* Press release…
* Rep. Darren Bailey’s remarks…
I’m a farmer about four hours south of here and a first term representative. And as a farmer, when things don’t work right you have to take a look at everything, try to determine what the problem is. And sometimes you’ve got to listen to the advice and and take other people’s ideas into consideration. And Dr. Wilson about two weeks ago, he called me up and he drove four hours south to Lewisville Illinois and sat with several area representatives to talk and share his ideas to this problem, this crisis that we’re experiencing. I don’t know the answer. I don’t know that I completely agree with some of the solutions and ideas that I’ve heard.
But one thing I do know, the one thing that I’ve discovered with government is that people don’t listen very well. A lot of people want to strive with their ideas, a lot of people want to push their agendas. So we are here today to listen, to simply to listen to an idea, and consider and certainly pray for an outcome. I’m so honored that we can be here with the church today, it’s the church that’s going to make the difference in this state and in this country and I’m so honored, of all places, to be here.
Listening has never been Bailey’s strong suit, of course.
* By the way, I asked Dr. Wilson’s spokesperson for comment on this Bailey statement from the other day and never heard back…
Rep. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) is questioning the Black Lives Matter movement based on that fact that a disproportional rate of pregnancies for black women end in abortion.
“If black lives matter, why are Illinois taxpayers funding the killing of unborn black babies?” asked Bailey, the first term 109th District representative and recent winner of a personal lawsuit against Gov J.B. Pritzker.
*** UPDATE *** I didn’t even think to check, but a commenter pointed out that Wilson contributed $3,000 each to Reps. Darren Bailey and Blaine Wilhour and House candidate Adam Niemerg (who’s running in Bailey’s district) this month.
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* Saturday…
They’ve since updated the story to report that the positivity rate was 12.27 percent. Same dif.
* And it’s not like Illinois is an impenetrable island, either…
* Arizona…
As of Saturday, 83% of current inpatient beds and 85% of ICU beds were in use for COVID-19 and other patients.
We all need to learn from each other. Come Friday, when Illinois enters Phase 4, our positivity rate will almost undoubtedly increase. So, people need to be careful and use some common sense. Texas is also experiencing an increase in its positivity rate, but its hospitals appear not to be in any danger of being overrun at the moment.
*** UPDATE *** Excerpt from a new Gov. Pritzker press release
Phase 4 of the Restore Illinois plan creates safety guidelines for the following permitted activities and businesses to resume, with capacity rules in place:
• Meetings and events: Venues and meeting spaces can resume with the lesser of up to 50 people OR 50% of overall room capacity. Multiple groups are permitted given facilities have space to appropriately social distance and can limit interaction between groups. This includes activities such as conferences and weddings.
• Indoor and Outdoor recreation: Revised guidelines to allow select indoor recreation facilities (e.g., bowling alleys, skating rinks), as well as clubhouses to reopen. Indoor recreation to operate at lesser of 50 customers OR 50% of facility capacity with outdoor recreation allowing group sizes of up to 50, and permitting multiple groups given facilities have space to appropriately social distance and can limit interaction between groups; concessions permitted with restrictions.
• Indoor Dining: Indoor dining can reopen with groups of 10 or less, with tables spaced 6-feet apart in seated areas and with standing areas at no more than 25% of capacity.
• Museums: Can reopen with no more than 25% occupancy, and with interactive exhibits and rides closed; guided tours should be limited to 50 people or fewer per group; museums should have a plan to limit congregation via advance ticket sales and timed ticketing; concessions permitted with restrictions.
• Zoos: Can reopen with no more than 25% occupancy, and with interactive exhibits, indoor exhibits, and rides closed; guided tours should be limited to 50 people or fewer per group; zoos should have a plan to limit congregation via advance ticket sales and timed ticketing; concessions permitted with restrictions.
• Cinema and Theatre: Indoor seated theaters, cinemas, and performing arts centers to allow admission of the lesser of up to 50 guests OR 50% of overall theater or performance space capacity (applies to each screening room); outdoor capacity limited to 20% of overall theater or performance space capacity; concessions permitted with restrictions.
• Outdoor seated spectator events: Outdoor spectator sports can resume with no more than 20% of seating capacity; concessions permitted with restrictions.
• Film production: Allow no more than 50% of sound stage or filming location capacity; crowd scenes should be limited to 50 people or fewer.
Industries with revised guidelines in Phase 4:
• Youth and Recreational Sports: Revised guidelines allow competitive gameplay and tournaments; youth and recreational sports venues can operate at 50% of facility capacity, 20% seating capacity for spectators, and group sizes up to 50 with multiple groups permitted during practice and competitive games given venues have space to appropriately social distance and can limit interaction between groups; concessions permitted with restrictions.
• Health and fitness centers: Revised guidelines allow gyms to open at 50% capacity and allow group fitness classes of up to 50 people with new safety guidelines for indoors, with multiple groups permitted given facilities have space to appropriately social distance and can limit interaction between groups.
