Coronavirus live blog, Oct. 14, 2020: Pritzker offers holiday precautions as Illinois sees most daily COVID-19 deaths since June: ‘This virus isn’t taking a holiday’

Gov. J.B. Pritzker called the latest coronavirus numbers “concerning. The 49 deaths reported by the Illinois Department of Public Health were the most announced in a single day since the virus claimed 63 lives June 24.

And with 2,862 newly diagnosed cases of the virus, Illinois is averaging almost 2,500 additional cases per day over the last two weeks, higher even than the rate during the worst days of the pandemic in mid-May.

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

News

9 p.m. Pritzker offers holiday precautions as Illinois sees most daily COVID-19 deaths since June: ‘This virus isn’t taking a holiday’

AP Photos

Illinois suffered its highest daily coronavirus death toll in over three months on Wednesday, the average statewide testing positivity rate rose for a 10th consecutive day, and nearly 2,900 more cases of the deadly disease piled up.

With numbers heading in “a concerning direction” as the season turns, Gov. J.B. Pritzker warned “this virus isn’t taking a holiday. It only wants to find new hosts.”

“To date, Illinois has had relative success in keeping this virus at bay, and we’re still doing better than many of our neighbors, but we can’t let up,” the Democratic governor said at a weekly coronavirus briefing.

Read the full story by Mitchell Armentrout here.

8:30 p.m. New initiative seeks to transform health care on the South Side

Medical, community and religious leaders on the South Side are racing to build a new health care model to address chronic illness, poor access to treatment and a pandemic that is disproportionately hitting Black and Latino neighborhoods.

The coalition will seek millions of dollars in state money to fund what’s being called the South Side Health Transformation Project, an initiative led by University of Chicago, Advocate Trinity and St. Bernard hospitals to address the decades-old problem of an overwhelmed medical care system that’s been exasperated even more by COVID-19.

“Looking at the impact COVID has ravaged on our community, it spotlighted a lot of things we’ve known all over the years,” said Rashard Johnson, president of Advocate Trinity Hospital.

The three hospitals, working with community leaders, propose a system alongside area health clinics and social service organizations to build a preventative care network that would better utilize technology and create a group of community health workers to help guide patients, many of whom have chronic health conditions, toward the best treatment options. The plan also calls for hiring primary and specialty doctors and creates a shared database for patient records. The South Side has long had a large proportion of residents suffering from diabetes, asthma, heart conditions and other health issues, the plan’s advocates say.

Read the full story by Brett Chase here.

7:30 p.m. Chicago Fire match postponed due to suspected Minnesota United COVID-19 case

Fire coach Raphael Wicky said Sunday that he and his players need frequent reminders to be smart about the pandemic.

They got another one Wednesday.

The Fire’s match at Minnesota United was officially postponed just over an hour before kickoff due to a suspected COVID-19 case for MNUFC. Minnesota’s game last Sunday against FC Dallas was postponed due to two MNUFC players testing positive Saturday, raising some questions over whether Wednesday’s match with the Fire would be played.

But following Saturday’s tests, MNUFC didn’t have positives through Tuesday and indications pointed toward the scheduled kickoff. On Wednesday, the Fire even proceeded to the Twin Cities for the match, adhering to new protocols for same-day travel.

Read the full story by Brian Sandalow.

6:20 p.m. NFL cancels Pro Bowl in Las Vegas due to COVID-19 pandemic

The NFL has canceled next January’s Pro Bowl scheduled for Las Vegas.

During an owners meeting held virtually on Wednesday, the league opted to call off the all-star game, hoping to replace it with a variety of virtual activities. The NFL needs flexibility in January in case it needs to move regular-season games to that month because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“The league will work closely with the NFLPA and other partners, to create a variety of engaging activities to replace the Pro Bowl game this season,” the NFL said in a statement.

Read the full story here.

5 p.m. United reports $1.8 billion in losses amid pandemic

United Airlines financial hole grew deeper over the summer as a modest recovery in air travel slowed down, pushing the carrier to a loss of $1.84 billion in the typically strong third quarter.

