Daywatch: U. of I. saliva COVID-19 test approved, thousands of CPS students return and the plight of restaurant workers in the pandemic
Good morning, Chicago. Illinois on Monday recorded 1,143 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 — the lowest case count since late July — as well as 20 additional fatalities. The state administered 50,897 coronavirus vaccine doses Sunday. Meanwhile, the Tribune talked to Laurie Zoloth, a bioethicist at the University of Chicago, about the ethical questions around getting the COVID-19 vaccine. If you missed the Facebook Live, you can watch it here.
Also Monday, Chicago’s new 6 mph speeding ticket rules started. Wondering if there are speed cameras near you? Search our map of camera locations.
And, with spring training underway, White Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito weighs in on whether his team can rule Chicago, and Cubs manager David Ross is optimistic fans will be allowed at Wrigley Field on opening day. Read more in the Tribune’s daily Cactus League report.
Here’s more coronavirus news and other top stories you need to know to start your day.
For your smart speaker 5/8 Join our COVID-19 Facebook group 5/8 More newsletters 5/8 Puzzles & Games 5/8 Daily horoscope
University of Illinois wins FDA approval for saliva COVID-19 test: ‘We’re wasting no time in deploying this,’ Gov. Pritzker vows
The saliva-based COVID-19 test developed by University of Illinois researchers has obtained federal emergency use authorization, a highly anticipated stamp of approval that confirms its accuracy and enables broader distribution across the state.
The test, known as covidSHIELD, appeared on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s online list of approved molecular diagnostic tests on Monday. U. of I. has relied on the test to keep its three campuses open for in-person learning since the fall, garnering national attention for the innovation and running more than 1.5 million samples to date.
Chicago expecting Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine shipment, Mayor Lori Lightfoot says
Two big annual trade shows canceled — again — at McCormick Place
Back to school, but not quite back to normal, as CPS students return to classrooms after yearlong closure: ‘The kids need this’
After multiple delays and a prolonged battle with the teachers union, Chicago Public Schools reopened its doors Monday to tens of thousands of kindergarten through fifth graders. Preschoolers and some special education pupils had already begun in-person classes weeks earlier, but Monday saw the largest number of CPS students inside classrooms since the pandemic shut schools in March of last year.
‘I pray this works out’: What CPS parents are saying about their kids going back to school
Photos: CPS students return to school
‘Dehumanization’ of Chicago’s restaurant workers leaves them with a tough choice: COVID-19 risk or unemployment?
It’s not just one thing restaurant workers are grappling with these days. It’s customers who don’t wear masks. Bosses who prioritize the bottom line above safety. And of course, there’s the endless specter of exposure to COVID-19.
The Tribune spoke with the cooks, bussers and servers who make up the backbone of the city’s restaurants. Here’s what they had to say, one year into a life-threatening pandemic.
Restaurants say delivery has been both a blessing and a curse during the pandemic. What happens as eateries reopen?
Doctors under stress from COVID-19 say they need mental health services: ‘We’re human beings, just like everyone else’
Doctors have often suffered in a workplace culture that celebrates stamina at the expense of self-care. Now, with COVID-19 adding to their stress, doctors are increasingly fighting back. They are pushing for an end to probing mental health questions from state regulators, and they’re speaking out about their own therapy and counseling, in the hope of breaking down stigma.
‘Soul of a Nation’ program highlights Evanston’s racial reparations plan
Evanston’s novel plan to use tax revenue to fund reparations for its Black residents is explored on Tuesday’s series premiere of the news magazine “Soul of a Nation.”
ABC News’ Byron Pitts visited the city in late January to interview Black family members; Evanston Ald. Robin Rue Simmons, who led the effort for the reparations commitment; and Morris “Dino” Robinson Jr., the Shorefront Legacy Center founder who researched Evanston’s history of discrimination and segregation.