• Day camps: Water-based activities permitted in accordance with IDPH guidelines; no more than 50% of facility capacity with group size of no more than 15 participants in a group, unless participants changing weekly.
Additionally, retail, service counters, offices, personal care (including salons, barber, nail salons), manufacturing and other industries allowed to reopen in Phase 3 will continue to operate at a reduced capacity.
To help businesses prepare to reopen and remain in compliance with new guidelines over the next two weeks, DCEO has released a new set of downloadable materials. Business toolkits are complete with signage, training checklists and other resources to help business owners and workers implement safety procedures and adhere to the latest capacity restrictions. Materials for businesses and operators pertaining to Phases 3 and 4 of the Restore Plan, can be found atIllinois.gov/businessguidelines.
During Phase 4, common public health standards remain in effect – including the use of face coverings and social distancing. Industry-specific guidelines may vary but are designed to help employers, workers and residents feel safe in transitioning to the next phase of reopening the state. All industries should continue to conduct regular cleanings, employee health screenings upon entry and mid-shift, and allow employees who can continue working from home to do so.
The state’s move to Phase 4 of the plan is expected to bring approximately 400,000 additional Illinoisans back to the workplace across all industries. While Phase 4 marks the return of 7 percent of the state’s workforce, it accounts for about $30 billion in annual GDP returned to operations and represents continuous progress towards fully reopening the state’s economy.
* Related…
* Racing returning to Arlington - The Illinois Racing Board clears the way for racing and betting, but no spectators, next month.
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COVID-19 roundup
Friday, Jun 19, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* First she declared that indoor restaurant dining couldn’t return until July 1, then she complained about the governor not allowing indoor dining until June 26th, and now…
Chicago restaurants can open for indoor dining with the rest of the state starting June 26, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Friday, an about-face from her plan to allow them to reopen July 1. […]
Restaurants will be restricted to 25% capacity, with a maximum of 50 people per room or floor, and tables must be at least 6 feet apart, with 10 people or fewer per table.
Tina Sfondeles…
On Friday, the governor’s office said they “are pleased to see that the Mayor has aligned the timing of the city’s plan with the state’s plan, allowing restaurants in Chicago to open indoor dining a week from today.”
According to an email obtained by the Sun-Times, the Illinois Restaurant Association has been pushing for 50% occupancy for indoor restaurants, and the state’s safety guidance is likely to include that rate. That would also include gatherings of less than 50 people with social distancing and other safety provisions.
* Being outside and mostly wearing masks appears to have avoided a problem…
The first protests against George Floyd’s killing in Minneapolis began on May 26, the day after a police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes and killed the 46-year-old. By the next night, protesters were filling the streets in cities across the country despite concerns over the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
As the protests went on, worries over a spike in the coronavirus grew. Last week, members of the Trump administration’s coronavirus task force warned governors of a protest-related increase in cases. Dr. Deborah Birx, the task force’s coordinator, said on a call last week that yelling from protesters could present a particular problem and potentially cancel the positive benefits of wearing masks.
But given the virus’s incubation period, it was always going to take time to find out if the protests would lead to a spike in cases. That time has come, and three weeks after the protests began, cities across the country where some of the biggest demonstrations took place are reporting no surge in COVID-19 cases.
* NBC 5…
Northwestern University researchers have discovered Chicago has a unique COVID-19 virus strain that appears to be directly linked from the early outbreak in China, the university said in a news release Thursday.
Another variant discovered in Chicago COVID-19 patients, which happens to be the predominant variant worldwide, and in the U.S. is centered in New York, generates more of the virus in the upper airways than the Chicago version. […]
“These differences might help us understand where a vaccine might be most effective, because they show where these proteins are under selective pressure,” [Dr. Egon Ozer, an assistant professor in infectious diseases at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a Northwestern Medicine physician] said. “That could indicate where you might get the most bang for your buck in the potential vaccine.”
Ozer said that because Chicago is a transportation hub, the city is a melting pot for different variants of the virus.
* WICS TV…
Illinois is now set to enter the next phase of the governor’s reopening plan as early as next week, which includes allowing even more businesses to open their doors.
Illinois lawmakers have now created a new working group to help with the process.
Lawmakers created the Restore Illinois Collaborative Commission during this year’s special session. Gov. JB Pritzker signed it into law last week.
Their goal is to give Pritzker guidance on reopening the state’s economy.
* ABC 7…
Illinois has closed the driver’s license facility on Golf Road in Schaumburg. Officials said it’s because an employee tested positive for COVID-19.
The Secretary of State’s Office said the Illinois Department of Public Health has been consulted and that the public is not directly impacted. Employees who work at the facility are quarantining for 14 days.
…Adding… I meant to post this Greg Hinz piece and forgot…
Government leaders and industry officials haven’t been the only ones at the table as the city and state this spring have rolled out a mass of often highly controversial rules as to which businesses can reopen when amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a little-noticed development, consultants from Boston Consulting Group and Bain, working through a Chicago civic organization, have effectively staffed working groups that draft proposed rules and submit them to Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot for final approval.
