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Chicago sees slight decline in positivity rate due to booming coronavirus testing
State health officials on Saturday announced 2,441 new coronavirus cases and 25 additional deaths.
The new infections were found among the latest batch of 65,217 tests reported to the Illinois Department of Public Health in the last day. That keeps the state’s seven-day positivity rate — a figure experts use to gauge how rapidly the virus is spreading — at 3.6%, which is a slight uptick from last weekend when that number checked in at 3.5%.
Saturday marked the 10th day this month Illinois recorded a 2,000-plus daily caseload. This month, Illinois is averaging about 1,973 cases per day. Meanwhile, the state averaged a daily caseload of about 1,812 new infections last month — a large increase from the 1,150 new cases reported on average each day in July.
While the state’s daily caseload average has continued to rise over the last three months, positivity rates have sunk across most of Illinois, thanks to a statewide increase in testing capacity. Illinois has processed more than 1.3 million tests this month.
News
8:41 a.m. Update: Falcons’ positive test won’t stop Bears game
ATLANTA — Falcons cornerback A.J. Terrell became the first NFL player ruled out for a game because of a positive test for the coronavirus Saturday, but it won’t cost the Bears a chance at their third win Sunday.
The Falcons put Terrell on the reserve/COVID list Saturday and conducted contact tracing to determine whether they have an outbreak. The team did not produce any more positive results in testing that was returned both Saturday and Sunday, sources confirmed to the Sun-Times.
That means the Bears will play the Falcons as scheduled: at noon at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Terrell, 22, appears to be asymptomatic. He was the Falcons’ first-round pick in the spring and might have started Sunday.
The Bears flew to Atlanta after meetings Saturday at Halas Hall and proceeded as if the game would start as planned. Coach Matt Nagy has changed the team’s travel schedule for road games this season to minimize the amount of time spent in hotels.
7:15 a.m. Rapid, cheap home tests: Companies attempt to make coronavirus tests widely available
Nearly two months after federal regulators unveiled rules for at-home coronavirus tests, no company has federal approval to sell these fast and cheap tests even though the technology is ready.
Molecular PCR tests processed at medical labs remain the standard of accurate testing, but they are more expensive and results can take days to process.
Antigen tests are less expensive, plentiful and deliver results in minutes. Three companies gained Food and Drug Administration authorization to sell antigen testing instruments to labs or clinics. A fourth company, Abbott Laboratories, won approval to market a $5 rapid, credit card-sized test administered by a health care professional.
7:03 a.m. Tiny airborne particles may pose a big coronavirus problem
At a University of Maryland lab, people infected with the new coronavirus take turns sitting in a chair and putting their faces into the big end of a large cone. They recite the alphabet and sing or just sit quietly for a half hour. Sometimes they cough.
The cone sucks up everything that comes out of their mouths and noses. It’s part of a device called “Gesundheit II” that is helping scientists study a big question: Just how does the virus that causes COVID-19 spread from one person to another?
It clearly hitchhikes on small liquid particles sprayed out by an infected person. People expel particles while coughing, sneezing, singing, shouting, talking and even breathing. But the drops come in a wide range of sizes, and scientists are trying to pin down how risky the various kinds are.
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Analysis & Commentary
7:02 a.m. Even before any second COVID wave, many Chicagoans are still in need from the first one
The calls come daily to state Rep. Lindsey LaPointe’s office on the Northwest Side from people who need help navigating the state bureaucracy.
They call about unemployment benefits, housing assistance and food stamps. They call about utility bills, problems with state licenses and support for their small businesses.
Many of the callers these days are in tears, not knowing where to turn. Some can’t pay the rent. Others are worried about feeding their families.
Yet what’s striking to LaPointe’s chief of staff, Jessica Genova, is how apologetic many of the callers are, as if they’re feeling guilty about their predicament and needing help.
“I’ve never done this before,” they say.
