* An overly hyped Sun-Times story…

Federal health officials say the COVID-19 risk level has fallen from “high” to “medium” in Chicago and suburban Cook County — but across Illinois, hospitals are admitting the most patients they’ve seen with the virus in almost five months.

And residents are still being urged to mask up when gathering indoors in more than two-thirds of counties statewide, including most of the Chicago area.

The latest troubling numbers were released Friday by the Illinois Department of Public Health, which reported 1,309 people hospitalized with the coronavirus, the most since Feb. 21, when the state was subsiding from its worst resurgence of the pandemic. At least 149 of the latest patients are receiving intensive care, the most since the first week of March.

Hospital admissions have more than doubled since mid-April, following a steady increase in cases since the early spring — a trend playing out in most other parts of the country, too.

* From about the middle of May until the end of June, hospitalizations ranged from 1,055 to 1,192. Then they dropped a bit, but rose to 1,309 on July 7. Today’s report is 1,252.

To put this into perspective, the all-time hospitalization high was 7,353 on January 10. The previous spike saw hospitalizations hit 6,175 on November 20, 2020. And yes, they went way down this year after the massive Omicron wave infected a kabillion people and more folks got their shots and boosters.

Tellingly, not a single expert was quoted to back up the paper’s hospitalization hype.

ICU usage is also still relatively low. The all-time high was 1,290 on April 28, 2020. Today, it’s 134.

* Remember, this was all an exercise in preventing our hospital system from being overrun. They’re not doing great (for lots of reasons), but they’re currently not being inundated and I’ve yet to see one expert warning that such a thing was imminent or even likely. We have vaccines. We have treatments. And lots of people have been previously infected (more than once). It’s always good to take care of yourselves and others. Use some common sense and don’t be an idiot.

But, if we ever do see a fast-spreading variant that evades vaccines as well as antibodies from prior infections and forces hospitalizations up in a scary way, it’s possible, even probable, that fewer people will believe the danger because of “Boy Who Cried ‘Wolf’” stories like that one.

…Adding… Again, people need to use common sense and continue to use caution in congregate settings…

The Illinois Veterans’ Home at Quincy is experiencing an increase in COVID-19 cases among its veterans and staff. Based on robust rapid testing and the support of the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) laboratories, in quick succession the Department identified 16 residents and 10 staff positive for COVID-19. Most of the positive residents are presenting with mild symptoms. However, in the last several days, four veterans were transported to the emergency department out of an abundance of caution. Two veterans remain hospitalized for conditions unrelated to COVID-19 symptoms.

All the residents who tested positive have been moved to the negative pressure isolation unit and are being closely monitored and cared for by dedicated Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs (IDVA) personnel. All positive residents have received at least two doses of the vaccine, and 11 of the 16 veterans are up to date with their boosters. A staff physician is assessing residents’ need for anti-viral post exposure medication. Quincy staff are in close communication with the families and loved ones of the residents in the isolation unit.

“Our top priority remains the health and safety of our military veterans and the dedicated IDVA staff who care for them,” said IDVA Director Terry Prince. “The Department continues to adhere to current regulations and is receiving assistance from the local health department and the IDPH. We are grateful to our team for remaining highly vigilant for signs or symptoms of COVID-19 and for responding swiftly, appropriately, and professionally to any potential cases.”

Protocols include continuing daily health screenings of our veterans, rapid COVID-19 testing of staff at shift change and regular testing of residents, use of N-95 respirator masks with eye protection, maintaining social-distancing practices, using gloves and gowns, and intensified cleaning and disinfection protocols. During an outbreak, residents are encouraged to stay in their rooms to minimize movement within the facility. IDPH and the Department’s Infection Control Specialist have been on site, working with the Quincy team to ensure staff compliance with our infection control directives, COVID testing, and care of our veterans.

Communal dining and activities have been curtailed in the affected areas until the outbreak ends. Activities and social services staff continue to provide leisure activities, in accordance with social distancing practices, to care for the psychosocial wellbeing of our veterans. Visitation is allowed to continue, per CDC guidelines however, families have been notified that we are in outbreak status and that rescheduling visitation should be considered.