The new reporting and record-keeping rules apply to hospitals, assisted living centers, skilled nursing facilities, sheltered care facilities, veterans homes, and a variety of other health care facilities licensed with the state, and go into effect immediately.
“Each establishment shall maintain a record of fully vaccinated staff, unvaccinated staff, and weekly testing,” the rules say, though they offer no specific instructions on how facilities should report that information to the state.
“The emergency rule is silent on how they are going to collect,” Danny Chun with the Illinois Health and Hospital Association said in a phone call on Monday. “You can’t just turn on a light switch and start a new reporting system ‘effective immediately.’”
The new emergency rules don’t appear to allow any room for unvaccinated health care workers to decline a Coronavirus test.
“Staff who are not fully vaccinated may be permitted to enter or work at the establishment while they are waiting to receive the results of their weekly test,” the rules say. Otherwise, the state rules mandate that any workers who refuse the vaccine for religious or medical reasons “shall undergo the testing requirements.”
The Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act says, “It is the public policy of the State of Illinois to respect and protect the right of conscience of all persons who refuse to obtain, receive or accept…health care services and medical care…and to prohibit all forms of discrimination, disqualification, coercion, disability or imposition of liability upon such persons or entities by reason of their refusing to act contrary to their conscience or conscientious convictions in providing, paying for, or refusing to obtain, receive, accept, deliver, pay for, or arrange for the payment of health care services and medical care.”
* Getting slightly better…
Also, 65.92 percent of eligible Illinois voters are now fully vaccinated.
* Daily Herald…
A Kane County judge has denied a request for a temporary restraining order in a case filed by four employees from St. Charles Unit District 303 and Geneva Unit District 304 who are challenging COVID-19 vaccination and testing requirements.
District 303 teachers Nicole Cournaya and Jeffrey Otterby; a District 303 administrative assistant, Christine White; and a District 304 bus driver instructor, Terry Todd, are seeking an injunction. They want a judge to prevent their employers from enforcing an order from Gov. J.B. Pritzker banning school workers from buildings if they are unvaccinated against COVID-19 and refuse to be tested weekly.
* Daily Herald…
Park Ridge parents who were forced to pull their three children from school because the kids hadn’t quarantined after a trip abroad are suing over the matter.
Lucas and Daniela Fuksa filed a petition for relief and for an injunction against Park Ridge-Niles School District 64 and Superintendent Eric Olson on Monday in Cook County circuit court. […]
“The district and Defendant Olson have infringed upon the lawful right of the Children and their Parents to be free to choose for themselves what health and safety measures they feel are appropriate for the Children,” the petition states.
* Speaking of lawsuits, Tom DeVore’s Facebook page is now visible again. Videos are not available, however, unless maybe if you’re one of his FB friends. Remember that live video urging his followers to “Bring this state to its knees”? This is what happens when you click on the link…
* Good points…
As COVID rights lawyer Tom DeVore shuts down his Facebook account because he, “needs a break” from all the messages, my…
Posted by Marc Ayers on Friday, September 24, 2021
* Another good point…
* WICS…
More than a dozen Illinois schools and districts are still not requiring face coverings, even though they risk losing funding and state recognition. […]
Four are public school districts and nine are private schools. […]
The public districts are all in or near Central Illinois–Nauvoo-Colusa CUSD 325, Cowden-Herrick CUSD 3A, Beecher City CUSD 20, and Hutsonville CUSD 1. […]
The [Beecher City] school board voted to hire attorney Tom DeVore and the Silver Lake Group to represent them on any legal issues regarding the mask mandate, but it’s unclear if any lawsuits have been filed.
* More…
* Biden receives coronavirus booster shot on camera
* Heavy drinking on the rise amid pandemic-related stress, new survey reveals
* FBI: Killings soared nearly 30 percent in 2020, with more slayings caused by guns
* Chicago Public Schools Enrollment Nosedives Again: Chicago Public Schools enrollment is down by at least 10,000 students this fall. It has dropped by more than 24,000 since the pandemic began.
