Coronavirus live blog, Oct. 3, 2020: Illinois coronavirus case tally surpasses 300K

The condition of President Donald Trump, who is in Walter Reed Medical Center with COVID-19, was of great concern. White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said Trump went through a “very concerning” period Friday and the next 48 hours will be critical in terms of his care.

Here’s what happened today in the fight against the coronavirus in Chicago, the state and the nation.

News

5 p.m. Illinois coronavirus case tally surpasses 300K

Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times

Illinois’ pandemic case total eclipsed 300,000 on Saturday as public health officials announced an additional 2,442 people have tested positive for COVID-19.

Since early March, at least 300,088 people have been confirmed to carry the deadly virus in Illinois — nearly 2.4% of the state’s population.

That’s an average of about 1,450 new cases added per day as the pandemic enters its seventh month.

Read the full story by Mitchell Armentrout here.

1 p.m. Coronavirus spreads on panel handling Supreme Court nomination

Two Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee have tested positive for the coronavirus, raising questions about the timing of Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Judge Amy Coney Barrett and whether additional senators may have been exposed. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell declared the confirmation process was going “full steam ahead.”

North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis and Utah Sen. Mike Lee both said Friday that they had tested positive for the virus. Both had attended a ceremony for Barrett at the White House on Sept. 25 with President Donald Trump, who announced Friday that he had tested positive and was later hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

Read the full story here.

11 a.m. White House source: Trump “not on a clear path yet on a recovery,” contradicts news conference

A person familiar with President Donald Trump’s COVID-19 illness says some of his vital signs over the past 24 hours were “very concerning” but they’ve improved since he was admitted to a military hospital in suburban Washington.

The person has knowledge of the president’s medical condition but was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Read the full story here.

9:15 a.m. She got her coronavirus miracle, surviving 3 weeks in a coma. Then came the hard part.

When Karla Taylor-Bauman went home after 54 days in hospitals, including 21 days on a ventilator in an induced coma, she called her survival from coronavirus a miracle.

But miracles don’t come easy, the Lake Villa woman has found.

Four months later, she isn’t fully back to normal. She tires easily, can’t climb more than a handful of stairs and, still needing continued care, hasn’t been able to go back to her job as a financial adviser.

Having been so sick — after she got out, her doctor, Dennis McCreary, described her condition as having been “as close to brain dead as you get without being brain dead” — she knew recovery would take time.

Read the full story by Stefano Esposito here.

8:05 a.m. Gas tax hikes pile up: States become desperate for road repair revenue as COVID-19 reduces driving

Americans who want to stay socially distant during the COVID-19 pandemic now have another reason to think twice before going out for gas.

Several states have increased gas taxes in recent months to make up for sudden shortfalls in revenue devoted to road repairs.

As Americans drive less during the pandemic, due partly to social distancing and remote work arrangements, gasoline demand has fallen. That’s one key factor triggering the tax increases as lawmakers seek to limit the impact of lower revenue on road repair budgets.

Read the full story here.

7:15 a.m. Trump gets experimental drug aimed at curbing severe illness

The experimental antibody drug given to President Donald Trump has been called one of the most promising approaches to preventing serious illness from a COVID-19 infection.

Its maker, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., said the company agreed to supply a single dose, given through an IV, for Trump at the request of his physician under “compassionate use” provisions, when an experimental medicine is provided on a case-by-case emergency basis, while studies of it continue.

The new drug is in late-stage testing and its safety and effectiveness are not yet known. No treatment has yet proved able to prevent serious illness after a coronavirus infection.

Read the full story here.

6:15 a.m. Trump walks to Marine One, gives thumbs up on way to military hospital after testing positive for coronavirus

President Donald Trump appeared in public Friday evening for the first time since being stricken by COVID-19, boarding his Marine One helicopter for a flight to a military hospital as the virus that has killed more than 205,000 Americans spread to the highest reaches of the U.S. government.

The White House said the visit of “a few days” to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center was precautionary and that Trump would continue to work from the hospital’s presidential suite, which is equipped to allow him to keep up his official duties.

Trump walked out of the White House and gave a thumbs-up but did not speak. Members of the aircrew, Secret Service agents and White House staff wore face coverings to protect themselves from the president onboard the helicopter.

Read the full story here.

New cases

• These government officials have all tested positive for coronavirus: President Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, senior adviser to the president Hope Hicks.
• Lane Tech sees confirmed COVID-19 case after SAT tests.
• Coronavirus claims 47 more lives in Illinois, highest daily death toll in three months
• Notre Dame president tests positive for COVID-19 days after not wearing mask at White House ceremony
• Two more Tennessee Titans players test positive in COVID-19 outbreak.

Analysis & Commentary

9:18 a.m. Cover ‘Trump gets COVID’ on your Disaster Bingo card

It’s terrible to be sick.

Even when you have good health insurance and the best medical care. Even when you’re the president of the United States. Even when contracting this particular illness reeks of karma, of payback, of divine justice, the way it does for President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, who announced early Friday they have tested positive for COVID-19, the novel coronavirus that has killed a million people worldwide, including 206,000 Americans.

There will no doubt be a certain amount of gloating, of snide “thoughts and prayers” chortling. Guess that hydroxychloroquine didn’t do the trick after all, huh?

I can see why. Only Tuesday Trump was in full bore bullying mode at the first presidential debate in Cleveland, speaking over his opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, insulting him and the rest of us.

But the quality that ties one hand behind the back of Democrats in this fight is our ability to empathize with other people, even bad people. And in truth I have always felt sorry for Trump, clearly a broken man, his ego so damaged it must be constantly stroked. Living proof that you can be rich, famous, powerful and still a pathetic excuse for a human being who just can’t stop talking, mostly about himself.

Read Neil Steinberg’s full column here.