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Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Here’s what happened June 1 with COVID-19 in the Chicago area
Chicago Tribune - 6/2/2021
Visitors to Chicago will no longer be required to quarantine or obtain a negative test result before arriving in the city due to reduced spread of the coronavirus across the country, public health officials announced Tuesday.
The city said no states are recording 15 cases per 100,000 residents, which is the trigger for requiring visitors from a state to quarantine or obtain a negative test. The change marks the first time since July 2020 that no states are listed on Chicago’s quarantine tier.
Meanwhile, Illinois public health officials Tuesday reported 401 new and probable cases of COVID-19 and 8 additional deaths. The new cases reported Tuesday are the lowest daily total since March 25, 2020.
There were 17,077 doses of the vaccine administered Monday and the seven-day rolling average of daily doses is 45,545. Officials said 67% of Illinois adults have received at least one vaccine dose and 51% of adults are fully vaccinated.
Here’s what’s happening Tuesday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area:
4:15 p.m.: Red Cross, American Cancer Society urge blood, platelet donations as cancer treatments resume
The American Red Cross and American Cancer Society have partnered to promote blood and platelet donations nationwide in wake of the resumption of cancer treatments as the COVID-19 pandemic wanes in the United States.
The Red Cross has an emergency need for platelet donation in the Chicago area as it sees fewer blood and platelet donations even as Chicago moves toward full reopening, according to Red Cross Illinois spokesperson Joy Squier.
Early on in the pandemic, hospital visits and procedures for cancer patients were delayed or canceled because of the due to risk of exposure to COVID-19, according to the American Cancer Society. Now, as cancer treatments resume, hospitals are seeing a strong demand for blood products, including platelets to ensure cancer patients can undergo treatment.
“Many cancer patients, especially those going through chemotherapy, will have a need for blood products during treatment,” Red Cross medical director Dr. Baia Lasky said in a news release. “When someone donates blood or platelets, they may not only help prevent life-threatening bleeding that can cause stroke or relieve some symptoms, like shortness of breath and headaches, but also give patients and their families the time and hope they need to fight back.”
Blood donation opportunities are available at various locations in Cook, DuPage, Lake and Will County.
Donors must be in generally good health, weigh at least 110 pounds and be at least 17 years old, or 16 years old with parental consent.
Donors can schedule a blood or platelet donation appointment at GiveBloodToGiveTime.org.
—Navya Gupta
4 p.m.: Will County Health to offer one-dose COVID-19 vaccination clinics
Getting the one-shot COVID-19 vaccine in Will County is about to get a little easier.
Beginning June 9, the COVID-19 mass vaccination clinic at the former Toys R Us store in Joliet will offer the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The Will County Health Department also will offer its first Johnson & Johnson pop-up clinic Saturday.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is approved for adults ages 18 and older and only requires one dose as opposed to the two-dose vaccines from Moderna or Pfizer.
Appointments are encouraged but not required and can be made online at www.willcountyhealth.org. Walk-ins for COVID-19 vaccinations are welcome at all clinics.
Read more here. —Alicia Fabbre, Daily Southtown
12:10 p.m.: 17,077 vaccine doses administered, 401 new cases and 8 deaths reported
Illinois public health officials on Tuesday reported 401 new and probable cases of COVID-19 and 8 additional deaths. That brings the state’s totals to 1,382,587 cases and 22,835 deaths.
There were 24,273 tests reported in the previous 24 hours and the seven-day statewide positivity rate as a percent of total test is 1.6%.
There were 17,077 doses of the vaccine administered Monday and the seven-day rolling average of daily doses is 45,545. Officials said 67% of Illinois adults have received at least one vaccine dose and 51% of adults are fully vaccinated.
—Chicago Tribune staff
11:55 a.m.: Chicago’s travel order has no restricted states for first time since July 2020
Visitors to Chicago will no longer be required to quarantine or obtain a negative test result before arriving in the city due to reduced spread of the coronavirus across the country, public health officials announced Tuesday.
