* After briefing reporters on hospitalizations, ICU and ventilator use, Gov. Pritzker praised and thanked educators and then took questions from reporters.
Please pardon all transcription errors.
* Yesterday the pastor at the church in Lena Illinois had services with dozens of people attending. Will the Illinois State Police enforce the court ruling next weekend or will you request the county do something to enforce that order?…
We have always asked local law enforcement, local officials to enforce these orders. And the best way to do that of course is a reminder to the pastor and to the parishioners that they’re putting themselves and others in danger by holding a service like this. The pastor filed suit, that suit failed. And it’s because people do have the ability to worship, and we’re trying to simply to keep people safe during this time of a global pandemic.
* So will you urge, I’m sorry if I missed it, will you urge local officials both in Chicago, which was going to bring me to my next question, and in any other county that is defying the gathering the stay at home and the gathering order of no more than 10 people. Will you urge authorities to step in and do something more than disperse?…
We’re asking them to disperse, so that’s the most important thing. We just don’t want people getting sick. Nobody, it’s not an intention that people will go to jail. I will say, however, that if people are persistently defiant, they can be put in jail. And I’m not suggesting that that’s the best answer or the first answer, but it is something that’s an option for local law enforcement.
* There were nearly 1000 CPD dispersals over the weekend, but zero citations and you of course as you just said you defer to local authorities but what are your, what’s your reaction to that number of dispersals in Chicago and what do you feel needs to happen, and does it concern you that this could lead to a resurgence?…
It does concern me and people should really understand that if our numbers flatten and get better, and that’s where we seem to be at right now, it’s because people have followed the rules. And to the extent people are not following them and gathering in groups they’re going to spread the virus and they’re going to cause us to go back into a previous executive order, or more stringent lockdown than what we’ve had, if in fact there’s a spike of cases as a result of people not following the rules. So again we want to encourage people to do the right thing. I’m sorry that the police have had to break people up like that, I know that there’s, it’s attractive when the sun is out for people to go out and gather in groups, but I want to remind everybody that it’s a mistake. Right now, the only way that we can defeat this virus because we have no vaccine. And we have no treatment that keeps people out of the hospital. And so the result is the only way we can fight this virus is really by obeying social distancing obeying the orders that have been put in place.
* Would you like to see more citations issued as a deterrent?…
That is not something that I prefer. But as I say when if people are being persistently defiant I do think that local law enforcement needs to step in. But it’s up to the mayor and it’s up to the local law enforcement to make those decisions.
* We’re receiving, as I feel I say to you every time I’m here, we’re receiving literally dozens of complaints almost every day about people who can’t get onto the [unemployment] system, they get kicked off the system, no one answers the phone, have debit card problems, and you’ve said well we’re updating the system, we’re updating the system, but these folks, continue to tell us well it doesn’t seem like it. So what specifically is being done right now to make sure that the director the acting director of IDES is doing what he is supposed to do to help these people who are desperate?…
So let me begin by saying that we, we obviously are deeply concerned about anybody that is owed unemployment and somehow can’t file their claim, that is not something that’s intended and we’re certainly trying to work through any problems for people that have been persistently having difficulty. I will say that, that the system is you know I get the numbers of processed claims every day and the numbers of people who are being processed every day are very frequently in the 10s of thousands, which is vastly more than ever before. In fact, it’s a multiple of what even was occurring on a weekly basis and daily basis during the Great Recession of 08-09. So there’s an awful lot that’s being processed.
There’s also a multiple of phone lines that are being answered for people who are calling in. It’s still not enough, there are some people that call in persistently have to wait for some time on the phone before they can get ahold of anybody or because there’s a limit to the number of people can answer phones, they may not get ahold of somebody on a given day, I would encourage everybody to go online, that is how most people are multiple so people are actually getting through and filing their claims. So that’s what I would say when we’re doing that. I will say that the acting director and everybody that’s working in IDES is working overtime to make sure that it’s working as best it can, and they are working through there really isn’t a backlog at this point. So people who are having trouble there’s something there’s typically an issue with their claim which I understand, they need to use we have online tools that they can use, even if they can’t sign up online. There’s a chat function there’s an ability to message to IDES to let them know what your issue is and have somebody get back to you about it.
And I would just say one more thing, sorry Dana, just that later this week we’re going to review where we are with unemployment so you’ll have a much better a more holistic view of how we’re doing and what we’re doing, what we’ve done to address these issues.
* Have you ever thought of having the acting director come here so we could ask him questions directly?…
I haven’t but you know I’ve been focused as you know here for the most part on the directly addressing the virus.
* Thoughts on people who have been going into Indiana over the past few days for services they can’t get here?…
I think, to the extent that people are not social distancing, and accessing services in Indiana may have decided that they want to open those things up, I understand that there are risks associated with that and I would discourage people from doing it. But understand that people are free to to do what they want, as they may leave the state. I don’t control the state of Indiana, and they don’t control Illinois, but I’d rather be from here than there.
* Governor Cuomo today says he’s looking at opening regions of New York State on May 15, will you consider reopening regions, and if so, what is the criteria?…
We’ll be talking more about that. But suffice to say that I absolutely think of the state as you know it’s, we have a lot of different areas of the state, different population densities and so on. The most important thing though that I have pointed out to people is to think of the state not in the typical way that you think about regions, but rather about healthcare regions to think about how many hospital beds and that’s why I talk today about how many hospital beds.
Does a certain percentage availability mean because a spike in one area that happens to have 25 hospital beds available or 25 ICU beds available. If there’s a significant spike in that area 25 is not a big number. And so what we want to make sure is that we are able to handle a spike, because that’s what potentially could occur if we reopen things too fast.
