The high numbers come two weeks after the Thanksgiving holiday that health officials worried could be a COVID-19 superspreader event. One day’s numbers aren’t enough to indicate whether those fear came true but public health officials have said we’re entering the period when a possible post-Thanksgiving surge would begin to show up in the data.
The 11,101 new confirmed and probable coronavirus cases reported Thursday is the highest daily total since 12,542 cases were reported Dec. 1. It’s also the first time in six days that the case count topped 10,000. That’s partly attributable to the highest number of test results over the previous 24 hours since Dec. 1.
The 196 fatalities reported Thursday bring the statewide death toll to 13,861 since March. The only days with higher reported death tolls were Dec. 2, with 238, and Dec. 5, with 208. The record-setting total on Dec. 2 was due in part to delayed reporting over the long Thanksgiving weekend.
Here’s what’s happening Thursday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
6:15 p.m.: Chicago dive Richard’s Bar reportedly defies pandemic shutdown
As far as bad behavior goes, Richard’s Bar may be one of the most infamous taverns in Chicago, known for its rumored mob connections (its owner is the sister of a supposed mob associate) and its smoky atmosphere (despite the city banning smoking indoors). Now, it’s adding another item to that list: flouting city guidelines regarding coronavirus.
The bar reportedly was serving patrons inside as recently as Wednesday evening, according to Block Club Chicago, and had a sign posted on the door stating that it will not comply with the indoor service shutdown mandated by the state and city. Chicago’s Department of Business and Consumer Protection confirmed that it is investigating the bar. A new, hand-written sign reading “Carry-Out Only” on a piece of cardboard, was affixed to the door as of Thursday evening. Read more here. — Grace Wong
(Updated): 4:41 p.m.: US panel endorses widespread use of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine
A U.S. government advisory panel has endorsed Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine, in a major step toward an epic vaccination campaign that could finally conquer the outbreak.
The Food and Drug Administration is expected to follow the recommendation issued Thursday by its expert advisers. The advisory group, in 17-4 vote with one abstention, concluded that the shot appears safe and effective against the coronavirus in people 16 and older.
A final FDA decision is expected within days. Millions of shots would then ship to begin vaccinating health care workers and nursing home residents. Widespread access to the general public is not expected until the spring. Read more here. — Associated Press
(Updated) 2:55 p.m.: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell signals no GOP support for emerging COVID-19 relief deal
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is hitting the brakes on emerging COVID-19 aid package from a bipartisan group of lawmakers, saying Republican senators won’t support $160 billion in state and local funds as part of a potential trade-off in the deal.
McConnell’s staff conveyed to top negotiators that the GOP leader sees no path to an agreement on a key aspect of the lawmakers’ existing proposal — a slimmed-down version of the liability shield for companies and organizations facing potential COVID-19 lawsuits — in exchange for $160 billion in state and local funds that Democrats want.
1:30 p.m.: Column: Seth Arkin turned his friends’ artwork and hobbies into customized coronavirus masks. He died after being hospitalized with COVID-19.
Seth Arkin was a voracious world traveler, a faithful Cubs fan, a devoted patron of Chicago’s cultural offerings and a bit of a Bruce Springsteen groupie.
He filled his years with the things he loved best and meticulously chronicled his adventures on his delightful blog, sethsaith.blogspot.com, where he also reviewed hundreds of albums, plays, concerts, movies and books. His blog contained an impressive collection of lists — “My 100 All-Time Favorite Artists of Popular Music — 2020,” followed immediately by “The Next 30.”
The coronavirus pandemic pressed pause on just about every one of Arkin’s favorite pursuits, a reality he took in stride.
About a month ago, Arkin found a new endeavor to occupy some of his free time. He started ordering customized masks for dozens and dozens of friends and acquaintances, some of whom he hadn’t seen or worked with in years, based on their hobbies and interests.
Last Friday , Arkin’s sister Allison posted a note on his Facebook page, in and among the photos of the masks his friends had been sharing for the past few days.
“My brother Seth has Covid and is on a ventilator in the ICU,” she wrote. “Please keep him in your prayers.”
On Tuesday, Arkin died. He was 52.
1:24 p.m.: On Wednesday, COVID-19 killed more Americans than died in Normandy on D-Day
Just when the U.S. appears on the verge of rolling out a COVID-19 vaccine, the numbers have become gloomier than ever: Over 3,000 American deaths in a single day, more than on D-Day or 9/11. One million new cases in the span of five days. More than 106,000 people in the hospital.
The crisis across the country is pushing medical centers to the breaking point and leaving staff members and public health officials burned out and plagued by tears and nightmares.
All told, the crisis has left more than 290,000 people dead in the U.S, with more than 15 million confirmed infections.
The U.S. recorded 3,124 deaths Wednesday, the highest one-day total yet, according to Johns Hopkins University. Up until last week, the peak was 2,603 deaths on April 15, when New York City was the epicenter of the nation’s outbreak.
12:58 p.m.: Illinois reports 11,101 daily COVID-19 cases, highest in more than a week, and 196 deaths, third most since pandemic began
Illinois on Thursday reported its highest number of new coronavirus cases in more than a week and the third-highest daily death toll since the pandemic began.