The airline said Wednesday that revenue plummeted 78% from a year earlier. The loss was worse than analysts had expected.

The results from United, and those issued a day earlier by Delta Air Lines, reinforced the damage that the pandemic is doing to a major industry. Seven months into the worst of the coronavirus impact in the U.S., air travel remains down 65% from a year ago. The decline in lucrative business travel is even deeper.

Read the full story here.

4:06 p.m. Bears OL coach Juan Castillo quarantining through Sunday

Bears offensive line coach Juan Castillo will quarantine away from the team through at least Sunday after he came into contact outside of Halas Hall with someone who tested positive for the coronavirus, coach Matt Nagy said Wednesday.

Castillo has not tested positive for the coronavirus, Nagy said. Castillo self-reported the contact. He was not present at practice Wednesday but will continue to coach the team with Zoom. He will not fly with the Bears to Charlotte, N.C., on Saturday to play the Panthers on Sunday.

Assistant offensive line coach Donovan Raiola will take his place on Sunday and during practices this week.

Saturday, the Bears placed rookie Badara Traore, a practice-squad offensive lineman, on the NFL’s reserve/COVID-19 list. Since his test — which was taken Friday — no other Bears players have tested positive.

Read the full story here.

3:30 p.m. First lady: Son Barron Trump was positive for COVID-19, now negative

WASHINGTON — Melania Trump says her 14-year-old son, Barron, had tested positive for the coronavirus but has since tested negative.

The White House initially said he had tested negative, after both of his parents tested positive earlier this month.

The first lady said Wednesday that subsequent testing showed Barron had also come down with COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

He has since tested negative, she said, as have both she and President Donald Trump.

After she and the president received their positive results Oct. 1, Mrs. Trump wrote that “naturally, my mind went immediately to our son.”

He tested negative and she was relieved, but kept thinking about what would happen the next day and the day after that.

“My fear came true when he was tested again and it came up positive,” she said in a lengthy note released on social media.

Read the full story here.

11:35 a.m. Star-studded ‘Drop Dead Drag Pageant’ set for Lakeshore Drive-In live show

Some of Chicago’s well-known drag performers are ready to strut their stuff on the city’s lakefront Friday night for a Halloween-themed spectacle.

CircuitMOM Productions’ “Drop Dead Drag Pageant” — a tribute to the 1999 mockumentary film “Drop Dead Gorgeous” — is scheduled to take place Oct. 16 at the Lakeshore Drive-In, (the Adler Planetarium’s parking lot, 1362 S. Linn White Dr.). Showtimes are 6 and 8:30 p.m.

The pageant kicks off with the hostesses welcoming everyone back from a “commercial break” with a recap of the bathing suit competition that “happened earlier” with the contestants on the screens, according to pageant officials. The actual show is the talent portion with nine choreographed production numbers, mock pageant awards, and the crowning of the new queen.

“We’ve attended a few similar-type events just to gauge what the public response would be to them, and they looked, sounded, and felt like we wanted to try our own,” said Matthew Harvat, CircuitMOM Productions president. “We felt that Lakeshore Drive-In at the Adler Planetarium has the ideal setup for what we do since we’re known for production.

Read the full story here.

10:28 a.m. Panthers implement NFL precautions after opponent tests positive

The Panthers on Wednesday began taking league-mandated precautionary measures after being exposed to a player Sunday who’s since tested positive for the coronavirus.

That’s notable for the Bears, who are scheduled to fly to Charlotte, N.C., on Saturday to face the Panthers on Sunday afternoon.

Falcons defensive tackle Marlon Davidson, who played 12 snaps against the Panthers on Sunday, was placed on the NFL’s reserve/COVID-19 list Tuesday. The Panthers do not have anyone on their roster who has tested positive for the coronavirus, but are entering the NFL’s intensive protocol because of their contact with Davidson.

Read the full story here.

9:45 a.m. Half of U.S. states now on Chicago’s travel advisory list

Indiana has joined the states on Chicago’s emergency travel order after a surge of coronavirus cases in the Hoosier state.

