Illinois public health officials reported 238 coronavirus deaths Wednesday, the most in a single day since the pandemic began.
The previous high was 192 deaths reported on May 13, during the height of the pandemic’s first wave. In all, the state has recorded 12,639 deaths since March. Illinois has averaged 116 fatalities per day over the past week, near the record high of 118 set in the spring and matched a week ago.
Officials also reported 9,757 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing the total number of known cases to 748,603 statewide.
In contrast to the grim news of record deaths, Gov. J.B. Pritzker sounded a positive note Wednesday when discussing how widely available a vaccine could be in Illinois within the next two to three weeks. The governor’s comments came a day after Chicago officials said they expect to begin rolling out coronavirus vaccines for health care workers later this month and could provide them to lower-risk residents in the spring and children by summer.
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Here’s what’s happening Wednesday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
8:05 p.m.: Number of COVID-19 patients in US hospitals hits record high of nearly 100,000
U.S. hospitals slammed with COVID-19 patients are trying to lure nurses and doctors out of retirement, recruiting students and new graduates who have yet to earn their licenses and offering eye-popping salaries in a desperate bid to ease staffing shortages.
With the virus surging from coast to coast, the number of patients in the hospital with the virus has more than doubled over the past month to a record high of nearly 100,000, pushing medical centers and health care workers to the breaking point. Nurses are increasingly burned out and getting sick on the job, and the stress on the nation’s medical system prompted a dire warning from the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“The reality is December and January and February are going to be rough times. I actually believe they are going to be the most difficult time in the public health history of this nation,” Dr. Robert Redfield said.
Read more here. —Associated Press
5 p.m.: IHSA confirms winter sports will not begin until 2021
The Illinois High School Association announced Wednesday that low-risk winter sports, including boys and girls bowling, boys swimming and girls gymnastics, will not start before January 2021.
Where that leaves boys and girls basketball, deemed high-risk sports by the Illinois Department of Public Health, is a mystery.
What is known? Those seasons won’t be starting anytime soon.
“I just think they’re kicking the can down the road,” Brother Rice coach Bobby Frasor said. “You look at what’s happening in the NFL and college football and basketball with games being canceled.
“They’re doing testing and still having these issues. Maybe the (COVID-19) numbers will start going down.”
Read more here. —Pat Disabato, Daily Southtown
4:05 p.m.: Hospitals will distribute some of the first vaccines to their frontline workers, although shots probably won’t be mandatory
With a limited supply of COVID-19 vaccines potentially arriving in Chicago this month, many area hospitals are finalizing plans for which workers will get them first and how they’ll be stored and distributed.
Most hospitals will prioritize vaccines for front line workers that deal directly with patients. At least a handful of Chicago-area hospital systems said Wednesday the vaccine won’t be mandatory for employees, for now — even though many require employees to get flu shots each year.
Unlike the flu shot, if a COVID-19 vaccine is approved, it will be approved under an emergency use authorization, which is when the FDA allows products that have not gone through the regular approval process to be used in emergencies.
“We don’t really feel like we can make it mandatory while it’s under EUA (emergency use authorization),” said Dr. Michael Kelleher, who leads Amita Health’s COVID-19 vaccine steering committee. “Once it’s approved by the FDA, we will probably make it mandatory, but I think we need to wait and see what happens with that.”
Read more here. —Lisa Schencker
3:40 p.m.: COVID-19 Q&A: Readers’ questions answered on Facebook Live with UChicago Medicine’s Dr. Emily Landon
Illinois on Wednesday had the highest number of coronavirus-related fatalities in a single day since the pandemic began in March. The Chicago Tribune’s Darcel Rockett spoke with the University of Chicago’s infectious diseases expert Dr. Emily Landon, who answered reader questions Wednesday on Facebook Live.
The coronavirus has touched all of our lives — from impacting our health to how we do our jobs, continue our education, interact with the outside world and maintain our relationships.
Landon touched on many COVID-19-related topics, including how cold weather might impact the virus, vaccine side effects, transmission and in-home treatment. To watch the COVID-19 Q&A Facebook Live, click here.
If you have COVID-19-related questions, please submit them to us at chicagotribune.com/ask, or check our continuously updated Q&A.
—Chicago Tribune staff
3:15 p.m.: Answers to readers’ questions about COVID-19
Does alcohol have an impact on your immune system? What’s the fastest, most affordable way to get a COVID-19 test. These are the latest questions readers have asked that we’ve put to health and science experts. Have your own pandemic question? Send it to the Tribune here.