The high numbers come two weeks after the Thanksgiving holiday that health officials worried could be a COVID-19 superspreader event. One day’s numbers aren’t enough to indicate whether those fear came true but public health officials have said we’re entering the period when a possible post-Thanksgiving surge would begin to show up in the data.
The 11,101 new confirmed and probable coronavirus cases reported Thursday is the highest daily total since 12,542 cases were reported Dec. 1. It’s also the first time in six days that the case count topped 10,000. That’s partly attributable to the highest number of test results over the previous 24 hours since Dec. 1.
The case positivity rate — the percentage of cases as a share of total tests — averaged 9.5% for the week ending Wednesday, down from 10.6% for the week ending Dec. 1.
The 196 fatalities reported Thursday bring the statewide death toll to 13,861 since March. The only days with higher reported death tolls were Dec. 2, with 238, and Dec. 5, with 208. The record-setting total on Dec. 2 was due in part to delayed reporting over the long Thanksgiving weekend.
The state has average 148 deaths per day over the past week.
As of Wednesday night, there were 5,138 patients in Illinois hospitals with COVID-19, 1,081 of them in intensive care and 606 on ventilators. Those figures are all down from the start of the month.
12:22 p.m.: An assisted living facility in Clarendon Hills had zero COVID-19 cases until October. Then it had dozens.
While nursing homes and assisted living facilities have, in some cases, been a hotbed of coronavirus cases since the pandemic began in mid-March, The Birches Assisted Living in Clarendon Hills didn’t see its first positive case until Oct. 27.
In the six-plus weeks since that time, about 40 of the 70 residents, along with about 20 staff members, have tested positive for virus.
“This is the second wave in senior living, and it is hitting most communities in the area four times harder than the spring,” said Jacqueline Sander, executive director at The Birches. “As the nation opened up over summer, senior living was still locked down and most of us in the industry had no cases.”
With that being the case, Sander said the senior living industry worked hard to minimize social isolation, since many seniors have been unable to see their loved ones. She said it was a surprise when learning of the first positive test, for a resident, at The Birches.
12:07 p.m.: Chicago Bears are set to resume practice Thursday afternoon after closing Halas Hall in the morning because of a positive COVID-19 test
The Chicago Bears paused all in-person activities and closed Halas Hall on Thursday morning after an individual tested positive for COVID-19 — the team’s fourth positive test this week — but were set to return to practice in the afternoon.
The Bears conducted meetings virtually in the morning and rescheduled their 1:10 p.m. practice for 2:30 p.m.
Players already had started trickling into Halas Hall early Thursday when the Bears received the positive result. The individual who tested positive was notified and put into isolation, and the team sent players and staff home “with an abundance of caution,” coach Matt Nagy said. He then held a virtual team meeting to notify them of the circumstances.
11:39 a.m.: COVID-19 pandemic relief set to expire in Illinois as Congress negotiates aid package. Here’s what to know.
As Congress negotiates a fresh round of coronavirus relief, the clock is ticking on several forms of federal aid, but there is still help available in Illinois.
While several federal programs tied to the March package are set to expire later this month, other forms of pandemic relief have been extended in Illinois.
Here’s the help that’s still available.
Read more here. —Robert Channick, Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz, Abdel Jimenez, Ryan Ori, Lauren Zumbach
11:15 a.m.: How COVID-19 is devastating household finances in the Chicago area and Illinois, in 5 charts
The coronavirus pandemic has forced employers of all sizes to shrink their operations or shut down, temporarily or for good. Laid-off workers in turn have less money to spend at other businesses. The health crisis has sunk the nation’s economy into a recession, and despite promising news about vaccines, much remains uncertain.
Since mid-April, the U.S. Census Bureau has routinely surveyed adults to see how households have been affected by the pandemic, both economically and socially.
The latest survey on the state of household finances shows continued worries about job security and illustrates who is bearing the brunt of the recession locally.
11:01 a.m.: Six Flags Great America adds drive-thru to Holiday in the Park
Six Flags Great America has just created a new way to experience its third annual Holiday in the Park Lights.
Starting Wednesday and on select days through Jan. 18, Great America will allow patrons to have, ’’an extremely rare opportunity to drive around inside the park,” said the park’s president Hank Salemi.
It’s called Holiday in the Park Drive-Thru, and it will not overlap with the Holiday in the Park Lights walk-through experience, which opened Nov. 27 and runs on select days through Dec. 30.
Vehicles are allowed to drive through the park up to 3 mph following a designated route.
10:27 a.m.: ‘Incredible landmark’: Advocate Aurora doctors excited as COVID-19 vaccine approval is closer to reality
Doctors at Advocate Aurora Health System on Thursday morning expressed excitement at the possibility of an imminent emergency use authorization by the FDA of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, and looked ahead to vaccine plans for the system’s 26 hospitals.
An FDA advisory committee was meeting Thursday to discuss the vaccine trial data before making a recommendation to the agency, which could issue an approval soon after the meeting.