The city said no states are recording 15 cases per 100,000 residents, which is the trigger for requiring visitors from a state to quarantine or obtain a negative test. The change marks the first time since July 2020 that no states are listed on Chicago’s quarantine tier.
All 49 other states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico are listed in the city’s “yellow” tier, which does not have any quarantine, vaccination or COVID-19 test restrictions for travelers returning to Chicago.
The announcement on Tuesday is largely symbolic as the travel order has not been enforced by the city and is more of an educational tool.
But it marks yet another milestone as Chicago continues its path toward reopening. The city’s travel order is updated every two weeks and goes into effect Friday at midnight.
Read more here. —Gregory Pratt
9:32 a.m.: Michigan eases mask rules outdoors, capacity limits in bars and restaurants
Michigan crossed a threshold in the COVID-19 pandemic Tuesday with a lifting of certain restrictions at outdoor events and inside bars and restaurants.
Masks no longer are required outdoors, and capacity limits are extinguished at outdoor sports events and concerts.
Restaurants and bars can operate indoors at 50% capacity and can stay open past 11 p.m. There’s no limit on the number of people at one table. Full capacity returns on July 1.
Read more here. —Associated Press
7 a.m.: Travelers are returning to O’Hare, but the ‘people mover’ is still closed: ‘It’s become both a headache and an embarrassment’
As travelers return to O’Hare International Airport, one key piece of the experience is still missing: the once-popular “people mover” train remains out of service.
More than two years after construction on the Airport Transit System was supposed to be substantially complete, passengers still must rely on shuttle buses to get between terminals and to and from parking lots. Some travelers said they found the process confusing or frustrating.
Mike Davis, who typically flies out of O’Hare several times each month, misses the efficiency of the train, he said.
Recently, he found himself sitting on a shuttle waiting at the terminal for its turn to drop off passengers, as the time until takeoff ticked closer. By the time he got off the shuttle it was too late to check his bag, and he booked a ticket for a new flight, he said.
Read more here. —Sarah Freishtat
6 a.m.: Illinois budget would use $2.5 billion in federal coronavirus relief money
Illinois lawmakers went into overtime Tuesday, missing a midnight deadline to adjourn the spring session but approving a $42 billion state budget, a plan shifting next year’s primary to June and an ethics package requiring more financial disclosure of officeholders.
The budget was part of a spending package that would use $2.5 billion in federal coronavirus relief funds for infrastructure projects and other programs. The plan also counts on generating more than $600 million in revenue by closing what Gov. J.B. Pritzker and fellow Democrats have called corporate tax loopholes.
Illinois is in line to receive $8.1 billion in relief from President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan, but the latest proposal calls for spending only a portion of that, with $1 billion to be used for infrastructure projects. The other $1.5 billion would be used for programs such as business relief, violence prevention and affordable housing, said Rep. Greg Harris, a Democratic majority leader from Chicago.
Harris said discussions would continue over the summer about how to spend the remainder of the federal relief money, which can be spent through 2024.
Read more here. —Rick Pearson, Dan Petrella and Bill Ruthhart
6 a.m.: Memorial Day 2021 in Chicago marks step closer to normalcy following pandemic cancellations last year
Across the Chicago area Monday, people honored the holiday in ways that didn’t mark a complete return to normalcy, but still moved everyone a little closer to resuming their lives. This new post-pandemic posture — a creative mixture of old ways and COVID-19 adjustments — could be seen at suburban parades, cemetery ceremonies, downtown flag displays and the newly opened lakefront.
Even the daily case counts looked different from last year, with 521 new cases reported Monday and more than 67% of adults statewide having received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. On Memorial Day 2020, state officials reported 1,713 new cases and vaccines trials were in their infancy.
Read more here. —Navya Gupta, Maya Mokh, Maggie Prosser and Stacy St. Clair
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