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Nursing homes account for more than half of coronavirus deaths in Illinois, new data shows
Illinois nursing homes now account for 52% of all coronavirus deaths in Illinois, data released Friday shows.
The Illinois Department of Public Health on Friday reported 2,747 coronavirus deaths in Illinois nursing homes and long-term care facilities, and 17,133 cases.
The data this week again reflects a change in how the numbers were reported from previously. Last week, Illinois officials said they would no longer be reporting cases and deaths from homes which had not recorded a new case of coronavirus in the past 28 days. A day later, though, the state quietly reversed course and released updated data which included the cumulative number of cases and deaths since the start of the outbreak.
The state’s nursing home data continues to be riddled with inconsistencies, with some homes reporting a decrease in cases and deaths, despite assurances from Illinois officials that the data is cumulative. The state previously stopped counting “probable” nursing home cases and now reports only laboratory-confirmed cases, which had led totals to drop at some homes.
According to the data released on Friday, Illinois has 536 homes which have had cases of coronavirus. But a Sun-Times review of that data found that multiple homes were listed twice both in the data released by the state and on their website.
Read the full report from Caroline Hurley here.
News
9:09 a.m. Singer John Vincent lifts seniors’ spirits one ballad at a time via nursing home ‘concerts’
While singer John Vincent provides hope and cheer by performing classic hits to senior citizens through nursing home “concerts” around Chicago, his heart is heavy.
“We’re in unprecedented times where the unemployment rate is the highest since the Great Depression. When I’m singing, all of this is weighing on my head,” said Vincent. “My mind is constantly spinning, so I’ll experience waves of anxiety and happiness and sadness during one song.”
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Vincent, a Southwest Side native and the Cubs’ resident National Anthem singer since 2003, was approached by a Chicago police commander whose district is in the shadow of Wrigley Field, about performing nursing home “concerts” for residents.
Reporter Evan F. Moore has the full story.
8:32 a.m. Twilight Zone no more, downtown Highland Park jumped back to life on Friday
Most of downtown Highland Park has been frozen in place since mid-March, as if a set for a Twilight Zone episode titled “The COVID-19 Encounter,” where all the people in a town suddenly vanish as retail storefronts stuffed with merchandise eerily remained intact.
I don’t know how this episode will end, but Friday there was a welcome, upbeat plot twist. The coronavirus pandemic shutdown eased in Chicago’s suburbs and this North Shore city – as so many suburbs – jumped to life.
Suddenly, retail stores, hair and nail salons, barber shops and restaurants with outdoor dining were open for business. People were on the street — many, not all, in masks. The vibe was survival, revival, and in some places, bless them, extreme sanitation.
At 8 a.m., Highland Park Village Manager Ghida Neukirch was overseeing crews blocking off part of Sheridan Road, just off Central Avenue, to convert public space to an area for outdoor diners.
Down the block, Stepan Mikula, owner of “The Barbers” was finishing restoring his shop after repainting, restaining the floors and spreading out the chairs. He will reopen Saturday.
He’s been closed since March 14 and the economic impact was “horrible.” He’s bringing back his five barbers, contractors he was not able to pay these past months. On Saturday “all four chairs are booked solid.”
Read the full story from Lynn Sweet here.
7:15 a.m. How many students are taking part in remote learning at your school? Search our database.
Chicago Public Schools released data this week on remote learning participation that found that fewer than 60% of all Chicago Public Schools students are engaging with online remote learning three or more days per week.
The report, which includes some of the most detailed metrics in the country, measured 294,000 students at district-run schools and focused on the week of May 11.
The data shows about 85% of students were successfully contacted by someone at their school at least once during that week, whether to check in for academic reasons or to offer social and emotional support. But more than 43,000 students, including a quarter of all high schoolers, weren’t reached that week. Since schools closed, 2,200 students haven’t been reached a single time.
Reporter Caroline Hurley has all the data and searchable database.
New cases
Analysis & Commentary
7:31 a.m. Gov. Pritzker walks a fine line between public safety and angry critics in reopening Illinois
In the period just before and after Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued his first stay-at-home order in March, houses of worship in Illinois reportedly experienced 13 COVID-19 outbreaks, resulting in 88 cases.
Since then, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health, iIllinois has seen no such outbreaks — until one was revealed last week. IDPH told me of a very recent church-related outbreak of 39 cases, including the pastor.
That outbreak was acknowledged last Wednesday by the administrator of the Jackson County Health Department. The administrator told WSIU Radio that the unnamed Southern Illinois church had been holding services in defiance of the governor’s stay-at-home order.
And now, you gotta figure more church-related outbreaks could happen if people aren’t careful.
Pritzker told reporters last week that his administration will be posting “guidance, not mandatory restrictions, for all faith leaders to use in their efforts to ensure the health and safety of their congregants.” He said the guidance would be “suggestions” on capacity limits, indoor gatherings of 10 persons or less, etc.
“Governor Pritzker has capitulated, and the Thomas More Society is claiming victory in a trio of church lawsuits charging Illinois’ governor with religious discrimination,” a spokesperson for the organization said.
And then Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul filed his office’s response, mandated by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, to an emergency request by two Illinois churches that wanted the governor’s restrictions lifted. In that response, Raoul claimed the two churches’ filing was basically moot because the governor’s executive order would expires the next day.