”This is an incredible landmark,” said Dr. Robert Citronberg, executive medical director of Infectious Disease and Prevention at Advocate Aurora Health. “It’s the ticket out.”
The health system has hospitals in Illinois and Wisconsin, and is working with both states to obtain doses once the FDA approves emergency use. Preliminary data of the Pfizer vaccine released on Tuesday looked promising.
Citronberg said he did not have final numbers on how many doses each hospital will initially get, and noted that Illinois and Wisconsin have different frameworks for distribution.
Still, the health system is in the process of prioritizing which staff members will be able to be immunized first, as the doses will be limited. It will not be mandatory.
Citronberg said the hospitals are working to identify the people who spend the most time working in areas where COVID-19 is present, particularly in intensive care units and on COVID-19 floors.
”The fact that this vaccine was able to be developed in such a short period of time is one of the great scientific achievements of our time,” he said.
9:50 a.m.: Illinois colleges and universities suffer enrollment losses after pandemic disruptions
Total undergraduate enrollment at Illinois colleges and universities is down by 7.2% this fall compared to last year, worse than the national decrease of 4.4% recorded as students returned to school during the coronavirus pandemic, according to state date presented this week.
While graduate enrollment climbed by 1.5% at both public and private institutions, it wasn’t enough to offset undergraduate losses. Overall post-secondary enrollment in Illinois dropped by 5.4% this year, data from the Illinois Board of Higher Education shows.
Community colleges suffered the most, with a 13.7% reduction in students, and new freshman and transfer student populations dropped significantly.
But not all the news was bad.
9:54 a.m.: Suburban Blue Nose Brewery closing ‘when the beer runs out’ due to coronavirus pandemic economic toll
Small southwest suburban Blue Nose Brewery is closing due to the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, its co-founder said this week.
Blue Nose co-founder Jordan Isenberg said in an interview that he made the decision in late October, after the state ordered suburban Cook County bars and restaurants to close for indoor business for a second time to stem the spread of COVID-19. He kept the decision largely to himself while winding down the business, he said.
8:10 a.m.: FDA meeting on vaccines today is ‘important day for America,’ commissioner says
Commissioner Stephen Hahn says Thursday’s meeting of the Food and Drug Administration’s vaccine advisory panel is “an important day for all of America.”
The FDA head hopes it will lead to the beginning of the end of the pandemic and a return “to a more normal and healthy life.”
7 a.m.: The year that was in Chicago music was one that, because of a pandemic, was like no other
The show must go on, even if there are no shows. That is the greatest lesson of Chicago music in 2020. In a year where culture as we’ve known it was seemingly shut down overnight, Chicago’s music scene continued to survive, albeit in a different manner than we’ve come to expect.
Despite the promise of our pre-pandemic world, the state of Chicago music was already in a confusing place. Long simmering issues plagued the city’s music scene, from potential closures of independent music venues to a mass exodus of young musicians seeking greater fame, fortune and opportunity on the coasts. However, much like how the pandemic shined a light on society’s racial and economic troubles, it also revealed the fragility of the city and the country’s entertainment community as a whole.
One can not underestimate the social, economic and cultural ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic on the city’s music scene. Unlike restaurants and retail stores which found ways to bounce back (however temporarily) as lockdown restrictions eased in the summer months, music venues remain closed for the foreseeable future.
5 a.m.: Pandemic, civil unrest drive record-shattering increase in firearm permits, gun shopping in Illinois in 2020
Illinois residents shopped for more guns and applied for more firearm permits in 2020 than at any other time in history, according to statistics released Wednesday by state police.
With events during this unprecedented year driving the demand, there had been more than 500,000 serious inquiries to date about purchasing guns, authorities said, representing a 45% increase over 2019.
The state also has received a record 445,945 applications for firearm owner’s identification cards as of November 2020, a 167% jump from the 166,649 applications in 2017. The Illinois State Police did not release numbers for any other years but said the 2020 applications “blew past” a previous surge in 2013 after concealed carry licenses were first offered.
“It’s a reflection of the great deal of unease and a reflection of the tension we have in this state and across the country,” Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly said. “It’s undeniable.”
5 a.m.: Tenants’ advocates, real estate industry gear up for clash over proposed Cook County residential tenant, landlord ordinance
A simmering debate between tenants’ advocates and the real estate industry in Cook County is set to boil this month when a Board of Commissioners panel is expected to vote on a proposal to toughen suburban renters’ rights amid the pandemic-sparked housing crisis.
The proposal, dubbed the Residential Tenant Landlord Ordinance, brought by county commissioners Scott Britton and Kevin Morrison, would cement heightened landlord regulations throughout the suburbs, where about 245,000 households are renters not covered by such codes that only exist in three cities in the county: Chicago, Evanston and Mount Prospect.
It is based on the city of Chicago’s own code that has guided leases since 1986, much to the ire of some landlords who say it overreaches and stifles the market.
During a virtual news conference on Tuesday, supporters of the proposed Cook County ordinance said while the need for suburban renters to have such protections always has existed, the feared eviction wave from the coronavirus pandemic makes the stakes all the more drastic.
Here are five things that happened Wednesday related to COVID-19:
Source by www.chicagotribune.com