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980 new cases, 36 additional deaths, 2.6 percent positivity rate

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* Press release

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced 980 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 36 additional confirmed deaths.

Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 149,432 cases, including 7,099 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 32,742 specimens for a total of 1,842,576. The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from July 1 –July 7 is 2.6%. As of last night, 1,518 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 331 patients were in the ICU and 151 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.

Following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, IDPH is now reporting both confirmed and probable cases and deaths on its website. Reporting probable cases will help show the potential burden of COVID-19 illness and efficacy of population-based non-pharmaceutical interventions. IDPH will update these data once a week.

Lots of testing is finding lots of cases, but the positivity rate is holding steady overall.

* Press release…

The Lake County Health Department is reporting an upward trend in new Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) cases among teenagers and young adults in the past two weeks. Since June 25, 2020, cases reported in Lake County residents under age 30 have been rising while cases in the general population have remained steady.

“During our case investigations, we are finding that many young people who attended social gatherings with their friends have become infected with COVID-19,” said Dr. Sana Ahmed, Medical Epidemiologist for the Lake County Health Department. “Youth are just as likely as adults to get and spread this virus, and your risk is higher if you and those you spend time with are not following social distancing, handwashing, and masking guidelines. We ask that everyone continue to take these risks seriously and contact the Health Department if you think you have been exposed. We need your help to keep this virus under control.”

* Meanwhile

The Illinois Attorney General’s Office has filed a motion to dismiss Count I in a lawsuit brought by Rep. Darren Bailey against Gov. Pritzker.

Rep. Bailey, R-Xenia, filed a lawsuit in Clay County Circuit Court on April 23, claiming Pritzker had exceeded his authority and violated the civil rights of Illinoisans by issuing and extending the stay at home order. […]

In the motion filed Tuesday night, the Attorney General (AG) says the Clay County judge’s ruling on July 2 was a non-final and non-appealable ruling because one of the counts wasn’t resolved, Count I.

The AG is now asking for that count to be resolved.

* The Daily Herald editorialized on the Bailey cases

If you like what’s happening with COVID-19 numbers in early-opening states like Florida, Texas, Arizona and California, you’ll love Illinois state Rep. Darren Bailey and 4th Judicial Circuit Judge Michael D. McHaney. Be forewarned, though. They don’t much care about you or your safety. […]

But along the way, there are a couple of points that Illinoisans should consider regardless of where they live.

One is reflected in a McHaney statement from the bench that provides chilling insight into the legal mind that produced his ruling. The Chicago Daily Law Bulletin reports that during the two-hour hearing Thursday, the justice frequently questioned the credibility of public health experts and COVID-19 research and expressed doubts about both the number of positive COVID-19 cases and the virus-related death statistics in Illinois. His concern? “Illinois citizens cannot be mandated to cede their constitutional rights to some alleged experts,” he said,

“Some alleged experts.” Or, as other observers might put it, almost all of the leading infectious disease researchers in the world. Apparently Justice McHaney has his doubts about the validity of the scientific case underpinning the restrictions most states and all responsible Americans have undertaken to combat the spread of the deadly coronavirus pandemic.

* In other news

Ever since the coronavirus emerged in Europe, Sweden has captured international attention by conducting an unorthodox, open-air experiment. It has allowed the world to examine what happens in a pandemic when a government allows life to carry on largely unhindered.

This is what has happened: Not only have thousands more people died than in neighboring countries that imposed lockdowns, but Sweden’s economy has fared little better.

“They literally gained nothing,” said Jacob F. Kirkegaard, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington. “It’s a self-inflicted wound, and they have no economic gains.”

* Tribune live blog headlines

Despite Trump’s push for nation’s schools to reopen this fall, Lightfoot says the decision should be local

State extends deadline on expiring driver’s licenses, vehicle stickers to Nov. 1

Lightfoot marks kickoff of virtual Taste of Chicago amid coronavirus pandemic

For the 1st time since March, fans took in a live sporting event in Chicagoland with the Chicago Dogs home opener: ‘We just wanted to get on with our lives a little bit’

Chicago students earning stipends through online summer program

Demand escalates for pet food pantries during COVID-19 crisis: ‘We didn’t know how we were going to manage’

* Sun-Times live blog headlines

Lysol can kill coronavirus on surfaces, EPA says

White Sox introduce fan cutout initiative to fill empty stands

Suburban movie theaters to temporarily close again after 3 weeks of social distancing

Another PPE shortage? Protective gear for medical workers begins to run low again

Trump runs foreign students out of the country in a desperate move to return to ‘normal’

Miami Heat closes training facility after 2nd player tests positive for coronavirus

posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Jul 8, 20 @ 2:34 pm

Comments

  1. “Some alleged experts.”

    The anti-science crowd has definitely reduced our national standing in the world and brought us lower, with more infections and deaths. We are banned from traveling to most of Europe.

    Comment by Grandson of Man Wednesday, Jul 8, 20 @ 3:04 pm

  2. Is there a convenient age-based reporting of IL Covid testing out there? Trends / case #s / positivity among 18-29 year olds, say, since June? That seems to be the danger trend in some other states.

    Comment by ZC Wednesday, Jul 8, 20 @ 3:11 pm

  3. At this point, I view setting foot in Clay County as a threat to both my physical health and my intelligence. Thankfully I have no reason to ever go there.

    Comment by Zim Wednesday, Jul 8, 20 @ 3:14 pm

  4. === Lots of testing is finding lots of cases, but the positivity rate is holding steady overall. ===

    The positivity rate and the number of new infections tell you two different things.

    The positivity rate tells you whether there is sufficient access to testing, WHO says that the positivity rate should be below 5 percent, and a steady, low positivity rate tells you that you have sufficient testing for your test results to accurately measure changes in the pandemic.

    New positive cases obviously tell you whether the rate of infection is growing or shrinking.

    We’ll see what the seven day average looks like. There is a delay in test results and there was a holiday weekend, so hopefully this data smooths out. 980 is a big jump, but it could be an anomaly.

    Comment by Thomas Paine Wednesday, Jul 8, 20 @ 3:33 pm

  5. zero reasons to have any PPE shortages any where in the US if we had ANY leadership from the Whitehouse. Trump and the gOP own this pandemic and the outcome that will be historic on maany levels. GOP campaigns on GOVT doesn;t work and by god, they made sure it didn’t

    Comment by truthteller Wednesday, Jul 8, 20 @ 3:46 pm

  6. Wow, that is *scathing* from the Daily Herald’s editorial page.

    Comment by thunderspirit Wednesday, Jul 8, 20 @ 4:05 pm

  7. ==The Lake County Health Department is reporting an upward trend in new Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) cases among teenagers and young adults in the past two weeks.==

    Will reopening high schools next month with rising cases of COVID-19 among teenagers be possible? I don’t think so.

    Comment by Wensicia Wednesday, Jul 8, 20 @ 4:32 pm

  8. Lysol can kill covid on surfaces. Meanwhile, a not in the Lancet (the premier British medical journal) says the risk of surface contact is almost nil even without disinfection, unless someone with the disease actually coughs or sneezes directly onto that surface.

    We need to transition to an understanding that this is overwhelmingly a disease of shared air.

    Comment by ryan Wednesday, Jul 8, 20 @ 5:34 pm

  9. ==We need to transition to an understanding that this is overwhelmingly a disease of shared air.==

    This. And cramming a bunch of students into “climate controlled” buildings is going to be an utter failure.

    Comment by MSIX Wednesday, Jul 8, 20 @ 9:58 pm

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