Health

In order to give your viewers a meaningful context in your reporting, please compare the current number of deaths from the COVID-19 virus with the average number of deaths due to the flu in the U.S. over the last decade.

The new coronavirus is still sweeping through the U.S., so it's difficult to draw comparisons to past flu seasons. Looking at the flu and coronavirus in other countries may be helpful. 

The nutrition program for women with infants, and young children, commonly referred to as WIC, is operating through the COVID-19 pandemic. However, some recipients say they are having a hard time finding food that is WIC-approved at grocery stores.

Last year, more than 182,00 Illinois residents participated in the program. 

“This week is critical,” said Illinois Wesleyan University Professor Greg Shaw.

Illinois Governor J-B Pritzker Wednesday continued to point out how the state has too few health care workers as the system becomes stretched due to COVID-19.  

The governor indicated Illinois has received over 11-hundred applications from both former workers looking to “rejoin the fight” and from out-of-state professionals who want to help here. 

Pana Community Hospital – about an hour south east of Springfield – is preparing to treat patients sick with COVID-19. But, like many of the rural hospitals around Illinois, it’s also wrestling with financial challenges brought on by the pandemic.

By Saturday, officials expect 500 hospital beds to be in place at a converted McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago to deal with the overflow of COVID-19 patients. 

The massive facility off Lakeshore Drive is expected by mid-April to have up to 3,000 beds, including ICU units, to deal, if needed with COVID-19 cases. There are now more than 5,000 cases statewide, most in the Chicago metropolitan area.

Gov. J.B Pritzker announced the progress in his daily press briefing on Monday.

Updated 3/26/2020 5:09 pm

Ventilators are among the most important equipment hospitals need to treat a surge of COVID-19 patients. Companies such as General Motors are gearing up emergency production of the machines, which take over the labor of breathing for a patient with a serious case of the virus. 

In the midst of a global pandemic that has shut down much of society, concerns remain about getting enough people tested. 

Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Sunday said Illinois is testing about 4-thousand people per day.  He expects that number will be at 10-thousand in the next ten days. 

The Broadway Diner is empty. The ‘50s style restaurant has been a fixture of downtown Columbia, for decades and gets a lot of customers from the University of Missouri. These days, the only sounds keeping owner Dave Johnson company are from the building’s noisy ventilation system. “I was here when the planes crashed into the World Trade Center, and I thought that was horrible, but it’s nothing like this." 

Thirteen more people with COVID-19 have died in Illinois, including an infant in Cook County.

At his daily press briefing Saturday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker grew emotional announcing the deaths, which also included an Illinois Department of Human Services employee.

We're continuing to answer questions about the coronavirus and COVID-19. Here are the latest; if you have more, here's how to send a question.

Do people who recover from coronavirus have any long-lasting symptoms or side effects?

It all depends on the severity of the case. Dr. Abhijit Duggal, a critical care specialist at the Cleveland Clinic, told USA Today that about 80% of COVID-19 patients recover with no complications. As for that remaining 20%, it may be too early to tell.

Illinois leaders are calling for more retired healthcare workers to return to the profession to help the state combat the new coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, millions more dollars are being pumped into social service programs designed to help those in need.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker in his daily COVID-19 briefing had harsh words for people who

gathered on Chicago’s beaches and in parks during this week’s warmer

temperatures

“Right now, hosting a party, crowding down 

by the lake, playing a pickup basketball game in a public park.  If you are doing these things you are spitting

in the face of the doctors and nurses and first responders who are risking

everything so you can survive. “

Meanwhile, Illinois saw the highest growth in reported cases in a single day since COVID-19

The coronavirus is wreaking havoc on nearly every aspect of life. And people who lack stable housing or food supplies are among the most vulnerable.

Those in the real estate industry were hoping for a competitive and prosperous housing market during the spring season, but the rapid spread of COVID-19 put a pause on their plans. One broker offered advice to the industry on what it should be doing through the pandemic.