And as to the setting a date, it sounds like another governor set a date for, I will say that it really needs to be based on data and metrics. My guess is knowing that Governor, that he was really talking about hoping that that might be a date in which they could do it but you really need to do this based on the data. And that’s what we’re following very closely and I want to open it as fast as anybody does. I just want to make sure that we’re doing in a safe fashion.
* With that and the data in mind, do we have to wait till May 30 to hear what your phased-in reopening plan is? And could you disclose some of the details before May 30 or do you plan to…
You don’t have to wait till May 30. We’ve been thinking about this and working on it for some time now to, to make sure that we’re going to give people a view into how the phases might work and how many phases there are and what would work in each phase.
He was asked a question about McCormick Place and where people can apply for contact tracing jobs. Mostly repeats of what he’s already said.
* Are there any regions of the state, where R Naught, the figure I guess you calculate rate of spread, Okay, where the R Naught is below one, and if so, what are those areas? And again, as I’ve asked, might those areas begin to open before May 30 but what are those areas?…
Yeah so we aren’t doing enough testing across the state now, we’re again I want to remind everybody we’re the second most amount of testing among the top most populous states, the top 10 most populous states, so we’re doing a lot of testing, but no state is doing enough testing. We need to vastly increase the amount of testing that we’re doing again even though we’re, you know, doing a lot, but it takes a lot of testing in order for us to get to an R naught number. But we do have a statewide number because of the number of tests we’re doing statewide. That number is down to about 1.2. We’re certainly trying to keep track of the you know what’s happening in each and every region. So, as things are coming down more things can be opened up.
* Is reopening the state’s economy conditional on the implementation of a mandatory tracing program, or for the mandatory tracing program to be completed and if so how long is that anticipated to take?…
I’m not sure what Greg [Bishop] means by a mandatory tracing program, but the tracing program, the contact tracing program is being worked on and built up, its completion is not a precondition to, you know, two phases. But, contact tracing is critically important for certain industries especially to make sure that if people can’t maintain social distance in some circumstance, then it’s a situation in which we would need a lot more contact tracing for that kind of an industry to make sure that people aren’t spreading it a symptomatically. So it’s, I understand the question, it’s not a mandatory contact tracing program but it is a program that will help us to diminish the spread. And we are trying to work spin it up as fast as possible.
* Another question from Greg, what’s your recommendation for local governments on revenue losses should they be laying off staff and cutting budgets now, or should they follow the state’s example of no furloughs, and no immediate cuts?…
Well I think a lot of assumptions in there. I’m not going to tell local governments what they should do to meet their budget requirements but what I am doing is working hard to make sure that in Washington that they understand the damage that’s been done to all the states, and to all of the local governments, and particularly smaller local governments which really didn’t get very much out of a previous cares act. We need to make sure that we’re helping them so that they don’t remember you know it’s easy to say well gee, you should furlough a lot of people in order to deal with their budget problem, but remember what happens in a pandemic like this. We have a decreasing amount of revenue coming in and increasing need by people for the services that states and local governments offer, and that’s why we need help from the federal government to preserve those services.
* One of the plans being floated to reopen the country is to pivot our focus on protecting everyone to focusing on the most vulnerable. Is that something that you are considering as we continue to proceed throughout the month of May?…
Well we are protecting everybody everybody’s life is valuable. But I will say that we already are making extra effort for those communities that are most vulnerable you’ve heard a lot about what we’re trying to do to protect people in congregate settings which are often the most vulnerable right these are people who are physically or developmentally disabled, they’re people who are elderly, and may have other existing underlying conditions. You’ve seen that we’ve spun up more testing in areas where there are large African American populations or large Latino populations, which have a propensity to have comorbidities or a higher rate of positivity so. So we’re working on those populations that are most vulnerable even now, and we’ll continue to do that as we begin to open things up, and I think what you meant was might there be a shift, as we move forward from stay at home for all to making sure we focus on the most vulnerable only as a part of a reopening. Well, sure I mean I think we’re shifting, I mean that shift when you say shift I mean, I’m not going to shift away from protecting everybody but this idea of shifting the stay at home and saying only these people have to stay home. I guess that’s, everything is evolving. That’s what I would say and obviously at some point we’re not going to have the same order in place that we have now and we’re gonna be loosening things up. But as we do that, we’re going to be still paying extraordinary attention to those who are elderly and in these congregate settings. I didn’t mention of course the staffs in those settings, and even in our prisons the staffs in our prisons as well.
* Regarding McCormick Place was it too much too soon or a necessary precaution?…
You know it’s interesting if you go back to the day that we talked about the stay at home order on March 20 and Dr. Emily Landon stood here. She said the most remarkable thing and about the success of a stay at home order is that nothing happens, and that’s really this is a function of, guess what, a lot of people didn’t get sick and a lot of people didn’t die. And so that’s what it means that we spun it up because at the time we didn’t know whether we’d be bending the curve properly, and it turns out, we have. And so, thank goodness we and I said early on, my prayer is that we won’t have to use a corporate place or any of the alternate care facility and it’s still my prayer, people I want everybody understand. We’re not through this yet. We’re not done with this, the virus didn’t go away it’s still out there.
* Where is Dr. Ezike today?…
She had a family matter
* According to movement tracking data from Google, most of the stay at home behavior changes asked of Illinois like that going into workplaces avoiding public transit going to grocery stores as little as possible already happened in early March. If social behavior is now on the rise because of warmer weather and loosened restrictions and the new stay at home order and Illinois R naught value is still about one. How can we be sure we will ever get to an R naught value below one? Other places that have put in a stay at home order have gotten to an R naught value under one…
We’re headed in the right direction, we’re moving in the right direction. Still. And as to the point about the R Naught starting to move or people are being less mobile let’s say in early March, I just pointed out that the news about coronavirus was out there, remember that some of the first moves that we made in the state of Illinois occurred in the early March in the first week a week and a half of March. And so people began to see that this virus is out there, that people are getting sick and I think they they reacted naturally to that. And then, I think that’s evidenced by the way of how smart people are in our state. And the fact that people have followed the stay at home orders, other evidence of how terrific the people of Illinois are.
* There’s legislation being introduced in the General Assembly that would cancel rent for those who cannot pay it subject to the establishment of a housing relief fund that would in theory mostly be paid for by a second federal stimulus bill. is this something you would think it is this something you think would be wise to count on from Congress. Is there anything that they can do proactively either through state police or the Attorney General to prevent landlords, or ignoring the moratorium on evictions and evicting tenants?…
I’m not aware of the specific piece of legislation that’s being referenced here but I am very much in favor of alleviating the burden on renters across the state. It is true that Illinois, you know the budget situation for Illinois makes it extraordinarily difficult to provide a lot of relief, but we do have rent relief programs at the Department of Human Services, and we do want to do as much as we can with the federal dollars that we received to alleviate the burden particularly on working class families.
* Rich Miller is asking for your reaction to the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association warning that municipalities and businesses that reopen in defiance of the EO could face litigation? And also your reaction to the Illinois Department of Insurance statement that says businesses run the risk that an insurer could find reason within the policy language to deny COVID-19 related claims? What could potentially happen to state licensed businesses if they reopened in defiance of the EO?…
Well I was a businessman before I became governor and I have to tell you that I would not want to defy the executive order because I believe that I would be taking on liability If I did that.
[Sigh. He skipped two of my questions.]
* The mayor of East Peoria announced today that he is opening the city in phases starting this Friday, it will include salons. This goes against the stay at home order and the recommendations of IDPH. Is there concern that this could cause more cases? Will the state step in and prevent this? What about people traveling from nearby communities and then returning home?…
I think they’re running the risk that they’re going to infect people who work there, people who patronize their stores. And in defiance of this stay at home order it strikes me the point that we were just talking about insurance not covering you when you may have in business insurance but you will be subject to liability because it would not surprise me if insurance companies are found to not be required to cover you when you are defying essentially state law or state executive order.
[OK, so he did answer another question.]
* Illinois companies like Apple and Google have volunteered their tech to help with contact tracing. Has your office been in contact with any reps, do you have any privacy concerns and enlisting their help?…
So I’m very much aware, I think some of you know when I was in business I was in the technology business so I’ve followed it pretty closely and I’ll just say we’re looking at the technology that’s being proposed. It poses some questions about privacy. It’s not something that we’re currently looking at as part of the program that we’re building for contact tracing. But I’ll want to see more as the technology is presented and developed.
* Some small businesses have told us they may not survive the economic flow COVID-19 has delivered. Do you foresee any industries in Illinois that will no longer exist because of this crisis?…
I don’t know and I’m hopeful that that’s not what’s happening, but I can see that so many people are suffering. It’s why I’m so such an advocate of the, not just the PPP program but so many supports for small businesses because we want people to come back and reopen their doors. We’re going to do everything we can in the state to have that happen. Small business people are the bedrock of business bedrock of job creation in our state so they deserve our support.
* We know the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate call sessions. But you have the power to call a special session. What have you thought about doing that? Why or why not?…
I think the most important thing is that the legislature gets together safely. And like I’ve said before 177 members of the General Assembly plus staff. That’s an awful lot of people. That’s more than 10 getting together. And so the epidemiologists would express concerns about a group that large.
Having said that, there are ways to do it. We hope to provide support to the legislature as they have asked, how could they do it safely and we’ll continue to do that. We want the legislature to get together and they have the ability to get together and we’re providing again, epidemiological advice about how to do their best to keep everybody safe.
* Tennessee announced last week that it will begin mass testing of staff and inmates that state prisons, it appears Illinois has only tested about one to 2% of inmates. Is this adequate? Will you follow Tennessee’s lead and begin widespread testing in prisons and jails?…
The more testing we have available to us, the more we will be testing in all those congregate settings. But, you know, remember we also have nursing homes, we also have these developmentally disabled homes, and so many other areas that also need testing. So, again, it takes a lot more testing than we have today.
* Can you address the significance of today’s death total being the lowest since April 19? Also what reaction do you have to Saturday night’s federal court ruling in the beloved church case?…
As to the number of fatalities today, I would just encourage everybody to look at these things on a multi day basis, taking maybe a three, five or seven day average. I’m hopeful, when I saw this number today, I was hopeful that this was the beginning or a continuation of a trend that I’ve been praying for. But I think one day is not a helpful number to look at.
As to the ruling in the case of the church, I want to remind everybody that it’s important to get together with your fellow parishioners and your pastor, but we’ve asked people to do that in groups of 10. We’ve asked pastors to reach out to their parishioners and try to do that online or get it in small groups. Bible study in a small group, again socially distant, and you know we’ve provided other suggestions of ways that people could get together to have services. But getting together in groups of more than 10, I don’t think, I read that there were 60 or 80 people that got together at that one church in defiance of even the US Federal Court ruling. It’s an enormous mistake and I am very hopeful that we aren’t going to need to send teams in to do mass testing among the people who may be spreading the virus in their communities.
* We heard today the mayor is still advocating for a Chicago casino. Do you think that’s still a possibility and what are some options you and the state legislators are considering and making that happen?…
I’ve favored, getting that done, I think it’s the right thing to do. It may be difficult to do in the next month I don’t know, in the next few weeks. it depends on when the legislature gets together and how I will say that, you know, we have a whole year here, for the legislature to get together to handle legislation and I think as we again see more treatments available and as we have testing and tracing and PPE available, it will make it a lot easier for the legislature to get together throughout the year. Maybe in one day increments just to keep everybody safe, not needing to stay overnight and room together and all of that. But there’s a lot of the year here with which to address something like that and as I understand it, the Republican leaders are in favor, at least I’m aware that the House Republican leader is in favor of that casino, that Chicago casino bill, and I know there are a number of Democrats who are too so I would hope that we’d be able to get that done in, you know, sometime during the year here.
* How are the occupancy limits at stores being enforced and how well do you think people are complying with the new face covering requirement after the first few days?…
It’s really just a visual survey about face covering and and occupancy of stores. So I don’t have a report, an official report of that. But I will say just you know as I look outside as I see people walking on the street or in small parks or whatever around Chicago. I have seen that, I think the numbers seem to me to be about 70 to 80% of people are wearing masks or they’ve got a mask with them that they don’t have on their face, because they’re not around somebody else. So I think that’s pretty good adherence although I’d love it if everybody would do it.
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2,341 new cases, 46 additional deaths
Monday, May 4, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Press release…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced 2,341 new cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 46 additional deaths.
Cook County: 1 female 20s, 1 female 30s, 1 female 40s, 1 male 50s, 2 females 60s, 1 male 60s, 2 females 70s, 3 males 70s, 6 females 80s, 1 male 80s, 1 female 90s, 1 male 90s
DuPage County: 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s, 1 male 90s
Iroquois County: 1 female 60s
Lake County: 1 male 50s, 1 female 70s, 3 males 70s, 2 females 80s, 1 male 80s
Macon County: 1 male 70s
Madison County: 1 female 60s, 1 male 90s
Monroe County: 1 male 70s
Sangamon County: 1 female 100+
St. Clair County: 1 female 80s
Will County: 1 female 30s, 1 male 50s, 3 females 70s, 1 male 80s
Winnebago County: 1 male 50s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 63,840 cases, including 2,662 deaths, in 97 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have processed 333,147 specimens for a total of 13,834.
* Gov. Pritzker today…
On April 5, we had 3680 COVID patients in the hospital. On April 12, 4091. On April, 19 4599. On April 26, 4672. As of midnight last night. May 3, that number had reduced to 4493. […]
On April 5 COVID patients occupied 43% of our 2709 ICU beds. On April 12, they occupied 39% of 2991 ICU beds. On April 19, 40% of 3134 ICU beds. On April 26, 34% of 3631 ICU beds. And as of midnight last night, 33% of our 3681 ICU beds, which when combined with the ICU beds occupied by non COVID identified patients leaves about 933 ICU beds available statewide. […]
In the Rockford region, 51.5% of ICU beds were available as of midnight, and that’s about 86 beds. In the Peoria region, 40.2% of ICU beds were available and that’s about 101 actual beds. In the Springfield region, 54.3%, or 82 actual beds. In the Edwardsville region, 27.5% or 25 actual beds. In the Marion region, 27.5%, or 41 actual beds. In the Champaign region, 44.9%, or 62, actual beds. And in Cook and the collar counties and the city of Chicago, 16.9% of ICU beds were available as of midnight, that’s 186 actual beds. In the southwest suburbs, 17.9% or 94 actual beds. In the West suburbs, 15.9%, or 77 beds. […]
We continue to keep our eye trained on the number of Illinoisans with COVID-19 who are on ventilators, and from a statewide standpoint, we’ve continued to see a slight downward trend on this metric, from 29% usage on April 6, then 25% on April 14 then 23% on April 26. And of the 4493 Illinoisans in the hospital, 763 are on ventilators, that means 22% of our total ventilator inventory is currently in use by COVID-19 patients. That’s a lot lower than we had expected at this point. And it’s because of the amazing work that people have done, staying at home and following our executive orders.
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COVID-19 roundup
Monday, May 4, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Most people understand that the executive orders didn’t shut down society, the virus did. And here’s one more example of the virus’ impact…
For the first time since the Grant Park Music Festival was established in 1935, the institution will fall silent.
The festival has canceled all its events running June 10 through Aug. 15 in Millennium Park and across the city due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Just ensuring the safety of the (Grant Park) Orchestra and Chorus, the administrative staff, our production crew, our patrons – that really drove our decision,” said festival President and CEO Paul Winberg in an interview Monday morning.
“It’s just not safe or prudent to move forward with our festival season. This is going to have a tremendous financial impact on the organization. We’ve been busily trying to assess what that even would look like.”
No government ordered them to do that.
* Even so, some folks are still having trouble getting their minds around this…
The superintendent of a West Central Illinois expressed disappointment following the Illinois State Board of Education’s decision to cancel in-person graduation ceremonies statewide because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The ISBE issued a statement Friday in which it encouraged school districts honor graduates virtually, but acknowledged that virtual events may not be possible in all situations. Drive-in, drive-through and individualized ceremonies are permitted - as long as they abide by specific IBOE criteria and adhere to social distancing guidelines.
Superintendent John Asplund of Galesburg Community School District 205 told WGIL radio that the district planned to hold an in-person ceremony prior to the state board’s order and would still like to have one once ceremonies are permitted.
