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Illinois public health officials on Monday reported 1,373 new COVID-19 cases and a seven-day positivity rate of 3.6% — the lowest the main metric used to measure the spread of the virus has been in more than seven weeks.
The rolling positivity rate has not been lower since July 25, when the metric dipped to 3.56%. The seven-day average rate of tests that come back positive is the figure experts rely on to gauge how rapidly the virus is spreading.
Monday’s results were based on 35,930 test specimens processed by laboratories.
The coronavirus also claimed five more lives, the Illinois Public Health Department announced.
“Any time we see the positivity rate go down, it’s definitely encouraging,” said department spokeswoman Melaney Arnold. “But until we have a vaccine, we have to keep up with what works: wearing masks and social distancing.”
The daily case count has been a roller coaster of ups and downs recently, which has kept the month’s averages high.
Read the full story from reporter Mitch Dudek here.
News
9:34 a.m. COVID test orders at Loyola, Illinois State thwarted by Trump administration
A pair of Illinois universities were unable to receive their orders for COVID-19 test kits or test machines for the start of the fall semester because federal health officials directed a manufacturer to send supplies to other needy locations.
Loyola University Chicago hoped to start the school year with six test analyzing machines to help process potentially thousands of coronavirus tests at two locations but had to settle for four because the manufacturer Quidel was ordered by the Trump administration to redirect orders to other areas deemed most in need.
“It limits our ability to increase the scope of our testing if we don’t have analyzers to give us the results of the tests,” said Joan Holden, director of Loyola’s wellness center.
The university already has the test kits in hand, she said.
Illinois State University in Normal ordered three Quidel testing machines and 5,000 tests that were expected to arrive before the fall term. The university is now looking at other options, including possibly using a saliva test from the University of Illinois, a spokesman said.
“In early summer, we were trying to plan for fall,” said Eric Jome, director of media relations at Illinois State. “We saw an opportunity to order some of these things and get ahead of the situation.”
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Analysis & Commentary
9:39 a.m. Remote learning is largely on track, but some Chicago schools have a ways to go
There’s good news, and some alarmingly bad news, with respect to remote learning in Chicago’s public schools this fall.
After the dismal showing last spring, Chicago Public Schools made an extra effort to get students logged on for digital learning. Attendance-taking would be mandatory. A major back-to-school campaign was launched, with a massive barrage of phone calls, text messages, emails, radio ads and other outreach to parents.
So far, it’s largely paying off.
According to CPS data released this weekend, 84.2% of students logged on to the learning platform on the first day of school last week. That’s a major improvement over the 59% figure last spring.
And by the end of the week, attendance had risen to 90.2%,
But there can be no letting up on the ultimate goal: To get every one of the district’s 355,000 students engaged in remote learning, the only educational option available until the city curbs the spread of COVID-19.
