Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Here’s what happened May 14 with COVID-19 in the Chicago area

Chicago Tribune staff, Chicago Tribune
·16 min read
Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Here’s what happened May 14 with COVID-19 in the Chicago area

On the day Illinois moved to the next-to-last phase of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s COVID-19 reopening plan, officials reported the latest seven-day positivity rate for cases as a share of total tests was 2.5%, the lowest since March 23.

The declining positivity rate is one of many factors that prompted the state to expand capacity limits as part of the move to the bridge phase of Pritzker’s plan.

Officials on Friday reported 1,841 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 resulting from 83,624 tests. As of Thursday night, 1,708 people in Illinois were hospitalized with COVID-19, with 425 patients in intensive care units and 237 patients on ventilators. The seven-day average of total hospitalizations is 1,861, the lowest since an average of 1,858 was reported April 12.

Meanwhile, the number of deaths from coronavirus is one metric that has not been coming down. Officials reported 49 additional fatalities Friday, the highest count since 54 adjusted deaths were reported March 11.

Here’s what’s happening Friday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area:

6:10 p.m.: States, business sort out what new CDC mask guidance means: ‘It was dividing our community’

More than a dozen states quickly embraced new federal guidelines that say fully vaccinated Americans no longer need to wear masks indoors or out in most cases. But other states and cities and some major businesses hesitated amid doubts about whether the approach is safe or even workable.

As many business owners pointed out, there is no easy way to determine who has been vaccinated and who hasn’t. And the new guidelines, issued Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, essentially work on the honor system, leaving it up to people to do the right thing.

Labor groups and others warned that employees at stores, restaurants, bars and other businesses could be left exposed to the coronavirus from customers and could be forced into the unwanted role of “vaccination police.”

But in Malvern, Pennsylvania, owner Sean Weinberg took down the mask signs Friday at Restaurant Alba, which he runs with his wife. He also emailed his employees to let them know they can forgo masks at work if they are fully vaccinated.

“It’s just a headache we don’t want to have to fight any more,” Weinberg said.

Several major chains, including CVS, Home Depot, Macy’s and supermarket giant Kroger Co., said they are still requiring masks in stores for the time being, though some said they are reviewing their policies.

But Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, said late Friday that it won’t require vaccinated shoppers or workers to wear a mask in its U.S. stores, unless state or local laws say otherwise.

Vaccinated shoppers can go maskless immediately, the company said. Vaccinated workers can stop wearing them on May 18. As an incentive, Walmart said it is offering workers $75 if they prove they’ve been vaccinated.

Read more here. —Associated Press

4:50 p.m.: A niece made funeral arrangements for her uncle dying of COVID-19. Then she learned about a life-saving surgery. Now he’s ready to karaoke again.

Over the past year, doctors repeatedly told Renato Aquino’s family to say their final goodbyes. His niece, Tasha Sundstrom even began making funeral arrangements.

But each time, Aquino, 65, of Glendale Heights, held on. And Sundstrom eventually saw a news story that appeared to offer one last chance for her uncle. A double lung transplant had saved then-28-year-old Mayra Ramirez, who was near death from COVID-19.

“I did all the arrangements and the next day he proved us wrong. He wanted to live,” Sundstrom said.

Sundstrom asked Aquino’s medical team about the transplant surgery, and he was soon transferred to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where, in February, he became the first known “COVID to COVID” double lung transplant recipient.

Improbably, Sundstrom sat next to her uncle during a news conference Friday at Northwestern, smiling while he bantered about once again singing karaoke.

After performing the United States’ first COVID-related double lung transplant last year, Northwestern surgeons have now done 20 such surgeries. In Aquino’s case, the surgeons used lungs from a person who had contracted a mild case of COVID-19 and died of unrelated causes — an important milestone because the surgery’s success greatly expands the number of lungs available for these procedures, the doctors said.

“If we said no to those patients from being donors, that means we are not going to have enough organs to save lives,” said Dr. Ankit Bharat, chief of thoracic surgery and surgical director of the Northwestern Medicine Lung Transplant Program, who performed the procedure. He noted that there have been more than 32 million cases of COVID-19 diagnosed in the U.S.

Read more here. —Madeline Buckley

4:35 p.m.: How the CDC’s new mask guidelines made you feel — and how you told us you’d adapt your mask wearing

When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed its recommendations Thursday on where fully vaccinated people need to wear masks, it unleashed a range of reactions from Tribune readers.

According to an unscientific online poll, most respondents said they were feeling optimism following the change describing their feelings with words like “excited,” “relieved,” “thrilled” and “It’s about time!” On the flip side, about a third of respondents expressed concern or confusion following the eased restrictions with responses like “Too soon,” “nervous,” “very disappointed” and “It feels too early.”

And a healthy number were stuck in the middle saying they felt “happy and confused,” “relieved but nervous” and “both happy and scared.”

