It’s graduation season and with the coronavirus and at-home learning, graduation season is unlike anyone has ever seen. Curbside diplomas and Zoom ceremonies have tried to make graduation as special as any year.
Illinois keeps trending in the right direction. This week has seen relatively low coronavirus numbers that continue to decline from an apparent peak in mid-May. According to Fortune magazine, Illinois has seen the largest decrease of any state in the nation in average daily coronavirus caseloads over the last two weeks.
Here’s what’s happening in the fight against the coronavirus in Chicago and around the state.
News
7 p.m. Curbside diploma service for Chicago high schoolers graduating in the age of COVID-19
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Thousands of students in Chicago and beyond are marking a key milestone this weekend — and they’re finding out what socially distant celebrations look like in a world upended by the coronavirus.
That was the case Saturday morning at Whitney Young Magnet High School, which held a drive-thru ceremony for the Class of 2020 on the Near West Side campus.
Students arrived by car with their families at staggered times and, with face masks in tow, crossed the makeshift stage one by one to receive diplomas.
And instead of a handshake, each graduate got a spritz of hand sanitizer.
Check out our gallery from Saturday’s event here.
5:15 p.m. 29 more Illinois coronavirus deaths, 673 new cases
Public health officials on Saturday announced the latest 29 deaths attributed to the coronavirus in Illinois, raising the state’s toll to 6,289.
The Illinois Department of Public Health also said an additional 673 people tested positive for COVID-19. A total of 131,871 people have contracted the virus since late January.
That capped a week of relatively low coronavirus numbers that continue to decline from an apparent peak in mid-May. Saturday marked eight straight days the state has reported fewer than 1,000 new cases, and nine consecutive days with fewer than 100 deaths. And it followed a Friday case total of 595, which was Illinois’ lowest since March 30.
Read the full story by Mitchell Armentrout here.
12:27 p.m. Chicago on pace for next reopening phase July 1: ‘If people can hang in there’
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Chicago’s top health official expects the city to advance to the next phase of reopening from the coronavirus shutdown on July 1.
Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said Friday it’s not out of the question Chicago could keep pace with the rest of the state in moving to Phase 4 as early as June 26 — but that it could take even longer if pandemic conditions deteriorate.
“The real question will be of course what happens over the next few weeks,” Arwady said at a news conference announcing a new city coronavirus data portal.
The next reopening phase allows for gatherings of up to 50 people and lets museums, gyms, restaurants and additional businesses and institutions resume indoor operations at limited capacities.
But city and state officials are waiting to see the potential impact on the spread of the virus following limited Phase 3 reopenings of restaurants and businesses, as well as days of large protests following the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd.
“I think the protests have served to remind people that there are risks, and so the fact that protesters broadly in Chicago have been wearing face coverings — I’ve been pleased to see that,” Arwady said, urging protesters to keep 6 feet of social distance and self-quarantine for two weeks.
Read the full report from Mitchell Armentrout here.
11:11 a.m. European nations sign 400M-dose vaccine deal
Pharma giant AstraZeneca has struck a deal with Europe’s Inclusive Vaccines Alliance to supply up to 400 million doses of an experimental COVID-19 vaccine.
The alliance forged by Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands to speed up production of a coronavirus vaccine is set to take delivery by the end of 2020 of a vaccine being tested by the University of Oxford. The agreement struck Saturday aims to make the vaccine available to other European countries that wish to take part.
The cost is expected to be offset by funding from the governments.
AstraZeneca, an Anglo-Swedish company, recently completed similar agreements with Britain, the United States the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance for 700 million doses. A license also has been agreed with the Serum Institute of India for another 1 billion doses.
Other companies, including Moderna and Sanofi, are racing to develop and produce a vaccine against the new coronavirus, a step experts say will be crucial to easing restrictions on public life and preventing additional waves of infections.
— Associated Press
9:12 a.m. CPS to require face masks, temperature checks when school resumes next fall
Chicago Public Schools students, teachers and staff members will be required to wear face coverings in school buildings and submit to daily temperature checks should classes resume in person in the fall, new health and safety guidelines show.
A final draft of CPS’ guidelines is still in the works, according to a statement from the district, but a preview released Friday on social media offers students, teachers and parents a glimpse of what school could look like in September:
- Everyone will be required to wear face coverings. Schools will be given a limited amount of coverings for students and staff members at the beginning of the year.
- Hand sanitizer will be made available throughout all CPS buildings.
- Strict cleaning and disinfection rules will be in place.
- Students and staff members will receive temperature checks every day.
Read the full report from Alison Martin here.
7:15 a.m. Hold the deep fried candy bars — Illinois State Fair nixed over COVID-19 concerns
SPRINGFIELD — For the first time since World War II, Illinoisans will not be able to look forward to a summer filled with corn dogs, lemon shake-ups, the Butter Cow – or politicians trying to look at ease in their summer togs and wingtips at the state fair.
After suggesting the possibility weeks ago, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Friday he was pulling the plug on the Illinois State Fair in Springfield and the DuQuoin State Fair in deep southern Illinois, making them the latest events canceled because of public safety concerns over the coronavirus.
The decision drew the ire of some downstate Republicans.
It’s the first time the fair in Springfield has been canceled since 1945, the final year of a four-year hiatus during the second World War.
Read the full story by Neil Earley here.
New cases
- “Days of Our Lives” star Judi Evans has been diagnosed with COVID-19, and nearly lost her legs due to related blood clots, her publicist says.
- Another employee at the Cook County Circuit Court clerk’s office has tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the overall total to 25, and three workers have received positive antibody test results.
- Two more detainees and an employee at Cook County Juvenile detention center tested positive for COVID-19.
- Federal health authorities have received reports of nearly 26,000 nursing home residents dying from COVID-19 across the country.
Analysis & Commentary
7:04 a.m. The NFL can guard against COVID-19 all it wants, but players still have to tackle each other
The NFL really has this pandemic thing figured out, doesn’t it?
The latest science-driven protocols will be in place when players return to team facilities in the coming weeks. Testing for COVID-19 will be a regular occurrence. Proper social distancing will be observed. Masks will be mandatory at team meetings. Locker rooms will be cleansed and disinfected so often you might mistake them for operating rooms.
We expect that from a league that prides itself on military-like precision.
But there’s one little thing that keeps tugging at the sleeve: Eventually, the players are going to have to touch each other. Touching is sort of a necessity when it comes to huddling and blocking and — this is a biggie — hitting, which is the whole point of football.
Touching goes against the concept of keeping 6 feet away from the person closest to you. Tackling sneers at social distancing and, further, would blow it up like a defenseless receiver if it could. And what’s gang tackling but a renunciation of everything we’ve learned about keeping the coronavirus at bay?
A football game is a buffet table of germs. This virus will be on the menu. There are too many people involved in the NFL for it not to be.
Read the full commentary from sports columnist Rick Morrissey here.
