The coronavirus pandemic doesn’t take a vacation.
Right here’s what occurred Thursday in coronavirus-related information.
Information
5:57 p.m. Illinois stories 7,037 new COVID-19 instances, 96 deaths as positivity fee falls
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Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Solar-Occasions
State well being officers Thursday stated one other 7,037 individuals in Illinois have examined optimistic for the coronavirus, slashing the state’s testing positivity fee to its lowest level since late October.
That positivity fee — which measures the speed of unfold of the virus — now has been lower almost in half, to 7.2%, from its most up-to-date peak in mid-November. Nevertheless it’s nonetheless increased than {the summertime} common positivity fee of three.7%.
The dip was partially a results of a hefty 94,909 check outcomes submitted to the Illinois Division of Public Well being — the very best every day check rely since final week.
The state this week averaged about 85,000 checks carried out per day.
Reporter David Struett has the full story.
2:47 p.m. Downstate choose tosses choice voiding Pritzker’s govt COVID orders
SPRINGFIELD — In early July, a choose in downstate Clay County voided Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s govt orders in a sweeping order that he utilized to the whole state, on the request of a southern Illinois lawmaker who sued Pritzker over his response to the pandemic.
Greater than six months later, Sangamon County Choose Raylene Grischow has basically voided Choose Michael McHaney’s July 2 order within the case of Rep. Darren Bailey, R-Xenia.
Bailey’s lawsuit towards Pritzker claimed the Democratic governor had exceeded his authorized authority in issuing a stay-at-home order in March to struggle COVID-19.
Pritzker’s attorneys requested Grischow final month to “rethink” the July 2 order from McHaney, who initially presided over Bailey’s case earlier than it was transferred to Sangamon County.
Sarah Mansur at Capitol News Illinois has the full story.
1:29 p.m. Republicans block $2,000 coronavirus checks regardless of Trump demand
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Home Republicans shot down a Democratic bid on Thursday to go President Donald Trump’s longshot, end-of-session demand for $2,000 direct funds to most People as he ponders whether or not to signal a long-overdue COVID-19 reduction invoice.
The made-for-TV conflict got here because the Democratic-controlled chamber convened for a professional forma session scheduled in anticipation of a clean Washington touchdown for the huge, year-end legislative bundle, which folds collectively a $1.4 trillion governmentwide spending with the hard-fought COVID-19 bundle and dozens of unrelated however bipartisan payments.
As a substitute, Thursday’s uncommon 12-minute Home session as a substitute morphed into unconvincing theater in response to Trump’s veto musings concerning the bundle, which was negotiated by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Trump’s behalf. Home Majority Chief Steny Hoyer, the No. 2 Home Democrat, sought the unanimous approval of all Home members to go the invoice, however GOP chief Kevin McCarthy, who was not current within the nearly-empty chamber, denied his approval and the hassle fizzled.
9:14 a.m. Comply with the science? It’s not that straightforward when deciding when — or if — to reopen faculties
In March, a single case of the coronavirus in a Northwest Aspect college led Chicago Public Colleges officers to shut it.
By July, after the governor had shuttered all Illinois faculties for the spring, CPS stated its buildings would reopen within the fall so long as every day caseloads within the metropolis have been under 400 or check positivity was below 8% — a threshold that wasn’t met.
In November, as officers introduced plans to reopen within the new yr, they stated the one metric stopping them could be if instances within the metropolis began to double fewer than each 18 days.
Metropolis officers have attributed the altering thresholds to evolving science. They’ve defined that higher suggestions are potential as extra information turns into out there and that research have proven that schools don’t appear to be superspreaders when strict mitigation is in place.
New Circumstances
Evaluation & Commentary
10:13 a.m. 2020 in hindsight: What’s going to this yr appear like a century from now?
Lastly, we are able to say it: 2020 is sort of over. Good riddance.
As we glance to lastly carry a near this annus horribilis, America shall be residing amid the detritus for years — a devastating financial downturn, a technology of scholars behind in training, the collective psychic trauma of extended isolation. 2020 shall be laborious to overlook.
However in 100 years, when these of us who lived by the yr that all the things stopped have died out, how will future generations look again on what occurred? How will historical past be capable to encapsulate simply how loopy 2020 was?
We are able to solely think about an encyclopedia entry from 2120.
The 12 months 2020:
2020 was marked by a world pandemic referred to as COVID-19, which was accountable for killing almost 2 million individuals worldwide. 2020 has since been dubbed “The Misplaced 12 months,” resulting from nationwide shutdowns of journey, enterprise, college and life because it was beforehand recognized.
