The latest
Florida’s new COVID-19 cases reported Friday more than double Illinois’ highest single-day total
While greatly expanded testing probably accounts for some of the increase, experts say other measures indicate the virus is making a comeback. Daily deaths, hospitalizations and the percentage of tests that are coming back positive have also have been rising over the past few weeks in parts of the country, mostly in the South and West.
On Friday, Florida’s health department reported a record 8,942 new infections identified over the course of 24 hours, according to the Tampa Bay Times. That more than doubles Illinois’ highest single-day case total of 4,014 reported by the state health department on May 12.
Other states that set single-day case records this week include Arizona, California, Nevada, Texas and Oklahoma.
In the past few weeks, the nation’s daily death toll has actually dropped markedly even as cases climbed, a phenomenon that may reflect the advent of treatments, better efforts to prevent infections at nursing homes, and a rising proportion of cases among younger adults, who are more likely than their elders to survive a bout with COVID-19.
Meanwhile, Illinois has seen cases steadily decreasing and entered Phase 4 of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s reopening plan Friday. But Pritzker asserted Thursday that if the state’s current “trajectory of success” reverses, he’s not afraid to return to more restrictions.
“I’m not afraid to protect the people of Illinois by moving a region back to an earlier phase if we see a surge,” Pritzker said at a Chicago news conference. “Ours will not be one of the states that takes no action in response to a return to the peak.”
Read the full national report here.
News
11:35 a.m. 16 NBA players test positive for coronavirus as season restart approaches
The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association say 16 players tested positive for coronavirus in the first wave of mandatory tests done in preparation for the restart of the season.
Those 16 players were part of a pool of 302 tested on Tuesday. Tests are continuing for all 22 teams that will be participating in the restart at the Disney campus near Orlando, Florida, next month. The player names were not disclosed; some, such as Malcolm Brogdon of Indiana and Sacramento teammates Jabari Parker and Alex Len have publicly acknowledged they have recently positive.
That was a 5.3% rate of positive tests leaguewide. The league did not announce results of testing on staffers and other members of team travel parties, all of whom are also part of the mandatory testing program.
9:55 a.m. Layoffs, tax hikes possible as Cook County braces for one-two punch of budget holes for this year and the next
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said Thursday “everything is on the table” as county officials brace for a budget gap the COVID-19 crisis has stretched to nearly $281 million for the rest of the fiscal year and possibly as much as $409 million for next year.
That could mean new taxes, furloughs and layoffs. Seventy positions have already been cut, and about 35 people laid off at the county’s health system over the past week, Andrea Gibson, Cook County Health’s interim chief business officer, said Thursday.
“This is the largest budget gap we’ve seen in almost a decade, so we’re going to be looking at holdbacks, we’re going to be looking at delaying purchases, renegotiating contracts with our vendors, a variety of strategies to meet the challenge that we face,” Preckwinkle said.
How many workers will ultimately need to be laid off is still “to be determined,” the board president said.
County officials laid out their preliminary budgets for the rest of the 2020 fiscal year and projections for 2021 on Thursday, painting a grim fiscal picture for the county’s pocketbook in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
Read the full story from Rachel Hinton here.
8:12 a.m. Illinois ready to step forward into Phase 4, but Pritzker unfazed about tugging it back if COVID-19 cases surge
With all regions of the state set to advance to Phase 4 of reopening on Friday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker vowed that while Illinois has seen a “trajectory of success,” he’s not afraid to return to more restrictions should COVID-19 cases see a drastic uptick.
“I’m not afraid to protect the people of Illinois by moving a region back to an earlier phase if we see a surge,” Pritzker said at a Chicago news conference. “Ours will not be one of the states that takes no action in response to a return to the peak.”
Asked whether that could mean reinstating a stay-at-home order, the governor said, “I’m not afraid to move us backward to the things that we’ve done in the past.” He also cited once again prohibiting elective surgeries to make more space for hospital beds — as Texas has done — as another option for the state should cases go up.
Pritzker’s warning came as his public health department announced another 894 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases and 41 additional deaths – more evidence of the state’s improving situation, although the daily case number is the highest in nearly three weeks.
Read the full story by Tina Sfondeles here.
New cases
Analysis & Commentary
8:40 a.m. ‘I’ll have the Post-Pandemic Special please’
What began as a practical necessity for travelers — the stagecoach stops for the night, the innkeeper carves off some mutton and draws a mug of ale — now has assumed magnified importance, ingrained in our lives.
Chicago, and Illinois, opening restaurants Friday for indoor dining should be a milestone in our civic recovery from COVID-19. V-E Day, Victory in Eating.
Instead it seems more like a dilemma, almost a trap.
At least to me. Which is surprising. You’d think Restaurant Boy would be in a sprinter’s crouch, napkin tied around my neck like a bib, knife and fork in each hand, waiting for the gun to spring out of the blocks.
But I’m not.
