Note: Press conferences from Gov. J.B. Pritzker or Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot will be streamed live in the video player above.
Teachers in Chicago and across the country are expected to stage several events as part of a day of action calling for a return to remote learning when the academic year begins to keep students and school employees safe as the coronavirus pandemic continues.
Those events, including a car caravan, will take place as Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker announces a new public awareness campaign to help slow the spread of COVID-19. Pritzker has been actively warning several communities across the state over the last week about rising positivity rates and other metrics indicating widespread community transmission that may potentially trigger the return of more restrictions.
Here are the latest coronavirus updates from around Illinois today, August 3:
Cardinals' Series With Tigers Postponed; Expected to Resume Season vs. Cubs
The St. Louis Cardinals will be off for at least the next four days after their series against the Detroit Tigers was postponed due to the team's ongoing coronavirus outbreak.
The postponements mean the Cardinals won't play until at least Friday, when they are set to take on the Chicago Cubs at Busch Stadium.
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In addition, Major League Baseball has reportedly canceled the "Field of Dreams" game, which would have pitted the Cardinals against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Pritzker Says It's Worth Considering Fines for Not Wearing a Mask in Public
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Monday that he believes it's "worthy of considering" fines for people who do not comply with the state's mandate requiring masks in public to slow the spread of the deadly coronavirus.
Pritzker announced a new $5 million public awareness campaign on Monday with the tagline "It only works if you wear it," to encourage residents to wear face coverings. The initiative compares masks to seat belts in cars, bicycle helmets, life jackets and more in their life-saving capabilities.
Illinois' 7-Day Positivity Rate Reaches 4% as State Reports Nearly 1,300 New Cases
Health officials in Illinois reported nearly 1,300 new cases of coronavirus Monday, along with 10 additional deaths attributed to the virus.
According to data from the Illinois Department of Public Health, the 1,298 new cases bring the total number of coronavirus cases since the pandemic began to 183,241.
Monday's 10 additional fatalities bring the state’s death toll to 7,526, according to IDPH.
The number of coronavirus tests dropped from a day earlier, with 28,475 test samples returned to state laboratories over the last 24 hours. That number is roughly 10,000 less than Sunday's testing number and well below the nearly 50,000 tests reported Friday. In all, 2,806,797 tests have been conducted during the pandemic.
The state’s seven-day positivity rate rose Monday, reaching 4% for the first time in recent weeks. The last time the state went above 4 percent in that category was on June 11, according to data compiled by the NBC 5 Investigates team.
Hospitalizations ticked up slightly on Sunday, with 1,418 coronavirus patients currently in Illinois hospitals. Of those patients, 347 have been admitted to intensive care units, while 132 are currently on ventilators.
The state’s recovery rate, defined as the percentage of patients who aren’t reporting coronavirus symptoms six or more weeks after their first positive test, still stands at 95 percent.
Pritzker Launches $5M Campaign on Masks: ‘It Only Works If You Wear It'
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday launched a new $5 million public awareness campaign to encourage residents to wear masks or face coverings using the tagline: "It only works if you wear it."
The initiative compares masks to seat belts in cars, bicycle helmets, life jackets and other items in their life-saving capabilities.
“This campaign connects the dots between daily actions we take to keep ourselves safe and one the best things we can do to fight COVID-19: wearing a mask,” Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said in a statement on the campaign.
Chicago Teachers Union to Hold Car Caravan to Push for Remote Learning
The Chicago Teachers Union and multiple other organizations planned to hold several events Monday to push for schools to start the academic year with remote learning as the coronavirus pandemic continues.
Monday's events in Chicago are part of a nationwide day of action taking place in dozens of states across the U.S.
At 10 a.m., parents and students were scheduled to speak, then begin a public art installation to mourn lives lost to COVID-19, in the Emmett Street parking lot located at 3250 N. Emmett St., according to the Logan Square Neighborhood Association.
Then at 11 a.m., CTU plans to assemble a car caravan at the union's headquarters, located at 1901 W. Carroll, that will then travel to City Hall in Chicago's Loop to demand both education equity and remote learning in the fall.
According to CTU leaders, Chicago Public Schools' hybrid plan for the fall, which includes a mix of remote learning and in-person instruction, "falls short on safety."
Pritzker to Launch New COVID-19 Campaign
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is expected to launch a "new public awareness campaign aimed at reducing the spread of COVID-19" on Monday, according to his public schedule.
The announcement will be made at 11 a.m. at the IEMA State Emergency Operations Center in Springfield, his office says.
The event can be viewed live in the video player above.
Children May Carry 10 to 100 Times More of Coronavirus Than Adults: Study
While some research has shown that children are infected with the coronavirus at a lower rate than adults, a new Chicago-based study raises questions about the role children have in spreading the virus.
A study from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital discovered that children younger than 5 years with mild to moderate COVID-19 have much higher levels of genetic material for the virus in the nose compared to older children and adults.
