Pritzker: All Regions Of The State ‘Going The Wrong Direction’
Illinois has now recorded more than 200,000 cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic first arrived in the state.
Pritzker Visits Urbana To Promote Grants For COVID-Stricken Businesses
URBANA – Gov. J.B. Pritzker visited a barbecue restaurant in Urbana Thursday to showcase the first round of grants from a new state program to help small businesses hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic. The governor says Illinois’ new Business Interruption Grants, or BIG, will help small businesses that haven’t been helped by the federal government’s…
Big Ten Postpones All Fall Sports
CHAMPAIGN – The Big Ten Conference announced Tuesday afternoon that it’s postponing all fall sports because of uncertainty about the COVID-19 pandemic. The sports affected at the University of Illinois are football, volleyball, women’s soccer, and cross country. Field hockey and men’s soccer, which are not varsity sports at Illinois, are also affected by the…
State Officials: Mask Mandate Enforcement Necessary To Curb Uptick In COVID-19 Cases
CHICAGO – As the number of COVID-19 cases trends upwards in Illinois, state officials want to see better enforcement of mask-wearing and other public health guidance. The average daily number of new COVID-19 cases in the state is up 31% compared to two weeks ago. The seven-day positivity rate stands at 4.1% Dr. Ngozi Ezike,…
Davis Quarantines At Home After Testing Positive For COVID-19
Illinois Congressman Rodney Davis is quarantining at his home in Taylorville, after testing positive on Wednesday for COVID-19. The 13th District lawmaker says he feels fine, and that even the elevated temperature that led him and his wife Shannon to get a coronavirus test has gone back down. (Davis says his wife’s test came back…
U Of I Scientists Use COVID-19 Data To Make Predictions, Inform Action For Campus, State
CHAMPAIGN – Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have been analyzing COVID-19 data to help the state — and campus — make decisions throughout the pandemic. Nigel Goldenfeld, professor of physics, and Sergei Maslov, professor of bioengineering and physics, spoke at a live-streamed COVID-19 briefing Thursday. Goldenfeld said that at the start of…
COVID-19 Patient Who Received Double-Lung Transplant Faces Long Road To Recovery
CHICAGO – Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, 28-year-old Mayra Ramirez was working as a paralegal for an immigration law firm in Chicago. She enjoyed walking her dogs and running 5K races. Ramirez has a condition requiring medication that could’ve suppressed her immune system but was otherwise healthy. When the Illinois governor issued a shelter-in-place order…
How A Parent Of Special Needs Children Is Navigating School Reopening In Illinois
Schools across Illinois are finalizing their reopening plans for the fall term amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Some parents of students with disabilities are concerned about how these plans will take their needs into account. Rebekah Strate has three children at home — all with special needs. Her family lives south of Jacksonville in a rural…
Unit 4 Superintendent Says Fall Classes Will Stay Online For 1st Quarter
CHAMPAIGN – In a change of direction, the Champaign Unit 4 school district has announced that fall classes will be held on a remote basis only, through at least mid-October, as a continuing precaution against spreading COVID-19. Unit 4 Superintendent Susan Zola said in a statement released Wednesday evening that the district will use Distance…
Krannert Center Cancels All Public, In-Person Fall Events
The University of Illinois’ Krannert Center for the Performing Arts has announced the cancellation of all public, in-person performances this fall. Illinois Newsroom’s Brian Moline spoke with Krannert Center Director Mike Ross about the decision. Ross says they consulted with many different stakeholders before making the decision, and considered several factors. “As the understanding about…
Health Experts: Masks, Distancing Key To Preventing COVID-19 Outbreaks In Schools
As schools across Illinois finalize their plans to reopen this fall, the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District is urging students, teachers and school staff members to wear masks at all times and stay at least six feet apart. The C-UPHD recently released guidelines and recommendations for schools and families as they prepare to begin the next…
With Hopes Of Safe Reopening, Some Schools Launch Widespread COVID-19 Testing
URBANA – As universities prepare to welcome students back to campus for the fall semester, some are counting on widespread COVID-19 testing to help clamp down on potential outbreaks. At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, large white tents, with signs reading “Walk-Up COVID-19 Testing,” have been popping up across campus. On a sunny summer…
Reports On “Recovered” Covid-19 Cases Inconsistent And Incomplete
As Covid-19 surges again in the U.S., the high percentage of “recovered” cases might be cited as a sign that a vast majority of those infected quickly rid themselves of the virus. But the “recovered” statistics are incomplete, inconsistent and call into question the accuracy of any total number of recovered cases, according to a…
Ask The Newsroom: SNAP Benefits For July And Beyond
Each month throughout the pandemic, Illinois Newsroom has received questions from listeners about whether maximum SNAP benefits will be issued. To find out more about how the program works and what SNAP recipients in Illinois can expect going forward, Illinois Newsroom reporter Dana Cronin spoke with Leslie Cully, who oversees the SNAP program for the…
At Least 100 Migrant Farmworkers In Illinois Have Tested Positive For COVID-19, Clinic Director Says
CHICAGO – Thousands of workers travel to Illinois each year to work on farms, with the largest influx to central Illinois in the summer and fall. Amid concerns about COVID-19, the state’s department of public health is partnering with medical clinics to make testing available to farmworkers. The Community Health Partnership of Illinois, based in…