* Tribune live blog…
Chicago reaches 1,000 COVID-19 deaths
If you get sick with COVID-19, is your employer liable? As businesses prepare to reopen, worker safety is a priority.
Nursing homes push for immunity from lawsuits as COVID-19 deaths top 20,000
Cook County Sheriff’s Office deputy dies of COVID-19
Food distribution pop-up sites start on South, West sides to fill gap during COVID-19 pandemic
Inmate who agreed to stay in Cook County Jail to avoid immigration trouble lost life to COVID-19 instead
* Sun-Times live blog…
Does Lightfoot’s Chicago Housing Solidarity Pledge do enough?
Galewood townhome that was site of viral party also hosted smaller gathering a month earlier
Coronavirus testing site opens in Back of the Yards
Miami Dolphins unveil plan to host fans in stadium amid coronavirus pandemic
In-person visits for parents of children in DCFS care have been suspended since March
Hours after cops broke up Lawndale party, 5 teens were shot at a gathering in the same block
Illinois sets new daily record by processing nearly 20K coronavirus tests, finding 2,994 new cases
Called to order: Supreme Court begins 1st arguments by phone
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FDA finally cracking down on antibody tests
Monday, May 4, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Washington Post…
The Food and Drug Administration, under fire for allowing more than 100 commercial coronavirus antibody tests on the market without review, moved Monday to assert oversight, saying the tests will have to pass agency muster, including meeting standards for quality and accuracy.
Officials said “unscrupulous actors” have been “marketing fraudulent test kits and using the pandemic as an opportunity to take advantage of Americans’ anxiety.”
The FDA action came after the agency was criticized for a March 16 policy that allowed commercial test makers to sell antibody tests after validating their own data and notifying the FDA. The result, some testing experts said, was a flood of products of dubious quality that confused hospitals, doctors and consumers — “a wild, wild West” environment, said Scott Becker, chief executive officer of the Association of Public Health Laboratories, which represents state and local public laboratories. He and others in the laboratory field urged the agency to exert its authority over the tests.
Antibody, or serology, tests are designed to identify people who may have overcome covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, including those who had no symptoms, and developed an immune response. They are not designed to detect active infections. Some officials tout the blood tests as a way to identify people who have developed immunity and can safely return to work. But many scientists say evidence is lacking that the tests can prove someone has immunity from the coronavirus or for how long.
FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn emphasized those uncertainties in a Monday call with reporters. “Whether a test should be a “ticket for someone to go back to work as the sole item, my opinion on that would be no, because there are a lot of unanswered questions,” he said.
Go read the whole thing. Insane.
* And while we don’t even know how immune people are after they’ve been infected, having reliable tests is important for another reason…
The tests might also be used to identify potential donors of “convalescent plasma,” an approach in which blood plasma containing antibodies from a recovered individual is used to treat a Covid-19 patient, the F.D.A. said.
* Politico…
Last week, the American Medical Association called on HHS to restrict use of antibody tests to health providers trained to interpret their results and in epidemiological studies due to “growing concern” about the performance of several tests on the market. Until more is known about whether survivors of coronavirus infection emerge with any degree of immunity, people should not use the antibody tests to guide their decisions on physical distancing, the physician group cautioned.
The senior FDA official said the agency has had discussions with the AMA and hinted that government guidelines on the appropriate usage of antibody tests are forthcoming. Several members of the White House coronavirus task force have said it might be necessary for people to receive two antibody tests to cut down on the potential for unreliable results.
“Even a high-performing antibody test when used on individuals in a population that does not have many cases of COVID-19 infection — a population with low prevalence — may produce as many or more false results as true results because the likelihood of finding someone who has been infected is very small,” Shah and Shuren wrote. “This doesn’t mean the test is bad, but rather recognizes the inherent limitations of these kinds of tests.”
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So, you think Illinois’ order is harsh?
Monday, May 4, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* US News and World Report…
Italy on Monday relaxed some restrictions put in place to slow the spread of the coronavirus after enduring the longest lockdown in Europe.
Following a roughly two-month shutdown as the pandemic intensified, the country reopened its manufacturing and construction industries. Access to parks and public gardens was increased, and funerals can have up to 15 attendees. Restaurants and bars are also allowed to offer takeout services.
Italy has basically reopened to where Illinois was under its original stay at home order, except for the 15 people at funerals.
And even with that heavy-duty Italian lockdown, the country has so far endured the deaths of 29,079 people, or 481 per million. As I mentioned earlier today, Illinois’ death toll is 204 per million.
…Adding… Thanks to a commenter for reminding me about this…
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Please define “continued to grow”
Monday, May 4, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Daily Herald…
The new numbers come as the number of people protesting or ignoring Pritzker’s stay-at-home guidelines continued to grow over the weekend.
About 100 protesters lined Randall Road in Algonquin on Sunday, a day after a demonstration in Fox Lake focused on restrictions limiting boat capacities to two people.
* Saturday’s Fox Lake “protest”…
Fox Lake dairy queen protest I think everybody is sick of it we want to make our own decisions about our future this is America
Posted by Lisa Davidson Senkiw on Saturday, May 2, 2020
If “everybody” is a handful of people standing outside a Dairy Queen, I guess she’s right.
The governor was actually asked about that protest yesterday.