- OneMan - Monday, Sep 27, 21 @ 1:48 pm:
“ “The district and Defendant Olson have infringed upon the lawful right of the Children and their Parents to be free to choose for themselves what health and safety measures they feel are appropriate for the Children”
Yep totally, but not what is appropriate for the health and safety of other children. This isn’t hard. If you think it is ok to let your kid have a bear as a pet it’s one thing (stupid but one thing) letting them bring it to school is something else.
- Ducky LaMoore - Monday, Sep 27, 21 @ 1:53 pm:
“the lawful right of the Children and their Parents to be free to choose for themselves what health and safety measures they feel are appropriate for the Children”
Another example of the “Defund DCFS” movement.
- Sir Reel - Monday, Sep 27, 21 @ 1:54 pm:
I don’t get it. No one is infringing on anyone’s rights regarding health care. You can still do whatever.
You just can’t go to school or work there without vaccination or tests.
Using their line of reasoning, I can drive a school bus without a bus driver’s license, because it’s against my “principles” and the district can’t fire me.
- Larry Bowa Jr. - Monday, Sep 27, 21 @ 1:58 pm:
Lucas Fuksa didn’t do a great job persuading anyone with his incoherent ranting and raving at the District 64 school board meeting last week, which is available for viewing on the board’s web site. Hopefully he spends for someone competent to lose this case on his behalf, because if he’s representing himself the judge isn’t even going to be able to comprehend the “argument.”
- Jocko - Monday, Sep 27, 21 @ 2:13 pm:
==choose for themselves what health and safety measures they feel are appropriate for the Children==
Jeez, pretty soon those fascist teachers will be asking that kids be bathed and clothed. So what if little Billy is jetlagged? We just got out of long-term parking at O’Hare Terminal 5. /S
- Demoralized - Monday, Sep 27, 21 @ 2:20 pm:
==Parents to be free to choose for themselves what health and safety measures they feel are appropriate for the Children==
What an utterly stupid thing to argue. If I’ve figured out one thing during this pandemic is that there are a lot of stupid people out there.
- ArchPundit - Monday, Sep 27, 21 @ 2:35 pm:
Fuksa’s position would mean that schools could no longer require a child be fever free for 24 hours before returning to the classroom (typical time though varies by district). He doesn’t seem to grasp that there are people other than him in this world.
- SWSider - Monday, Sep 27, 21 @ 2:55 pm:
Why central and not southern school districts? Maybe they feel more invulnerable than the harder hit regions?
- skutt - Monday, Sep 27, 21 @ 2:56 pm:
Does this mean I can send my kid to school with lice and pink-eye because I have the freedom to choose for myself what health and safety measures are appropriate for my children and I don’t think lice or pink-eye are that big of a deal? These people are ridiculous.
- illinifan - Monday, Sep 27, 21 @ 2:56 pm:
==choose for themselves what health and safety measures they feel are appropriate for the Children==this level of silliness falls into what DiSantis said in Florida, that children should not have to quarantine if asymptomatic and parents could send those children to school. At some point we have to stop listening to fools.
- It's all nanners - Monday, Sep 27, 21 @ 3:16 pm:
Other than collecting and monitoring the metric ton of new data that the emergency rules require…
Can’t vaccinated people still get and transmit covid? And “Staff who are not fully vaccinated may be permitted to work… while they are waiting to receive the results of their weekly test.” So, you potentially have an infected person exposing vulnerable patients until the test results are in… ummm, ok. Other than properly fitten n95s, I dont have a solution, but these emergency rules seem ill conceived. No practical way for DPH to monitor with any kind of effectiveness, and it doesn’t address the risk of vaccinated people infecting patients, or those waiting their test results infecting patients. I don’t have an answer, but this seems like throwing stuff at a wall just to see what sticks.
- Chicagonk - Monday, Sep 27, 21 @ 3:21 pm:
Quarantining after a trip made sense when covid wasn’t widespread. I always laugh when Chicago announces the latest state you need to quarantine from if you travel to.
- 62703 - Monday, Sep 27, 21 @ 3:25 pm:
- throwing stuff at a wall just to see what sticks. -
Yup, welcome to democrat land.
