IL Coronavirus Update Dec. 9: 8,256 New Infections, 179 More Dead

ILLINOIS — State health officials reported 8,256 new coronavirus infections on Wednesday and 179 more deaths from COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the virus. Though new infections have declined slightly in recent days, hospitalizations and deaths remain high, including nearly three dozen at one state veterans home. Gov. J.B. Pritzker said statewide restrictions and stay-at-home recommendations may be offsetting an anticipated post-Thanksgiving surge, but cautioned that the state is still in the "danger zone."

"These next four weeks may be the most crucial month of this entire pandemic," Pritzker said Monday.

Last week was the deadliest of the pandemic for Illinois, with a record 248 deaths reported on Wednesday, followed by Saturday with 208 deaths — a grim second-place. With more than 100 deaths reported on both Tuesday and Wednesday (and 90 on Monday), the second week of December is shaping up to be one of the deadliest since March.

Altogether, the state has now seen 812,430 infections and 13,666 deaths. The latest deaths include:

• Adams County: 1 female 100+
• Bond County: 1 female 60s
• Boone County: 1 female 60s, 1 male 70s, 1 male 80s
• Bureau County: 1 male 70s
• Champaign County: 1 male 70s
• Christian County: 1 female 40s
• Cook County: 1 female 40s, 3 males 40s, 3 males 50s, 5 females 60s, 7 males 60s, 5 females 70s, 9 males 70s, 11 females 80s, 11 males 80s, 7 females 90s, 2 males 90s, 1 female 100+
• Crawford County: 1 male 80s
• DeKalb County: 1 male 80s, 1 female 90s
• DuPage County: 1 female 60s, 1 male 60s, 2 females 70s, 2 females 80s, 2 males 80s
• Edgar County: 1 male 70s, 1 female 90s
• Effingham County: 1 female 70s, 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s, 2 females 90
• Fulton County: 1 male 80s
• Greene County: 1 male 70s
• Grundy County: 1 female 80s
• Hamilton County: 1 male 80s
• Henderson County: 1 female 90s
• Jackson County: 1 female 90s
• Jefferson County: 1 female 50s, 1 female 80s
• Johnson County: 1 male 40s
• Kane County: 1 male 60s, 1 male 70s, 1 male 80s, 1 female 90s
• Kankakee County: 1 male 80s
• Knox County: 1 female 80s
• Lake County: 1 male 60s, 1 female 70s, 2 male 70s, 1 male 90s
• LaSalle County: 1 female 80s
• Lee County: 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s, 1 male 80s
• Livingston County: 1 female 90s
• Logan County: 1 female 60s, 2 females 90s
• Macoupin County: 3 females 60s, 1 female 80s
• Madison County: 1 female 40s, 2 females 60s, 1 male 60s, 2 females 80s, 1 male 80s
• Marion County: 1 male 60s, 1 female 90s
• Massac County: 1 male 70s, 1 male 80s, 1 female 90s
• McDonough County: 1 female 70s
• McHenry County: 1 female 70s
• McLean County: 1 female 60s, 1 male 70s
• Morgan County: 1 male 70s, 1 female 90s
• Moultrie County: 1 female 80s
• Peoria County: 1 female 40s, 2 males 70s
• Rock Island County: 2 females 70s
• Sangamon County: 1 male 50s, 1 female 60s, 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s, 1 male 80s, 3 females 90s
• Shelby County: 1 female 80s, 1 male 80s
• St. Clair County: 3 females 70s, 1 female 90s
• Stephenson County: 1 male 80s
• Tazewell County: 1 female 90s, 1 female 100+, 1 male 100+
• Vermilion County: 1 male 90s
• Washington County: 1 male 80s
• Will County: 1 male 40s, 1 female 50s, 2 females 60s, 1 male 60s, 2 males 70s, 1 male 80s
• Williamson County: 1 female 60s
• Winnebago County: 1 male 60s, 1 male 70s, 1 male 80s

Thirty-two of those deaths have been tied to the LaSalle Veterans Home, Pritzker said Monday, calling it a "worst-case scenario." According to the most recent data, 39 out of 96 residents at the state-run home, along with 21 staff members, have also tested positive for the virus.

State officials said the home's director, Angela Mehlbrech, has been fired and officials are investigating the cause of the outbreak.

"The loss of lives at our LaSalle Veterans Home is heartbreaking," Pritzker said, "which is why I keep using every resource at my disposal to stop the community spread that makes this virus so insidious. We have grieved for far too many of these fatal outbreak in nursing homes in every corner of Illinois."

Hospitalizations rose slightly from Tuesday, as did ICU occupancy and ventilator use. As of Tuesday night, 5,284 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 across Illinois, including 1,176 in intensive care and 647 on ventilators.

The statewide case positivity rate — a rolling, seven-day average — fell 0.3 percentage points to 9.6 percent.