Those sentiments played out in what respondents said about what types of activities they plan to stay masked and others where they plan to not wear them.

Read more here. —Jonathan Berlin

4:30 p.m.: Lake County moved to higher COVID-19 warning status despite vaccine availability: ‘There is still community spread’

More and more Lake County residents are receiving vaccinations against COVID-19, but not enough to keep the Illinois Department of Public Health from moving the county to an orange warning status because of signs of increased risk of the disease.

Despite injecting 533,597 doses of vaccine in residents’ arms and 33.38% of its residents being fully vaccinated, the state moved Lake County into warning status Friday because new cases remain too high and the number of deaths increased.

Mark Pfister, the executive director of the Lake County Health Department, has a solution.

“There is still community spread,” Pfister said. “The way to prevent COVID-19 is to go get vaccinated. We have all the vaccine we need, and we have slots available for appointments.”

Read more here. —Steve Sadin, Lake County News-Sun

3 p.m.: Now that younger teens can get the COVID-19 vaccine, is it a good time for them to get other shots too?

Dr. Tanya Altmann, a Calabasas, California-based pediatrician and spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics, said due to the multitude of COVID-19 concerns and hardships families have been facing for more than a year, many tweens and teens did not have their annual physicals, and some might also be behind on their childhood immunizations.

“Everyone was staying home, and afraid of getting COVID, so even though pediatric offices were very clean and safe, some parents have kept their kids away,” Altmann said. “Now, as everything is getting back to normal, and families are registering their kids for the next school year, it’s time for parents to schedule their children’s appointments to visit the pediatrician for a checkup, and to get any missing vaccines.”

Currently, the CDC recommendation is to not get any other routine vaccines within two weeks of the COVID-19 vaccines, Altmann said.

Still, outside of that short pause, parents of children aged 11 to 13 should check that they’re up to date on a slate of other academy-recommended vaccines, including the Tdap booster, which protects against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis, also known as whooping cough. Kids at that age should also get meningitis and HPV vaccines.

In addition, parents should ensure their tweens and teens see their pediatrician for an annual physical, even if it’s not being required for school registration or to play on an athletic team, Altmann said.

“With COVID, many kids have not had a well-child checkup for more than a year, which means things like scoliosis, vision issues or a heart murmur might not have been caught and dealt with earlier,” Altmann said.

While some Chicago-area public health officials and school districts were already making plans to deliver Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccines to kids 12 to 15 in mid-May, parents can also check with their pediatrician to see if the shots might be available by appointment.

“The logistical challenge for private practices is once you open a vial, there are six vaccines you need to use within six hours,” Altmann said, adding: “It’s going to take some coordination, but pediatricians will be able to figure it out, without wasting any doses.”

Read more here. —Karen Ann Cullotta

2:30 p.m.: After a year of profound grief and isolation, nursing homes across suburban Chicago seek healing

Over the past 14 months, the pandemic has brought to nursing homes and assisted living facilities illness, death, isolation and untold suffering.

The numbers tell only part of the story, but they are staggering. In the state’s long-term care facilities, 25,445 COVID-19 cases and 3,498 deaths were recorded in Cook County. DuPage County had 5,355 cases and 743 deaths, and Lake County had 4,160 cases and 558 deaths, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Then there was the isolation. Almost all facilities were closed to visitors and the public. Gone were the visits from adult children, grandkids and friends. Group activities were postponed. Residents were confined to their rooms, and, in many cases, prevented even from interacting with each other.

Mental health professionals recognize the danger in the disruption of those connections.

“Social isolation is linked to increased risk for anxiety and depression, as well as other physical health conditions,” said Jen McGowan-Tomke, chief operating officer of the Chicago chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. “Connection, community and access to care are all important factors in ensuring quality of life while aging for older adults.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports that “studies show social isolation significantly increased a person’s risk of premature death from all causes, a risk that may rival those of smoking, obesity and physical inactivity.”

Now, as vaccination numbers rise, particularly among the elderly, the cloud is beginning to lift. As of May 11, more than 10 million vaccine doses have been administered in the state, while more than 3 million of those doses have been given to residents 65 years of age and older.

As residents of long-term care facilities slowly return to what might be called normal life, they’re picking up the pieces, navigating emotions ranging from gratitude to grief — and everything in between.

To try to document what the past year-plus has been like for some of the elderly in suburban nursing homes and care facilities, Pioneer Press and the Chicago Tribune spoke with the residents of those facilities, as well as their loved ones and those who have cared for them during the pandemic.

They talked about the gravity of what they had lived through, and shared just some of the ways COVID-19 affected them and their lives.