- H-W - Monday, Sep 27, 21 @ 3:44 pm:
@It’s all nanners
Your argument that people can still carry the virus is not sufficient for rejecting a need to determine who is and who is not vaccinated.
Those who are vaccinated are a lot less likely to become severely ill, and a lot less likely to die. Those who are vaccinated are also better able to fight the infection, and thus will be less likely to infect others since they will not carry the infection as long as unvaccinated people. The vaccinated are a better risk than the unvaccinated for a lot of reasons, even though they may still contract the virus and carry it (albeit for a shorter time period).
At the aggregate level, the more people vaccinated, the less likely all people are to get sick, the less likely all people are to become seriously ill, and the less likely all people are to die.
In addition, the fiscal costs associated with being unvaccinated should scare the heck out of any insurance providers covering the facilities and the schools.
While you suggest a problem still exists, it is reduced substantially. And with masks, it is further reduced. The solution you cannot find is for people to vaccinate, and wear masks.
- Ducky LaMoore - Monday, Sep 27, 21 @ 3:56 pm:
“Can’t vaccinated people still get and transmit covid?”
We aren’t trying to prevent Covid, we are trying to prevent unnecessary deaths and hospitalizations. Covid is here to stay no matter what we do.
- Travel Guy - Monday, Sep 27, 21 @ 3:59 pm:
That WICS story should read, “Beecher City School Board decides to light $100 bills on fire (by hiring Tom DeVore) to own the libs.”
- Southern - Monday, Sep 27, 21 @ 4:14 pm:
DeVore has a hearing Wednesday for a case involving Triad school district, in Madison County. Will be interesting to see what happens when he runs into a Dem judge in a county that isn’t heavily MAGA. Triad is not folding or caving in, like some districts have.
- ArchPundit - Monday, Sep 27, 21 @ 4:38 pm:
—Other than properly fitten n95s, I dont have a solution
I’m baffled this is still a discussion, but the evidence is very strong that even simple cloth masks are effective in reducing the spread of Covid-19. The virus is largely spread through water droplets that are expelled from talking and breathing. Those droplets then hang in the air. A mask, even one that is not medical grade, tends to stop the droplets from circulating by catching most of them. How does one not know this after 1 1/2 years?
- ArchPundit - Monday, Sep 27, 21 @ 4:40 pm:
===We aren’t trying to prevent Covid, we are trying to prevent unnecessary deaths and hospitalizations. Covid is here to stay no matter what we do.
No, we are trying to prevent Covid-19. While the vaccinated can still get it they are far less likely to get it than the unvaccinated. Get enough people vaccinated and it will go away. The problem is we are dealing with a refusal to be vaccinated by enough people that it is hard to reach that point.
- It's all nanners - Monday, Sep 27, 21 @ 5:04 pm:
I’m not questioning the effectiveness of vaccines,or masks. What I was (unsuccessfully) trying to point out was that the emergency rule for healthcare workers is going to 1)be close to impossible to monitor by DPH, and 2) workers who are infected may still be at work potentially infecting people until the results of their tests are in. I’m very aware of the efficacy of masks, which is why I pointed it out. And I specifically said n95 because the emergency rule is addressing health care worker scenarios.
- It's all nanners - Monday, Sep 27, 21 @ 5:09 pm:
My other point, which I also failed to convey, is that because vaccinated people can still get and transmit covid, why are they excluded from testing? And again, this is talking about health care workers who presumably are around extremely vulnerable patients.
- ArchPundit - Monday, Sep 27, 21 @ 7:59 pm:
===I’m not questioning the effectiveness of vaccines,or masks. W
Fair enough–sorry for jumping on you.
- WestBurbs - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 9:40 am:
Can anybody point me to the actual IDPH emergency rule? The links in Maxwell’s story go to the State website but I can’t seem to find the actual rule from which he pulls the quote “Each establishment shall maintain a record of fully vaccinated staff, unvaccinated staff, and weekly testing,”
- Peanut - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 12:51 pm:
I agree that the vaccinated need to be tested also.