Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Here’s what’s happening Thursday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area
Illinois public health officials reported 238 coronavirus deaths Wednesday, the most confirmed in the state 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.
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.
Meanwhile, as many schools throughout the state switch to remote learning, the Illinois High School Association confirmed Wednesday that winter sports will not begin until at least January.
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Here’s what’s happening Thursday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
5:30 a.m.: Column: Recovery is coming in 2021. Will artists be off their games? Or will there be a rush of new talent and ideas?
On Monday, the Bloomberg News Service had a rather chilling headline: “Rusty Pilots Making Flying Errors Is Next Aviation Headache.”
The story set me wondering. Are we now in for a period of similarly rusty artists?
Bloomberg’s piece probed a logical dilemma as the world recovers from the pandemic in 2021. Given that fewer pilots were flying during the months of reduced demand due to COVID-19, airlines now are starting to worry that even seasoned aviation professionals will need a lot of help to get back to the requisite peak performance. Sit around too long, the reasoning goes, and you aren’t as sharp as when you do something on a daily basis. And if you’ve got peoples’ lives in your hands, there’s no room for error.
This is also true in the performing arts, as in many other fields. Any actor will tell you that the discipline of doing, say, eight shows a week at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company not only ensures that the voice and body are trained to peak condition, but the sense memory of that constant focus ensures the level of mental acuity crucial to great acting. Any orchestral musician will confirm that great classical ensembles become near-singular organisms over time, enhancing artistic unity. Those who sing or play rock, blues or whatever with others on a regular basis usually will tell you that they end up knowing their bandmates almost like they know themselves.
Read more here. —Chris Jones
5 a.m.: Aurora city officials say they’re in a ‘Catch-22’ trying to enforce Tier 3 COVID-19 restrictions
A high-ranking Aurora city official this week used a tightrope, “Catch-22,” a tough spot and a mixed bag to describe the issue of enforcing coronavirus pandemic restrictions.
Alex Alexandrou, Aurora’s chief management officer, said the city does not have jurisdiction to enforce the Tier 3 closing restrictions the state has forced on businesses, particularly restaurants, who are not allowed to have inside customers.
He said the city’s revenue situation is highly reliant on its restaurants, and it has “weighed heavily on us” how to keep those restaurants alive, while enforcing the restrictions. Some city restaurants are defying the state’s orders; meanwhile, the number of deaths, infections and hospital strain is high due to the pandemic.
“It’s a horrible ‘Catch-22 1/4 u2032 that we’re in,” Alexandrou said.
Read more here. — Steve Lord, Aurora Beacon-News
In case you missed it
Here are some recent stories about COVID-19:
Hospitals will distribute some of the first vaccines to their frontline workers, although shots probably won’t be mandatory.
In Illinois, more than one-third of PPP funds, meant for small businesses, went to larger companies that got loans of $1M or more. Search the SBA list.
The Illinois High School Association confirmed Wednesday that winter sports will not begin until at least January..
People wary of COVID-19 are avoiding the ER, and that has doctors worried. Here’s how Chicago-area hospitals keep patients safe.
Should pregnant women get a COVID-19 vaccine? What about women considering pregnancy? Guidance is hard to find because trials exclude pregnancy.
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