Read more here. —Chicago Tribune staff

2:25 p.m.: Illinois’ COVID-19 test positivity rate inches down some more

On the day Illinois moved to the next-to-last phase of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s COVID-19 reopening plan, officials reported the latest seven-day positivity rate for cases as a share of total tests was 2.5%, the lowest since March 23.

The declining positivity rate is one of many factors that prompted the state to expand capacity limits as part of the move to the bridge phase of Pritzker’s plan.

Officials on Friday reported 1,841 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 resulting from 83,624 tests. As of Thursday night, 1,708 people in Illinois were hospitalized with COVID-19, with 425 patients in intensive care units and 237 patients on ventilators.

The seven-day average of total hospitalizations is 1,861, the lowest since an average of 1,858 was reported April 12. The average has been steadily falling since peaking at 2,165 April 22 during the recent spring surge.

The number of deaths from coronavirus is one metric that has not been coming down. Officials reported 49 additional fatalities Friday, the highest count since 54 adjusted deaths were reported March 11.

The statewide death toll since the pandemic began reached 22,369, and the total number of known infections in Illinois since the start of the pandemic reached 1,363,507.

An additional 50,326 coronavirus vaccine doses were administered Thursday, bringing the total to 10,229,330. Over the last seven days, an average of 72,767 vaccines were administered daily.

The number of residents who have been fully vaccinated — receiving both of the required shots, or Johnson & Johnson’s single shot — reached 4,690,335, or 36.81% of the total population.

—Jenny Whidden

2:10 p.m.: Chicago companies are plotting returns to the office. It won’t be as simple as turning off Zoom.

After more than a year of cameo appearances by kids, spouses and pets, work meetings may be headed toward pre-pandemic formality.

The reemergence of downtown Chicago offices in the upcoming months could mean the window is closing on an unprecedented look into colleagues’ home lives via Zoom and Microsoft Teams.

Some experts say the use of virtual platforms, forced into action by the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, unexpectedly humanized co-workers in a way that working side-by-side never did.

Now, as many large companies begin nudging employees back to the workplace, executives and human resources departments are weighing how soon, and how strictly, they should return to rigid conventions of the office.

Read more here. —Ryan Ori and Robert Channick

12:06 p.m.: 50,326 vaccine doses administered, 1,841 new cases and 49 deaths reported Friday

Illinois public health officials on Friday reported 1,841 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 49 deaths. That brings the state’s totals to 1,363,507 cases and 22,369 deaths.

There were 83,624 tests reported in the previous 24 hours, and the seven-day statewide positivity rate as a percent of total test is 2.5%.

There were 50,326 doses of the vaccine administered Thursday, and the seven-day rolling average of daily doses is 72,767.

—Chicago Tribune staff

7 a.m.: In testimony over deadly LaSalle outbreak, top Pritzker health officials say state VA misled them about COVID-19 protocols

Illinois’ public health director and Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s deputy in charge of health care said Thursday they were misled by top state veterans affairs officials when told COVID-19 procedures were being followed that could have slowed or prevented a deadly outbreak at the LaSalle Veterans Home in November.

“We believed the home was following all the recommended protocols and that the appropriate steps were being taken to address the cases,” Illinois public health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said during an Illinois House hearing over a scathing inspector general’s report on the outbreak.

“These tragic deaths, they are extremely frustrating to accept because there were some basic steps that, if taken, could have made a difference,” Ezike said.

Deputy Gov. Sol Flores said VA officials showed no urgency in selecting a senior administrator to oversee health care practices at the state’s veterans homes — a post that has been vacant since the fall of 2019, a year before the outbreak.

The highly critical April 30 report from the Illinois Department of Human Services’ Office of the Inspector General cited management lapses from the top of the state Department of Veterans Affairs down to staff at the LaSalle home.

In all, 36 residents died of COVID-19, and hundreds of residents and staff were sickened. Relatives of the dead veterans have filed lawsuits against the state as a result of the report’s findings.

“I was not aware that polices and protocols were not being followed. We were told that they were being followed,” Flores said at Thursday’s hearing.

Read more here. —Rick Pearson

7 a.m.: Report: Lollapalooza expected to return this summer for 4-day festival July 29-August 1

As the U.S. moves closer to reopening seemingly every day, it looks like a big step forward will come in mid-summer, when the Lollapalooza Festival will return to Chicago with a four-day event at its usual place and date range — Grant Park, July 29-August 1 — sources tell Variety. The city of Chicago gave the event the greenlight at near-to or -full-capacity, insiders report, and an official announcement, likely with headliners, is expected to come next week.

Reps for festival organizers C3 Presents declined Variety’s request for comment, although one told the Chicago Tribune late last month, “We are excited about the progress in Chicago as the city continues to reopen. We are in close contact with city and public health officials as we continue to plan for the festival and remain optimistic about Lollapalooza 2021 in Grant Park.” The festival’s website still has the 2020 dates and lineup posted.

Read more here. —Variety

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