The Chicago Public Schools announced that educators would not be prevented from accessing their virtual classrooms as negotiations with the teachers’ union continued on a return to face-to-face learning.
In the meantime, consultations for the second major vaccination site for Cook County’s COVID-19 community, Triton College in River Grove, will open at 9 am Tuesday morning.
Here are the latest COVID-19 headlines across the state:
2 more Illinois regions ‘on track’ to move to Phase 4 mitigations on Wednesday: IDPH
Two other regions of Illinois are “on track” to move on to Phase 4 mitigations this week, if they continue in the right direction, health officials announced on Tuesday.
Regions 8 and 9 – which include DuPage, Kane, Lake and McHenry counties in the Chicago area – are expected to be able to loosen restrictions further as early as Wednesday, the Illinois Department of Public Health said.
“If all mitigation metrics continue to improve, regions 8 and 9 will move to Phase 4 of the Restore Illinois Plan on Wednesday,” the department said in a statement.
The move would bring all but one region of Illinois back to Phase 4 of the state’s reopening guidelines after the state began allowing the regions to move forward in mid-January.
Illinois reports 2,304 new COVID-19 cases, 47 additional deaths on Tuesday
Health officials in Illinois reported 2,304 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus on Tuesday, along with 47 additional deaths attributed to the virus.
According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, Tuesday’s new cases bring the state to 1,130,917 cases of the virus in the state, with 19,306 deaths attributed to COVID since the pandemic began last year.
IDPH also noted that Regions 8 and 9 are on their way to move to Phase 4 of the Restore Illinois Plan on Wednesday.
In the last 24 hours, 60,899 specimens were delivered to state laboratories, bringing the total number of exams performed across the state to 16,161,454.
The seven-day positivity rate remained the same on Tuesday, at 3.9%, the lowest mark since October. The positivity rate in individuals tested during this period is 4.9%.
As of Monday night, there were 2,447 coronavirus patients in Illinois hospitals. Of these patients, 533 were currently in intensive care units, while 265 were on ventilators.
Several Chicago suburbs move to Phase 4 mitigations on Tuesday, health officials say
Cook County in the suburb moved to Phase 4 of the coronavirus mitigation rules on Tuesday, allowing several suburbs in the Chicago area to loosen restrictions further, the state health department said.
According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, Region 10, which includes the suburbs of Cook County outside of the city of Chicago, met the metrics needed to adopt the less restrictive rules on Tuesday.
Region 10 marks the eighth region in the state to return to that level since the state began allowing regions to move forward in mid-January. On Monday, Region 7, which includes Will and Kankakee counties, moved to Phase 4, while the city of Chicago entered a modified version of the phase over the weekend.
Chicago Launches Appointments for COVID Vaccines Through Zocdoc, Authorities Set to Advertise
Chicagoans looking for coronavirus vaccine appointments will soon be able to schedule their visits through an online portal in partnership with Zocdoc, the city is due to announce on Tuesday.
The Chicago Department of Public Health commissioner is expected to announce the partnership at a press conference at 1 pm on Tuesday. (Watch live here at 13h)
The so-called Zocdoc Vaccine Scheduler will be free and “was designed to streamline vaccine scheduling,” the city said in a statement.
“Although vaccine supplies are currently very limited, consultations will be added continuously as more vaccines are allocated to providers. Chicagoans are still encouraged to seek consultation with their primary care providers, if any, and also by local pharmacies or their employers, if available, “the statement said. “But the Zocdoc Vaccine Scheduler will serve as a free public resource for Chicagoans who would otherwise have a hard time finding and accessing a vaccine.”
Chicago South Side Irish Parade Canceled for Second Year
The 2021 Irish St. Patrick’s Day parade on Chicago’s South Side “will not have its traditional march down Western Avenue,” event organizers announced on Tuesday, marking the second year of the iconic parade’s cancellation because of the pandemic. of the coronavirus.
“Due to the continuing public health concerns of COVID-19, the City of Chicago has announced that it will not issue any authorization for parades or large gatherings in the first quarter of 2021,” the parade organizers said in a statement on Tuesday.
Organizers said the parade committee is exploring alternative ways to celebrate the community’s Irish heritage “to respect public health and the safety of everyone”.
Read more here.
6 Chicago Walmart locations are administering COVID-19 vaccines
Six Walmart locations in Chicago are administering COVID-19 vaccines, the company says.
The locations where vaccines are currently available, according to the retailer, include:
- 7535 S. Ashland Ave.
- 4650 W. North Ave.
- 4626 W. Diversey Ave.
- 2551 W. Cermak Rd.
- 8331 S. Stewart Ave.
- 10900 S. Doty Ave.
Walmart is one of several retailers that provide COVID-19 vaccines to Illinois residents. The company began administering injections last month at more than 150 Walmart and Sam’s Clubs stores in a dozen states, including Illinois and Indiana.
Read more here.
CPS, CTU avoid teacher block, remote learning to continue during the ‘cooling down’ period
After “substantial progress” was made in negotiations between the Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers’ Union on Monday, the district announced on Monday evening that teachers will not be prevented from accessing the Google Suite, with virtual learning continuing for students for at least the next two days.
According to an email from CPS, students will have distance learning on Tuesday and Wednesday as negotiations continue, with the teacher’s block now out of the question.
“We have reached another important milestone today in our efforts to provide face-to-face learning to our students in the Chicago Public Schools system,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot and CPS director Dr. Janice Jackson said in a statement. “We secured an agreement on one of them. Another open question and made substantial progress on a structure that we hope will address the remaining issues. We request a 48-hour cooling-off period which, hopefully, will lead to a final resolution on all open issues. . “
The news came after an ultimatum delivered on Sunday by Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who said the CPS would be prepared to “act” if teachers did not show up in their classrooms on Monday.
In the midst of the often tense negotiations, teachers voted in January to return to remote education, even with pre-K and collective students already back in class. This vote was taken in response to CPS’s request for teachers to return to K-8 classrooms on January 25, with students returning to these classrooms on February 1.
CPS officials said over the weekend that if teachers did not return to schools on Monday, they would be considered “absent without leave” and would not be allowed to conduct distance learning until they report to their classrooms.
Read more here.
Schedules open on Tuesday for the New Cook County COVID-19 mass vaccination site
Consultations for the second major vaccination site for the COVID-19 community in Cook County, Triton College, in River Grove, opened at 9 am Tuesday morning.
Appointments can be made at vaccine.cookcountyil.gov. Those who do not have access to the internet or need help scheduling can call 833-308-1988 from 7 am to 7 pm Monday to Friday.
In Phase 1B, the current phase of vaccination implementation in Illinois, people aged 65 and over, as well as “essential frontline workers”, which includes first responders, educators such as teachers and support staff, and grocery workers, are eligible. .
You can find more information about appointments here.
Illinois adds 41 new COVID-19 vaccination sites across the state
The state of Illinois has added 41 new COVID-19 vaccination sites since January 26, according to a press release from state health officials on Monday.
More than 3.2 million residents of the state are eligible for vaccination in Phase 1B, which includes people aged 65 and over, as well as “essential frontline workers”. Among those in this category are: first responders, education workers as teachers and support staff, as well as grocery workers and postal workers.
In all, 310 vaccination posts were opened across the state.