(The positivity rate is the number the state has reported since the start of the pandemic and is calculated by dividing total cases detected by total tests performed. Another way to calculate the positivity rate is to divide the number of positive tests by total tests performed. By that calculation, the test positivity rate is 11.4 percent.)

According to Johns Hopkins University, a positivity rate of less than 5 percent is a good measure of whether enough tests are being conducted, and state officials have said a rate higher than 8 percent will trigger new restrictions in a given region.

See how your region is doing here.

The United States now has more than 15.2 million confirmed coronavirus infections, and at least 287,671 Americans have died from COVID-19, according to Johns Hopkins University. Based on the latest predictions by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 303,000 to 329,000 Americans could be dead from the disease by the day after Christmas.

Globally, more than 68.6 million people have been infected and more than 1.5 million are known to have died.

Illinois Patch Local Business Information Center

As local and state economies slowly emerge from pandemic lockdowns, it's often hard for customers to know the conditions under which local businesses are open. The business center contains easily accessible and up-to-date information about scores of local businesses, including everything from operating hours to the availability of by-appointment services, quick website links and other contact information. It's free to use and free for businesses to join.

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Illinois Coronavirus Helpline:

Illinois officials say a state helpline has been set up to provide emotional support and quick answers to questions about the coronavirus pandemic. Illinoisans can test "TALK" to 55-2020 (or "HABLAR" for Spanish), and within 24 hours they will receive a call from a counselor. Residents can also text keywords such as "UNEMPLOYMENT," "FOOD" or "SHELTER," to the same number to receive additional information about those topics.

Coronavirus by the numbers:

Illinois:

• Total number of coronavirus cases: 812,430
• Confirmed Deaths: 13,666
• People tested: 11,367,345
• Recovered: Illinois does not provide exact numbers of recovered cases, but says the recovery rate is 97 percent.

Nationwide:

• Total number of coronavirus cases: 15,285,261
• Deaths: 287,671
• People tested: 207,572,528
• Recovered: 5,786,915

Global:

• Total number of coronavirus cases: 68,645,081
• Deaths: 1,564,496
• People tested: No data available
• Recovered: 44,180,315

Sources: Johns Hopkins University and IDPH

Tips from the CDC on dealing with coronavirus:

While the best way to prevent illness is to avoid virus exposure, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention generally recommends taking these actions to prevent the spread of viruses:

• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
• Stay home when you are sick.
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipes.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom, before eating, and after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing.

What to do if you're sick:

Call head if you're planning to visit your doctor:

• If you have a medical appointment, call the health care provider and tell them that you have or may have COVID-19. This will help the health care provider's office take steps to keep other people from getting infected or exposed.

Stay home unless you must see a doctor:

• Stay home: People who are mildly ill with COVID-19 are able to isolate at home during their illness. You should restrict activities outside your home, except for getting medical care.
• Avoid public areas: Do not go to work, school, or public areas.
• Avoid public transportation: Avoid using public transportation, ride-sharing or taxis.

Separate yourself from other people and animals in your home:

• Stay away from others: As much as possible, you should stay in a specific room and away from other people in your home. Also, you should use a separate bathroom, if available.
• Limit contact with pets and animals: You should restrict contact with pets and other animals while you are sick with COVID-19, just as you would around other people. Although there have not been reports of pets or other animals becoming sick with COVID-19, it is still recommended that people sick with COVID-19 limit contact with animals until more information is known about the virus.
• When possible, have another member of your household care for your animals while you are sick. If you are sick with COVID-19, avoid contact with your pet, including petting, snuggling, being kissed or licked and sharing food. If you must care for your pet or be around animals while you are sick, wash your hands before and after you interact with pets and wear a face mask. See COVID-19 and Animals for more information.

Avoid sharing personal household items:

• Do not share: You should not share dishes, drinking glasses, cups, eating utensils, towels, or bedding with other people or pets in your home.
• Wash thoroughly after use: After using these items, they should be washed thoroughly with soap and water.

Masks:

• CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies), especially in areas of significant community-based transmission. CDC also advises the use of simple cloth face coverings to slow the spread of the virus and help people who may have the virus and do not know it from transmitting it to others. Cloth face coverings fashioned from household items or made at home from common materials at low cost can be used as an additional, voluntary public health measure.
• Cloth face coverings should not be placed on young children under age 2, anyone who has trouble breathing, or is unconscious, incapacitated or otherwise unable to remove the mask without assistance.
• The cloth face coverings recommended are not surgical masks or N-95 respirators. Those are critical supplies that must continue to be reserved for healthcare workers and other medical first responders, as recommended by current CDC guidance.
• Face mask instructions — sew- and no-sew masks

To donate personal protective equipment (PPE), email PPE.donations@illinois.gov. For health questions about COVID-19, call the state coronavirus hotline at 800-889-3931 or email dph.sick@illinois.gov.