* Click the pic for a wider image of the Algonquin protest, but here’s one of the signs…
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The vital importance of wearing masks
Monday, May 4, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From a team of scientists writing in the Atlantic…
Research shows that even a cotton mask dramatically reduces the number of virus particles emitted from our mouths—by as much as 99 percent. This reduction provides two huge benefits. Fewer virus particles mean that people have a better chance of avoiding infection, and if they are infected, the lower viral-exposure load may give them a better chance of contracting only a mild illness. […]
Every infectious disease has a reproduction rate, called R. When it’s 1.0, that means the average infected person infects one other person. The 1918 pandemic flu had an R of 1.8—so one infected person infected, on average, almost two others. COVID-19’s rate, in the absence of measures such as social distancing and masks, is at least 2.4. A disease dies out if its R falls under 1.0. The lower the number, the faster it dies out. […]
Models show that if 80 percent of people wear masks that are 60 percent effective, easily achievable with cloth, we can get to an effective R0 of less than one. That’s enough to halt the spread of the disease. … Mask use in combination with physical distancing is even more powerful. […]
For example, in Hong Kong, only four confirmed deaths due to COVID-19 have been recorded since the beginning of the pandemic, despite high density, mass transportation, and proximity to Wuhan. Hong Kong’s health authorities credit their citizens’ near-universal mask-wearing as a key factor (surveys show almost 100 percent voluntary compliance). Similarly, Taiwan ramped up mask production early on and distributed masks to the population, mandating their use in public transit and recommending their use in other public places—a recommendation that has been widely complied with. The country continues to function fully, and their schools have been open since the end of February, while their death total remains very low, at only six. In the Czech Republic, masks were not used during the initial outbreak, but after a grassroots campaign led to a government mandate on March 18, masks in public became ubiquitous. The results took a while to be reflected in the official statistics: The first five days of April still saw an average of 257 new cases and nine deaths per day, but the most recent five days of data show an average of 120 new cases and five deaths per day. Of course, we can’t know for sure to what degree these success stories are because of masks, but we do know that in every region that has adopted widespread mask-wearing, case and death rates have been reduced within a few weeks.
More here and here.
According to Worldometers, the Czech Republic’s COVID-19 death rate is 23 per million people. The US death rate is 209 per million. Illinois’ is 204.
This is exactly why Rep. Mark Batinick pushed so hard for a mandatory mask requirement.
* But…
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said Sunday that his order requiring state residents to wear face masks went “too far.”
DeWine announced April 27 that face masks must be worn in stores — but after some Ohioans found the order “offensive,” he reversed himself the next day.
* Also…
An emergency proclamation issued Thursday in Stillwater, Oklahoma, requiring the use of face masks in stores and restaurants was amended Friday after threats of violence.
“In the short time beginning on May 1, 2020, that face coverings have been required for entry into stores/restaurants, store employees have been threatened with physical violence and showered with verbal abuse,” Stillwater City Manager Norman McNickle said in a statement.
“In addition, there has been one threat of violence using a firearm. This has occurred in three short hours and in the face of clear medical evidence that face coverings helps contain the spread of Covid-19.”
* Meanwhile, in Illinois…
* Public Radio…
A spokesperson for the ACLU of Illinois said courts have ruled that laws can be set in the name of public health, which makes Governor J.B. Pritzker’s order on face coverings enforceable.
Ed Yohnka said precedent has been set with vaccination requirements at public schools being imposed because they are considered to be for the good of public health.
“The important thing is that businesses and others can enforce the order, but they ought to do so with a recognition that there’s a lot of different kinds of face coverings, and that it shouldn’t be a reason for police interaction. And it shouldn’t be a reason for discrimination,” Yohnka said.
But…
Meantime, grocery stores cannot force people to wear masks while shopping, said Rob Karr, president of the Illinois Retail Merchants’ Association
“Obviously they’re gonna be complying with the request. They are gonna have to put up signs to ask people to comply. There will be some issues in terms of enforcement. I think there’s confusion. Some people thought that think that we can deny access, we can’t do that legally. So we’re not gonna be able to be the police in this matter. But local law enforcement certainly can,” Karr said.
A store is private property. There are, of course, reasonable public accommodation laws on the books, but anyone who believes they have a right to walk onto someone else’s property and not obey the owner’s rules is just not thinking right.
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* Fayette County Sheriff Chris Smith and Fayette County State’s Attorney Josh Morrison…
It is important for all Fayette County citizens and business owners to remember that the State of Illinois is in charge of many licenses and your ability to do business in the State of Illinois. While we can ensure you that your personal rights will be respected inside of Fayette County, if you violate the Governor’s Executive Orders, the State, not the County, has the ability to act on professional certifications and licenses you may hold. This means that while we may determine that you have not committed a criminal offense, any license you hold may be at risk if the appropriate State agency determines it should take action.
A list of state-regulated professions is here.
I checked with the governor’s office about this very thing last week and was told revoking a state license could be a complicated process involving local boards of public health. We’ll see where this goes, if anywhere. But it’s still a good reminder, even if it looks a lot like a good cop, bad cop type of thing.
Fayette County is in southern Illinois. Its county seat is Vandalia.
* The sheriff and state’s attorney also had some guidance about masks…
We will also respect property owners’ rights to make rules and policies for their properties. If a property owner or store has a policy that you must wear a mask, you must follow their policy or you risk them asking police to trespass you. Again, this is a property owner right, not a police rule.
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Our Democracy Could Be Decided By A Coin Toss
Monday, May 4, 2020 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Democrats, who have a supermajority in both legislative chambers, were assumed to control the 2021 remap. However, a move by the Census Bureau could delay population data being sent to the states until July 31, 2021 putting that control in jeopardy.
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Our democracy is too important to be left to a game of chance.
We need an independent, nonpartisan redistricting commission to determine maps that are fair and equitable for all communities across Illinois.