Should you give up alcohol during the pandemic?
The full impact of COVID-19 on alcohol use is not yet known, but rates of alcohol usage have been rising during the pandemic. According to the World Health Organization, alcohol compromises the body’s immune system and increases the risk of adverse health outcomes. The organization suggests people minimize their alcohol consumption — particularly during the pandemic.
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) has issued communications warning people to avoid excessive drinking. According to NIAAA Director George Koob, people who choose to consume alcohol should follow the U.S. Dietary Guidelines.
“A person’s pattern of alcohol consumption can have an impact on health,” he said. “The current 2015-2020 guidelines suggest limiting drinks to up to one drink per day for women or two drinks per day for men. Having one drink per day is not the same as having seven drinks all at once in a single day. It’s best to spread them out as recommended in the guidelines.”
What’s the fastest, most affordable way to get a COVID-19 test?
Health officials say that if you traveled for the Thanksgiving holiday, you should be tested for COVID-19.
Start with your primary care doctor; many doctors offer in-office testing. If you don’t have a doctor who does testing, then rapid testing, in-home testing or drive-thru testing are options. If an option is not affordable enough or closed to you due to restrictions, try crowdsourcing information to get up-to-date information about local testing sites, appointment availability, cost and wait times.
Looking for a rapid test with same-day results? Those tests are best for people who actually have COVID-19 symptoms, said Heather Keirnan, a nurse and vice president of operations for Northwestern Medicine Immediate Care. If you don’t have symptoms, the PCR test, which can detect very small amounts of the coronavirus, is a better choice, she said.
Northwestern and other local hospitals and state drive-up testing sites offers PCR tests. Northwestern offers drive-up testing for those with Northwestern doctors’ referrals in Wheaton, Aurora, St. Charles, Bartlett, Glenview, Vernon Hills, Sycamore, McHenry and Huntley, and both drive-up and walk-up testing at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in downtown Chicago.
For free tests, your options include state drive-up sites in Arlington Heights, Harwood Heights and South Holland. Tests are free for those without insurance; if you have insurance, bring your information, and the state will submit a claim.
The city of Chicago and Cook County also offer free testing.
For those who care more about convenience than cost, private clinics offer shorter waits. Many require upfront payments of $175 to $300. If you want to submit a claim to your insurance company, check the rules for coverage. Your insurer may require that you are referred for testing by a doctor.
Read the full Q&A blog here. —Chicago Tribune staff
2:33 p.m.: Should pregnant women get a COVID-19 vaccine? What about women considering pregnancy? Guidance is hard to find because trials exclude pregnancy.
Hospital workers are under an immense amount of stress this year. But help might be on the way soon as a federal advisory committee recommended Tuesday that they be first in line for vaccines.
But what if they are pregnant?
Like all pregnant women, health care workers will be operating without much data, as pregnant women have been excluded from clinical trials so far.
Read more here. —Alison Bowen
2:25 p.m.: Top Democrats swing behind bipartisan coronavirus aid bill in hopes of breaking monthslong logjam
Democratic leaders swung behind a bipartisan COVID-19 relief effort Wednesday, cutting their demands for a $2 trillion-plus measure by more than half in hopes of breaking a monthslong logjam and delivering much-sought aid as a coda to a tempestuous congressional session.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democrat leader Chuck Schumer made the announcement in a joint statement. It was aimed at budging Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell who so far has been unwilling to abandon a $550 million Senate GOP plan that has failed twice this fall.
The Democrats embraced a $908 billion approach from moderate Sens. Joe Manchin and Susan Collins among others. It would establish a $300 per week jobless benefit, send $160 billion to help state and local governments, boost schools and universities, revive popular “paycheck protection” subsidies for businesses, and bail out transit systems and airlines.
“In the spirit of compromise we believe the bipartisan framework introduced by Senators yesterday should be used as the basis for immediate bipartisan, bicameral negotiations,” Pelosi and Schumer said. They said they would try to build upon the approach, which has support in the House from a bipartisan “problem solvers” coalition.
The new plan includes a liability shield for businesses and other organizations that have reopened their doors during the pandemic. It’s the first time Pelosi and Schumer have shown a willingness to consider the idea.
McConnell had dismissed the bipartisan offer on Tuesday, instead aiming to rally Republicans around the $550 billion GOP proposal.
Read more here. —Associated Press
1:21 p.m.: People wary of COVID-19 are avoiding the ER, and that has doctors worried. Here’s what Chicago-area hospitals are doing to keep patients safe.
