Coronavirus live blog, June 27, 2020: Illinois announces 26 additional deaths, 786 new cases of coronavirus

Saturday’s coronavirus numbers remained steady with those seen over the past few weeks, which indicates that Illinois continues to make good progress in its reopening. The state is also avoid the pandemic spikes currently sweeping through many southern and western states.

Vice President Mike Pence called off campaign events in Florida and Arizona this coming week as the states experience a surge in new coronavirus cases.

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

News

8:50 p.m. Illinois announces 26 additional deaths, 786 new cases of coronavirus

Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times

Another 26 people have died of the coronavirus in Illinois, public health officials announced Saturday, raising the state’s pandemic death toll to 6,873.

The Illinois Department of Public Health also said an additional 786 people have tested positive for COVID-19, increasing the total case count to 141,077, although the vast majority have since recovered.

The new cases were found among the latest 30,237 tests processed; in all, more than 1.5 million Illinoisans have been tested for coronavirus. The test positivity rate over the past week remained at 3%.

Read the full story by Ben Pope here.

8:39 p.m. As coronavirus cases surge in US, rural areas seeing increases as well

For many states and counties in the U.S., the dark days of the coronavirus pandemic in April unfolded on their television screens, not on their doorsteps. But now, some places that appeared to have avoided the worst are seeing surges of infections, as worries shift from major cities to rural areas.

While much of the focus of concerns that the United States is entering a dangerous new phase has been on big Sunbelt states that are reporting thousands of new cases a day — like Texas and Florida — the worrying trend is also happening in places like Kansas, where livestock outnumber people.

In early June, Kansas looked to be bringing its outbreak under control, but its daily reported case numbers have more than doubled in recent weeks. On June 5, the seven-day average for daily new cases hovered at around 96; by Friday, that figure was 211. As cases rise, the U.S. Army commander at Fort Riley in the state’s northeast ordered his soldiers to stay out of a popular nearby restaurant and bar district after 10 p.m.

Idaho and Oklahoma have seen similarly large percentage increases over the same three-week period, albeit from low starting points. In Oklahoma, the seven-day average for daily new cases climbed from about 81 to 376; Idaho’s jumped from around 40 to 160.

Read the full story here from The Associated Press.

7:20 p.m. Governors face mixed messages, competing voices as reported coronavirus cases rise

LAS VEGAS — As Nevada prepared to start reopening parts of its economy last month, a team of medical experts recommended to Gov. Steve Sisolak that he require people wear masks in public to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.

The governor promoted masks but resisted making them a requirement, saying he feared the rule could create a backlash for businesses trying to enforce the order on customers.

With reported coronavirus cases rising the past four weeks, Sisolak on Wednesday finally decided to take their advice and impose the mandate, saying it was necessary to protect people and keep businesses open.

“People aren’t wearing these,” he said, holding up and waving a cloth face mask. “It is troubling and it is really discouraging that this has become a partisan issue about whether or not people want to wear a mask.”

Read the full story by The Associated Press here.

6:15 p.m. Coronavirus spikes force Pence to cancel some political events in Florida, Arizona

WASHINGTON — Vice President Mike Pence called off campaign events in Florida and Arizona this coming week as the states experience a surge in new coronavirus cases.

Pence will still travel to those states, which have set records for new confirmed infections in recent days, the White House confirmed, saying he will meet with governors and their health teams.

Pence said Friday during a briefing by the White House’s coronavirus task force that he would be visiting Florida, Texas and Arizona to receive a “ground report” on spiking cases of COVD-19 across the region. The three states’ Republican governors have come under criticism for pushing for aggressive reopening after virus-related lockdowns as cases in the states rise.

Pence is traveling to Dallas on Sunday to attend a “Celebrate Freedom Rally” at First Baptist Church Dallas before meeting with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. But planned political events later in the week have been pushed off.

On Tuesday, Pence was supposed to address a Trump-Pence campaign “Faith in America” event in Tucson, Arizona, before meeting Gov. Doug Ducey in Yuma. The campaign event has been postponed.

In Florida on Thursday, Pence was to embark on a bus tour, including an appearance in Lake Wales at an event organized by the pro-Trump group America First Policies billed as the “Great American Comeback tour.” The group announced that “out of an abundance of caution at this time, we are postponing the Great American Comeback tour stop in Florida. We look forward to rescheduling soon.”

Read the full story here.

3:25 p.m. Bar owners in Texas worry as coronavirus surges in their workplaces

HOUSTON — The din of conversation and music that normally fills The Cottonmouth Club in downtown Houston fell silent last Friday when the owners shut it down for a second time during the coronavirus pandemic — a week before the Texas governor ordered all bars to follow suit amid a surge in infections.

Co-owner Michael Neff — questioning what he saw as a rush to reopen by the state and wondering if his industry was making things worse as some bars flouted rules on occupancy limits — said he felt he could no longer provide a safe environment for his staff or customers at the neighborhood bar with a rock ‘n’ roll vibe.

He and his staff had started hearing of workers at other bars getting sick.

“Texas was a terrible, terrible experiment because it experimented with people’s lives and this is where we are,” Neff said.

That ended Friday, with Gov. Greg Abbott’s announcement that bars would again be shuttered, a day after the state reported a record high of nearly 6,000 confirmed cases and on the day that Texas surpassed 5,000 hospitalizations for the first time.

Read the full story by The Associated Press here.

1:30 p.m. Sky player says she tested positive for COVID-19

Sky guard Sydney Colson revealed on Twitter Saturday morning that she tested positive for the coronavirus this week.

“I do the least and tested positive so I’m tryna see how folks who do the mooost are out here partying and feelin grand,” Colson tweeted.