Let’s end partisan gerrymandering and create a process that gives power back to the people.
To learn more about the effort for Fair Maps (SJRCA18, HJRCA41) visit, https://www.changeil.org/policy-priorities/redistricting-reform/.
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* This has become a focal point of people like Reps. Darren Bailey and John Cabello and others on the right who are looking for a way to undermine the stay at home order…
[Woodford County State’s Attorney Greg Minger] calls the state ambiguous in its approach to the coronavirus. Despite the governor’s order, he points to the Illinois Department of Public Health’s 2014 Illinois Pandemic Influenza Preparedness and Response Plan. He points to a brief section of the document that states, “Quarantine (a period of isolation to prevent disease spread) is not effective in controlling multiple influenza outbreaks in large, immunologically naïve populations, because the disease spreads too rapidly to identify and to control chains of transmission. Even if quarantine were somewhat effective in controlling influenza in large populations, it would not be feasible to implement and enforce with available resources, and would damage the economy by reducing the workforce.”
To the Journal Star, Minger acknowledged that a quarantine — defined by the state plan as involving people “believed to have been exposed to infection, for the purpose of preventing transmission of diseases” — differs from the stay-at-home order. However, from a public-health standpoint, he says the two approaches are essentially identical.
That 2014 document is here.
* The attorney for Reps. Bailey and Cabello also referenced the document in an interview with Rebecca Anzel at Capitol News Illinois as the reason for re-filing Bailey’s lawsuit…
The document he is referring to is guidance from the governor’s office and Illinois Department of Public Health detailing how stay-at-home restrictions are to be enforced.
“If you do not adhere to these Executive Orders, the Illinois Department of Public Health and Certified Local Health Departments have the authority” to require residents and businesses to comply, and it cites the statute creating the department.
According to law, if public health officials believe a person is a “danger to the public health,” they may quarantine or isolate that person “to prevent the probable spread of a dangerously contagious or infectious disease.”
That cannot be implemented, though, without the resident’s consent or a court order issued within 48 hours. The burden of proof to get a judge to sign off is significant — among other things, the department would need to prove that the community’s health is “significantly endangered” by the person it seeks to quarantine.
Those rules also apply to businesses the IDPH might seek to close due to health concerns.
“Local health departments got that letter,” DeVore said. “Why did our citizens not get this letter advising them of their rights to due process?”
Um, maybe take it up with your local public health department?
…Adding… Crain’s…
Bailey said the additional lawsuits are “just more proof” that the governor’s actions were unconstitutional.
“You can’t just let businesses sit in quarantine without due process,” he said.
The Xenia representative clarified that he’s not interested in turning over the executive order statewide. Rather, he thinks the decision to reopen should be made by county health departments.
“Never have I suggested that we need to open the whole state up,” he said. “We should obey the law, but let local health departments make decisions based on what’s going on in their areas.”
* Phil Luciano got some clarification from IDPH…
However, the IDPH says there are key differences. For one, the 2014 plan “is specific to pandemic influenza, not pandemic coronavirus,” the department said in a statement to the Journal Star.
Further, according to the statement, “If you read through the larger document referenced, you will see that quarantine is just one of the many tools available to public health officials in preparation, response, and recovery from pandemic influenza. The stay-at-home order is not a quarantine.”
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* With a hat tip to WMAY, this is from Springfield’s Route 66 Drive-In Theater’s Facebook page…
We got the go ahead to open drive in so we will open on May 8 for the weekend and then maybe more nights the following week. Tickets will have to be presold and will be done through our website. My capacity will be half as have to park every other spot. Concessions will be done through app called FanFood and then will pick up at pick up window. I recommend downloading the app before you arrive. It will be going live this week for you to take a tour. We will be showing a single feature rather than double to keep rest room use down. Playground will be closed. Guests need to stay in there vehicle and park facing forward. No hatches will be allowed up. More details to follow.
The governor’s latest EO appears to forbid the reopening…
All places of public amusement, whether indoors or outdoors, including but not limited to… movie and other theaters… shall be closed to the public
* But DCEO has issued guidance that allows it…
Drive-in movie theatres can operate on a limited basis. Cars must be parked in every-other spot to ensure a minimum six-foot distance between cars. Patrons are not allowed to sit outside of their vehicles to view the movie. To the extent possible, reservations and payments for the theatre should be made in advance online or over the phone. To the extent possible, concessions should be ordered online or over the phone and be available for curbside pickup. Restrooms should have sufficient soap and hand sanitizer, and shall be regularly sanitized. Drive-in theatres should also follow the social distancing guidelines set forth in the order.
I may go to a movie, but I am not going into a public restroom. If the urge strikes, I’ll just drive on home.
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* My Crain’s Chicago Business column…
The Illinois General Assembly hasn’t been in session since March 5 because of the international COVID-19 pandemic.
Some legislators have passed the time posting recipes on social media. Some Republicans have lately been holding online press conferences demanding the supermajority Democrats and the Democratic governor do what they want.
A couple of House Republicans have filed lawsuits against Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s stay-at-home order and have been rewarded with more publicity than they could’ve ever dreamed of.
A large number of legislators, however, have been diligently working on actually governing. Both chambers have set up “working groups” of members who are tackling issues like the budget, infrastructure projects, education, gambling, energy, etc.
Not all, but from what I can tell, the vast majority of working group members are doing their best to figure out how to deal with this crisis in difficult circumstances.
Some legislators have jumped head-first into community work. Rep. Mark Batinick, R-Plainfield, has been distributing face masks to first responders and even retail businesses. Batinick also spent days convincing Pritzker to impose a face-covering mandate in his revised executive order, which took effect May 1.