In fact, children can have up to 100 times more of the virus in the nose, according to the study which was published Thursday in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.
Lead author, Dr. Taylor Heald-Sargent, pediatric infectious diseases specialist at Lurie Children's, and colleagues analyzed 145 cases of mild to moderate COVID-19 illness within the first week of symptom onset, according to a press release from the hospital.
They compared the viral load in three age groups - children younger than 5 years, children 5-17 years and adults 18-65 years.
"This has important public health implications, especially during discussions on the safety of reopening schools and daycare," said Dr. Heald-Sargent. "...Our study was not designed to prove that younger children spread COVID-19 as much as adults, but it is a possibility."
Researchers determined the ability of younger children to spread COVID-19 may have been under-recognized given the rapid and sustained closure of schools and daycare during the pandemic, the news release stated.
Illinois Reports 1,467 New Coronavirus Cases, 14 Additional Deaths Sunday
Health officials in Illinois reported 1,467 new cases of coronavirus Sunday, along with 14 additional deaths attributed to the virus.
According to data from the Illinois Department of Public Health, a total of 181,943 coronavirus cases have been confirmed statewide since the pandemic began.
Sunday’s 14 additional fatalities bring the state’s death toll to 7,517, according to IDPH.
Illinois is continuing its trend of increased coronavirus tests, with 38,945 test samples returned to state laboratories over the last 24 hours. In all, 2,778,322 tests have been conducted during the pandemic.
The state’s seven-day positivity rate remained unchanged on Sunday, still sitting at 3.94 percent. The last time the state went above 4 percent in that category was on June 11, according to data compiled by the NBC 5 Investigates team.
Hospitalizations ticked up slightly on Sunday, with 1,407 coronavirus patients currently in Illinois hospitals. Of those patients, 339 have been admitted to intensive care units, while 126 are currently on ventilators.
The state’s recovery rate, defined as the percentage of patients who aren’t reporting coronavirus symptoms six or more weeks after their first positive test, still stands at 95 percent.
How Metrics in llinois, Indiana Compare to Other States
Illinois' increase in coronavirus cases over the past week has ranked 10th in the country, behind just 9 other states that are all considered "hot spots" for the spread of the deadly virus and have earned a place on the city of Chicago's emergency order requiring anyone traveling from those areas to quarantine for 14 days.
Here's a look at how the total number of cases, number of cases in the last week, total deaths and more compare in Illinois, Indiana and across all 50 states:
Illinois Surrounded by States With Significantly Higher Positivity Rates, Data Shows
Illinois is surrounded by states that have much higher positivity rates, according to data compiled on Friday.
Using the latest public health information provided by states across the country, NBC 5 Investigates looked at Midwest states that border Illinois and compared their positivity rates to the 3.9% Illinois reported Friday.
By comparison, Wisconsin had a positivity rate of 6.9%, Indiana was at 8.9%, Missouri sat at 9.7%, Kentucky was at 5.7% and Iowa was reported to be 8%.
Another Midwest state not bordering Illinois, Michigan, stood at 6.1%.
With the exception of Iowa, each state's positivity rate was calculated using a seven-day rolling average. Iowa, however, only publishes positivity rates for a single day. The state's 8% was reported Thursday.
Several states listed, including Wisconsin, Missouri and Iowa, are currently on Chicago's travel order, which requires anyone visiting or returning to the city from those states to quarantine for 14 days.
11 Illinois Counties Reach 'Warning Level' for Coronavirus, Health Dept. Says
Eleven counties in Illinois are now at a "warning level" for coronavirus, the state's health department said Friday.
The warning means each of the counties saw increases in two or more COVID-19 "risk indicators," the health department said.
The counties now under a warning include: Cass, Gallatin, Jackson, Jo Daviess, Johnson, Perry, Randolph, Saline, Sangamon, St. Clair, and White.
Last week, only four counties were at a "warning level." Of those four, only one, Randolph County, remained on the list Friday.
The counties each "saw outbreaks associated with business operations and activities posing higher risk for disease spread, including school graduation ceremonies, a rise in cases among late teens and 20s, parties and social gatherings, people going to bars, long-term care outbreaks, clusters of cases associated with restaurants and churches, and big sports events including soccer, golf, and softball tournaments," the health department stated.
"Residents of many communities are not wearing face coverings that have been proven to reduce the spread of COVID-19," IDPH said in a release. "Public health officials are finding that most contacts to cases are testing positive as well."
Chicago Top Health Official Talks Numbers, Restrictions, School, Sports, Vaccine and More
Chicago Department of Public Health Director Dr. Allison Arwady joined NBC 5 to discuss all things coronavirus and answer some of your most pressing questions.
Will students return to classrooms in the fall - and will it be safe? Which metrics are health officials focused on? And at what point might Chicago see some restrictions or mitigations put back in place?
See her answers to all those questions and more:
