The latest
Has Indiana been too passive or too aggressive in coronavirus containment efforts?
Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb hears lots of criticism over how he’s led Indiana during the coronavirus pandemic over the past seven months.
The two challengers to Holcomb’s reelection bid split on whether he’s been too passive in attacking the virus spread or that he’s trampled people’s rights with the statewide stay-at-home order early in the outbreak and the mask mandate first issued in July.
Holcomb has huge campaign fundraising and organization advantages over Democrat Woody Myers and Libertarian Donald Rainwater that he’s built leading the Republican-dominated state government without a well-known election foe.
While Indiana has seen recent sharp increases in COVID-19 hospitalizations and new infections, Holcomb’s message has gone between chastising those who resist wearing masks and touting his actions.
News
7:48 a.m. 4,245 new COVID-19 cases reported in Illinois as positivity rate continues climbing
Illinois health officials Sunday reported 4,245 new cases of COVID-19 as the state’s positivity rate continued its climb for the 14th consecutive day.
That is only 309 cases fewer than the record-breaking tally of 4,554 cases announced Friday by the Illinois Department of Public Health.
The state has now reported a daily caseload of more than 4,000 in three of the last four days. The latest cases were confirmed among 79,296 tests, raising the positivity rate, which indicates how rapidly the virus is spreading, to 5.3% from 5.2% the previous day.
Public health officials Sunday also attributed 22 more deaths to the coronavirus, for a total of 9,214 since the pandemic began.
Health experts have warned Illinois is approaching a new peak that could be severe if people don’t adhere to recommended guidelines.
On Sunday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker accused “Trump allies in our state” of contributing to the spike in Illinois COVID-19 infections by encouraging people to flout the rules in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
New cases
Illinois public health officials on Sunday attributed 22 more deaths to the coronavirus, for a total of 9,214 since the pandemic began.
The state reported 4,245 new cases of COVID-19 at the weekend’s close as the state’s positivity rate continued its climb for the 14th consecutive day.
That is only 309 cases fewer than the record-breaking tally of 4,554 cases announced Friday by the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Analysis & Commentary
8:20 a.m. Pandemic vs. ambition: how one company is adjusting plans for growth
West Monroe sees a scenario in which its office usage increases rather than decreases. Many of its experts used to work on the road at clients’ sites. “Monday through Thursday used to be pretty light days at the office. Fridays were busiest as people were back home and checked in with one another,” Hulsebosch said.
“We have to do things a little differently. Clients are realizing we can still deliver value and be remote. They’re also realizing that it’s nice not to have to pay our peoples’ expenses.”
The new office opens officially Monday and has adopted some of the design elements now common. Workstations have been thinned out, corridors marked as one-way routes to keep people from bumping into each other, and hand sanitizer is everywhere. Beyond that, Hulsebosch said, is a greater use of technology to keep teams coordinated and to manage who comes back to the office and when.
“We’re seeing that the technology we used pre-COVID, telecommunications, video conferencing, was poor. What we’ve discovered is that with Zoom and other tools for remote collaboration, the experience has been great. It’s meeting the organization’s needs better compared to work that’s partially office, partially remote,” he said.