Freshman Rep. Karina Villa, D-West Chicago, says she has over 350 factories in her district, and almost her entire focus throughout this crisis has been attempting to protect the health and safety of workers in those factories, many of whom are immigrants. Villa is the daughter of immigrants, and she recently told ProPublica Illinois that several people in her own life work for local factories, including a food-processing facility that was shut down by the Kane County Health Department after pressure from Villa and others.
When Villa first started hearing reports of problems at the factories, she says, she called her local mayors, health departments, the governor’s office and even the manufacturers themselves. “I was trying to figure out how to do this,” she tells me.
Click here to read the rest before commenting, please. Thanks.
*** UPDATE *** Press release…
In the wake of a recently-reported death of a worker at Smithfield St. Charles from COVID-19, State Representative Karina Villa is calling for an immediate investigation into what Smithfield plant management did to protect the worker from getting sick.
“While the Governor’s office, the Attorney General’s office, IDPH, and county health departments have taken concrete steps to implement processes which keep workers safe at manufacturing facilities, we can’t ignore what has already happened to workers at these plants,” Villa said. “We keep hearing more and more about how negligent plant management has been to their employees at Smithfield and at other facilities. It’s disgusting.”
In light of recent reports that Latinos are now the most adversely affected by the spread of COVID-19 of any demographic group in Illinois, stopping the spread of COVID-19 in predominantly Latino essential workplaces is more urgent than ever before. While rules are being implemented to protect workers from further workplace malpractice, workers, especially Latino workers, need advocates in their corner.
“Latinos are dying in disproportionate numbers because factory owners and management can’t be bothered to care about the people who work for them. The Governor and IDPH have instituted a lot of rules which help these employees, but that doesn’t change what they have already had to go through. I will continue to work with the UFCW and all unions who represent essential workers to ensure that they are kept safe and hold those responsible for preventable disease spread and death accountable.”
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* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…
A recent poll shows Illinoisans strongly approve of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s handling of the COVID-19 outbreak in Illinois and an even higher number supports his stay-at-home order.
The We Ask America/Capitol Fax poll of 800 registered voters taken April 23-24 found that 71% approve of Pritzker’s handling of the state’s response to the outbreak, while just 23% disapprove.
A whopping 77% support the stay-at-home order, while only 18% oppose it and 4% don’t know. And 59% say they strongly support the order, while just 8% strongly oppose it.
Meanwhile, the state is split on President Donald Trump’s handling of the pandemic. While 48% support his response, 49% disapprove; 3% percent didn’t know.
A strong plurality of 48% say they worry that states might lift their stay-at-home orders too soon, while 29% say they worry states might be too slow; 23% don’t know.
The results included really bad news for suburban Republicans, who already appeared headed for yet another harsh November before COVID-19.
President Trump performed poorly in the suburbs in 2016. The GOP’s suburban losses mounted in 2018, and 2020 was looking like it could be even worse. Republican legislative leaders have not yet raised the sort of money they’ll need to fend off suburban Democratic challenges.
According to the poll, 52.5% of collar county voters disapproved of President Trump’s handling of the COVID-19 outbreak; 47% approved.
Those same collar county voters approved of Pritzker’s handling of the crisis 76.5% to 17%. Those are better marks than Pritzker received from suburban Cook County voters, whose split was 70.5% to 25% That’s notable because Republicans have already lost a lot of their foothold in suburban Cook, but still had significant strength remaining in the collars. If that poll is right, and those numbers hold… whoa.
But it gets worse.
Another 57% of collar county voters were more worried that states might lift their stay-at-home orders too quickly, versus 22% who worried they’ll lift them too slowly. Again, those are “better” numbers than suburban Cook voters, whose split was 54% — 23%.
And 81% of collar county denizens supported Illinois’ stay-at home-order, while just 17% opposed it. Again, those are better numbers than among suburban Cook County voters, who backed the order 77% — 20%.
“80 percent issues” have long been pretty nearly impossible to find in this fractured country. They are campaign unicorns. Using issues in that percentage range can very effectively “move” voters one way or another. And, perhaps unsurprisingly considering the other results, more collar county voters “strongly” supported the order (62%) than suburban Cook voters (56%).
Polls are just polls and subset numbers are less reliable than the full poll. But after looking at several national surveys and polling from other states, it’s difficult not to conclude that these gubernatorial stay-at-home orders are, at least for right now, a new “third rail” of politics.
Opposing them appears to carry great political risk in urban and suburban areas.
Now, throw the lawsuits against the stay-at-home order filed by Republican state Reps. Darren Bailey and John Cabello onto the fire, and you can see why suburban Republican legislators are reaching for the antacid.
The Republican legislative leaders are powerless to stop this behavior. As they’ve steadily lost suburban seats, Downstaters have become a much more powerful voice in the party. And they’re increasingly taking a hard-right turn since the ascension of Donald Trump.
I asked House Republican Leader Jim Durkin’s spokesperson if Durkin supports or opposes these lawsuits. “Leader Durkin is not planning on filing any lawsuits and as a firm believer in the judiciary system, he will follow the court’s decision on this important issue.”
Not exactly a profile in courage there, but, if present trends continue, Durkin may not have many suburban members left after November and he’s up for reelection as caucus leader next January. Not that anyone appears to be craving to take his job at the moment.
Things can always change. The reason “80 percent issues” are so rare these days is because people changed their minds.
It seems unlikely that suburbanites are going to line up behind the current leadership of the stay-at-home opposition, however.
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