Colson’s announcement comes during the same week the Sky welcomed back their out-of-market players to undergo physicals and begin individual workouts at Sachs Recreation Center, their practice facility in Deerfield, as they prepare for their upcoming 22-game season.

Read the full report from Madeline Kenney here.

12:37 p.m. Florida records new daily high in COVID-19 cases

The state of Florida has set another record in daily confirmed coronavirus cases.

Florida health officials on Saturday reported more than 9,500 new COVID-19 cases, surpassing the previous day’s total by more than 600 confirmed cases. The figures come as officials move to reclose beaches and discourage bar gatherings.

Experts say the true figure is undoubtedly higher. This is both because of incomplete testing and because it is becoming clearer to scientists that a significant number of people become infected with the virus but do not feel sick or show symptoms.

The state’s Department of Health said 24 more people have died with COVID-19, raising the death toll to 3,390.

Hospitalizations for COVID-19 also are ticking upward statewide. Although they are not rising as dramatically as the reported number of cases, they are approaching the levels of new admissions seen in April and May.

Miami-Dade County announced late Friday it would reclose beaches from July 3 to July 7 to prevent large gatherings and the spread of the new virus during Fourth of July celebrations in the state’s hardest hit area.

— Associated Press

11:30 a.m. Raindrops, reps and relief on first day of Illinois’ Phase 4 reopening

Relief.

That’s all Elaine Sakellariou felt as she seated her first customers in three months Friday morning at George’s Gyros, 3445 S. Halsted St.

“It just brings back life to this place,” said Sakellariou, who owns the restaurant her father opened more than 40 year ago.

She’d been able to get through the heart of the coronavirus pandemic with gift card sales and takeout orders from loyal customers, but Illinois’ Phase 4 reopening couldn’t come soon enough for the Bridgeport joint — or any of the thousands of other restaurants across the state that are now allowed to seat customers inside at 25% capacity.

“It’s a good thing I saved,” Sakellariou said.

Read the full story by Mitchell Armentrout and Mitch Dudek here.

8:45 a.m. White Sox know ‘there’s no way around’ the coronavirus

For three weeks in Chicago, the White Sox will be all about preparing for a 60-game season while trying to adhere to 100 pages of health and safety protocols for playing baseball in the midst of a coronavirus pandemic.

They’ll be about getting better, about being ready to pitch, hit and field like a postseason-caliber team. They’ll be about ‘‘a must-win mindset,’’ right-hander Lucas Giolito said on a conference call Friday.

‘‘We have a talented team,’’ said Giolito, who was an All-Star last season. ‘‘If we get off to a hot start and guys are playing well, that could put us over the edge into the playoff picture, where we want to be.’’

But there will be some levels of anxiety and uncertainty, too.

‘‘I don’t think anyone feels 100 percent comfortable,’’ Giolito said. ‘‘With COVID kind of back on the rise in [some] states, it’s going to be imperative that, as players, we do everything we can do away from the field. Practice social distancing, stay safe, not exposing ourselves to any risk at all in the sense of going out somewhere or being around a lot of people.

‘‘We’re all going to have to come together, maybe have a conversation like: ‘Hey if we want to get through this whole season and not worry about this as a team, we’re really going to have to hunker down away from the field.’ ’’

Read the full story previewing the White Sox’ feelings about baseball’s return here.

7:14 a.m. Coronavirus task force holds briefing — but not with Trump, not at White House

WASHINGTON — There was no presidential appearance and no White House backdrop Friday when the government’s coronavirus task force briefed the public for the first since April — in keeping with an administration effort to show it’s paying attention to the latest spike in cases but not on a wartime footing that should keep the country from reopening the economy.

The briefing at the Department of Health and Human Services was held as the number of confirmed new coronavirus infections per day in the U.S. soared to an all-time high of 40,000 — higher even than during the deadliest stretch in April and May. In light of the new surge, task force briefers chose their words carefully to update the public about COVID-19, which has become both a public health and political issue.

Vice President Mike Pence had the most delicate line to walk. He acknowledged a surge in new cases across the South and West, while backing the president’s desire to get the economy up and running without mentioning that it will also help the prospects for reelection.

Read the full story by The Associated Press here.

New cases

• The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association say 16 players tested positive for coronavirus in the first wave of mandatory tests done in preparation for the restart of the season.
• As the state moved into Phase 4 of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s reopening plan — and a number of states see upticks in coronavirus cases — public health officials on Friday said another 39 people have died from COVID-19 in Illinois. Another 857 newly confirmed cases were also reported by the Illinois Department of Public Health. In total, the state has seen 140,291 positive cases.
• U.S. officials believe as many as 20 million Americans have contracted the coronavirus, suggesting millions had the virus and never knew it, according to new CDC studies of blood samples collected nationwide.
• In Arizona, 23 percent of coronavirus tests conducted over the last seven days have been positive, nearly triple the national average, and a record 415 patients were on ventilators.
• Mississippi saw its daily count of new cases reach new highs twice this week.
• Chicago native Jabari Parker reveals he has tested positive for coronavirus
• Rockies All-Star Charlie Blackmon tests positive for coronavirus

Analysis & Commentary

7:10 a.m. ‘I’ll have the Post-Pandemic Special please’

What began as a practical necessity for travelers — the stagecoach stops for the night, the innkeeper carves off some mutton and draws a mug of ale — now has assumed magnified importance, ingrained in our lives.

Chicago, and Illinois, opening restaurants Friday for indoor dining should be a milestone in our civic recovery from COVID-19. V-E Day, Victory in Eating.

Instead it seems more like a dilemma, almost a trap.

At least to me. Which is surprising. You’d think Restaurant Boy would be in a sprinter’s crouch, napkin tied around my neck like a bib, knife and fork in each hand, waiting for the gun to spring out of the blocks.

But I’m not.

Read Neil Steinberg’s full column here.