Chicago-area hospitals continue to see a decline in emergency room visits as wary Illinoisans delay care out of concerns of contracting the coronavirus, and that has doctors worried.
Emergency department visits nationwide declined by 42% from March 29 through April 25 compared with the same period a year prior, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Several Chicago-area hospitals say visits are still down, or only just starting to return to pre-pandemic levels.
Doctors say they are worried about the potential risks patients face by not seeking emergency care for serious illnesses like asthma, heart attacks and strokes, which could be more challenging to address if left untreated.
Read more here. —Abdel Jimenez
12:05 p.m.: Illinois reports 238 COVID-19 deaths, the most in a single day since the pandemic began
Illinois public health officials reported 238 coronavirus deaths Wednesday, the most in a single day since the pandemic began.
The previous high was 192 deaths reported on May 13, during the height of the pandemic’s first wave. In all, the state has recorded 12,639 deaths since March. Illinois has averaged 116 fatalities per day over the past week, near the record high of 118 set in the spring and matched a week ago.
Officials also reported 9,757 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing the total number of known cases to 748,603 statewide.
Read more here. —Dan Petrella
11:36 p.m.: In Illinois, more than one-third of PPP funds, meant for small businesses, went to larger companies that got $1 million or more. Search the list.
More than one-third of the funds Illinois businesses and nonprofits received through the federal Paycheck Protection Program went to less than 2% of participants, according to data released late Tuesday by the Small Business Administration.
Nearly 4,000 businesses in Illinois received loans of $1 million or more, adding up to $8.67 billion, or 38% of the total. In Illinois, the SBA approved more than 221,000 loans worth nearly $23 billion, according to the newly published data.
The agency released the data under a court order in a federal lawsuit filed by news organizations, making public the names and loan amounts for millions of recipients of the forgivable federal loans.
Read more here. —Robert Channick
9:31 a.m.: Naperville rejects mask mandate in split council vote
The Naperville City Council affirmed that everyone who is medically able should wear a protective face covering in public to prevent the spread of COVID-19, but stopped short of mandating masks.
After hearing to two hours of comments Tuesday from nearly 150 people, many of whom oppose wearing masks or governmental interference in their decision to cover their face, the council opted to take a positive approach than a punitive one.
The council initially voted 5-4 against an ordinance requiring people to mask up in Naperville anytime a 6-foot distance cannot be maintained.
Mayor Steve Chirico and council members Kevin Coyne, Patty Gustin, Paul Hinterlong and John Krummen opposed the mandate; council members Judy Brodhead, Patrick Kelly, Theresa Sullivan and Benny White voted in favor of it.
After the measure failed, the council voted 8-1 on a resolution to continue and increase the city’s public awareness campaign promoting mask usage.
Read more here. —Suzanne Baker, Naperville Sun
6 a.m.: Mourners craft new and innovative funeral practices to honor the dead during pandemic
Just as the pandemic has altered so many aspects of life, it has also disrupted the experience of death and grieving. In response, mourners are creating new and innovative ways to honor the dying and departed while keeping within the bounds of pandemic protocols.
Many of these adaptations draw on cultural customs and ancient religious rites, said Roy Grinker, an anthropology professor at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C., who is co-leading a yearlong study on changes in funeral practices during the pandemic.
“There’s an extraordinary resilience and creativity of people to figure out how to do what they need to do in order to mourn, in order to grieve,” Grinker said.
There is a near-universal need for communal mourning, which becomes increasingly difficult with physical distance requirements, said Grinker, who was born and raised in Chicago.
“Whatever religion, whatever tradition we’re talking about, one of the common threads is the difficulty of not being able to be with others in large groups, to touch each other and to stimulate each other’s emotional release,” he said.
For the study, called Rituals in the Making, researchers are interviewing clergy, funeral directors and mourners; the project was funded by the National Science Foundation and is expected to be complete in May.
Read more here. —Angie Leventis Lourgos
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In case you missed it
Here are some recent stories about COVID-19:
Chicago could get vaccines in December, and give them to lower-risk residents and children by next spring and summer.
CPS reopening plan so far: Here’s what you need to know about when and how Chicago schools will welcome students back.
Eight states including Ohio were added to the “red” category in Chicago’s travel quarantine order.
Need to get tested for COVID-19 during the post-Thanksgiving rush? Here’s how to find the most convenient and affordable options.
Evanston students are auctioning their time and talents to save Gyros Planet, a struggling restaurant feeding thousands of hungry families. Read Heidi Stevens’ column.