Those rules cover everything from when inside dining will be allowed to how many people can shop at a store, when movie theaters might reopen and how late in the evening drinks-to-go should be allowed.
The pro bono work is defended as proper and a good deal for taxpayers by the two key officials involved—Deputy Gov. Dan Hynes and Deputy Mayor Samir Mayekar. The Civic Consulting Alliance, a business-backed government aid group, has provided such help for years, and is particularly of use now with government officials all but overwhelmed, they say.
* Tribune live blog…
A federal appeals court ruled Friday that Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart does not have to comply — at least for now — with a portion of a preliminary injunction precluding group housing or double-celling at the county jail due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.
Eager to head back to the lakefront? A rising Lake Michigan — near the historic high water mark — awaits.
CTA and Pace buses will begin collecting fares again, as riders slowly return to public transit
* Sun-Times live blog…
Masks will be required in all University of Illinois classrooms next year
A ‘last responder’s’ COVID-19 message: ‘If they won’t listen to a doctor, maybe they’ll listen to an undertaker’
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* From IDPH…
Long-Term Care Facilities (LTCF) may allow outdoor visitation for residents when certain conditions are met. Visitations must be limited to two visitors at a time per resident. The maximum number of residents and visitors in the outdoors space at one time is predicated on the size of the outdoor space. The LTCF must ensure that a minimum distancing of six feet is achievable in the outdoor space when determining the maximum number of residents and visitors who can simultaneously occupy that outdoor space. The LTCF must clearly communicate and enforce social distancing of six feet between the resident and all visitors. The facility must set the maximum number of visitors allowed in a single day.
Visitors must schedule an appointment with the facility to visit a resident. The LTCF must prescreen visitors via phone with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) symptom checklist not more than 24 hours in advance. The facility must also screen visitors on arrival with the CDC symptom checklist and a temperature check. Residents with active COVID-19 infection, either laboratory confirmed or symptomatic, are not allowed to participate in outdoor visits. Residents receiving visitors should also be screened with the CDC symptom checklist prior to visitor’s arrival. Visitors displaying symptoms should not visit the facility.
Visits must be limited to outdoor areas only. However, they may take place under a canopy or tent without walls. Outdoor spaces must have separate ingress and egress which does not require the visitor to enter the LTCF building. Visitors must not enter the facility at any time during their visit. For the duration of each visit, the resident and visitor must wear a face covering. The facility may set the time duration of each visit.
The facility should have staff supervision during each visit to ensure the use of face coverings and social distancing. The facility may determine whether supervision is continuous or intermittent.
* Meanwhile…
Four of the five new cases of COVID-19 reported in Piatt County this week have been tentatively tied to a gathering held at an assisted living facility in Savoy.
“We looked at it again, and our (health department) contact tracing person found that four of five were associated with a birthday party at an assisted living facility in Savoy,” said DeWitt/Piatt Bi-County Health Department Administrator David Remmert.
And while he understands the strain of not being able to see loved ones during the current pandemic, he added, “I don’t know why an assisted living facility would have outside people come into the facility.”
First time I’ve agreed with Remmert.
*** UPDATE *** Health Care Council of Illinois…
Guidance on open-air visitations at long term care facilities was released yesterday by Governor J.B. Pritzker’s office and the Illinois Department of Public Health. Long-awaited reunions for nursing home residents and their loved ones may begin once facilities assess their current status and implement the requirements determined by the state, according to the Health Care Council of Illinois (HCCI), a non-profit member association representing more than 300 licensed skilled nursing facilities.
“This is a positive step in the recovery process for nursing homes. After many months of virtual contact with their spouses, children and other loved ones, we know our residents will have many joyful reunions in the days ahead,” said Pat Comstock, Director of COVID Response for HCCI.
Under the Illinois Department of Public Health’s current COVID-19 regulations, all nursing homes must create a written plan prior to any visitation at their facility. Families will be able to see their loved ones by appointment in a supervised outdoor setting that ensures a minimum distance of six feet between residents and visitors, with one or two visitors per resident at a time or as determined by the nursing home. The number of visits allowed per day and the duration of the visit will be determined on an individual basis by each facility based on occupancy and space availability.
Visitors will be prescreened via phone with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) symptom checklist no more than 24 hours in advance of their visit, as well as undergo an additional screening and temperature check upon arrival at the facility. Residents receiving visitors should also be screened with the CDC symptom checklist prior to visitor’s arrival.
“We understand that families are eager to see their loved ones after months apart, and our members are working tirelessly to create a framework for visitation that keeps their residents, staff and families safe,” said Comstock. “Our members have taken positive steps toward recovery status in the past several weeks, and we cannot afford to compromise this progress and the health of our most vulnerable population.”
Visits must be supervised by staff and follow the strict infection control procedures already in place, including requiring face coverings at all times and prohibiting visitors inside the facility. Visits will be allowed only for residents without a current case of COVID-19. Full visitation guidelines can be found of the IDPH website.
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