People coming to Chicago from states on the list are asked to quarantine for 14 days, though there are exceptions for necessary trips, such as for medical care or travel by essential workers.

Changes to the list of states affected by the travel advisory are announced on Tuesdays and take effect the following Friday.

Indiana officially goes on the list as of 12:01 a.m. Friday, along with Rhode Island and New Mexico. The list now includes 25 states as well as Puerto Rico.

Read the full story from Manny Ramos here.

7:30 a.m. Chicago COVID researchers get $7.4 million in private funding

A Skokie foundation pledged $7.4 million in funding to provide more widespread free COVID-19 testing, study risks among children, find ways to predict virus outbreaks and related research.

Eight programs, mostly led by researchers at some of Chicago’s leading teaching hospitals, are working in collaboration with state and local health departments with money provided by the 2-year-old Walder Foundation.

Findings are expected to inform public health policy on testing, prevention and racial health disparities, said Sandra Laney, Walder Foundation’s senior director of science innovation.

“We really landed on a portfolio of projects that were driven by health departments’ needs,” Laney said.

The one-year grants range from $300,000 to $1.25 million each. The winners were selected from more than 20 applications, Laney said.

Read the full story here.

7:05 a.m. 10 to see at the 2020 Chicago International Film Festival

The Chicago International Film Festival, now in its 56th year, makes a novel move online thanks to the novel coronavirus. The 11-day showcase of world cinema offers 39 dramas, 19 documentaries and 56 shorts via the internet. Seven features are world premieres. Audiences can interact with filmmakers in livestream Q&A sessions.

“We can reach new audiences,” says artistic director Mimi Plauché. “The festival is more accessible to people who live anywhere in the U.S.” Some titles, however, are limited to Chicago audiences; other films are limited to Midwesterners living in Illinois and five other states.

The global pandemic forced international festivals to go virtual, so Plauché and her programming team scouted this year’s entries through the internet. She says she is partial to “the films you watch and you can’t stop thinking about them.” Three are dramas in this year’s downsized lineup: “Any Crybabies Around?,” “Dear Comrades!” and “Memory House.”

Read the full story here.

New cases

• Alabama coach NIck Saban tests positive for COVID-19, but says he doesn’t have symptoms.
• Soccer great Cristiano Ronaldo tests positive for COVID-19.
• Illinois’ seven-day positivity rate — the metric by which health experts measure the virus’ spread — increased Monday, this time to 4.3%, the highest it’s been in a month. On Oct. 3, the state’ positivity rate was 3.3%.
• State health officials announced Monday another 2,742 people in Illinois had tested positive for COVID-19, with 13 more dying of the virus.

Analysis & Commentary

6 p.m. Every word Donald Trump speaks is best ignored when sizing up the dangers of COVID-19

The stupidity just keeps coming.

Hours after leaving the hospital on Monday of last week, President Trump tweeted that COVID-19 is “far less lethal” than the flu for “most populations.”

This is not true.

Two days later, he bragged that he probably would have bounced back from the virus even if he had not been treated with powerful drugs.

Doctors might disagree.

On Saturday, he claimed the virus is “disappearing.”

It is not. It is surging.

Read the full editorial by the Chicago Sun-Times Editorial Board.

7:10 a.m. Like illness, Mr. COVID Answer Man lingers

It might be hard to imagine, but I try to premeditate my columns, to consider possible ramifications before clicking on the “Submit for Approval” button. Is everything spelled right? Are my facts all in a row, quacking happily? Will I be frog-walked sobbing away from my career and into early retirement? But when I rolled out “Mr. Covid Answer Man” early this month, there was one response I never imagined: that readers actually would, as requested, send in questions. Sincere questions, some of them. So even though I like to flit nimbly from one topic to another, with this crisis reaching whatever nightmare crescendo we’re heading toward, I feel duty bound to address a few.

Dear Mr. COVID Answer Man: What is the polite way to say to your brother who you are very close to that his girlfriend is acting recklessly in regards to the virus and is putting his and anyone he sees lives at risk?

Read the more questions and answers by columnist Neil Steinberg here.