Health & Medicine

Congregate facilities have resulted in a large number of COVID-19 cases in Illinois.

One location in deep southern Illinois to experience an outbreak is the federally-run Tri-County Detention Center in Ullin, which is a field office for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

There remains confusion about how the Illinois Department of Public Health determines if COVID-19 was the primary factor in a person's death.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is providing assistance to the Jackson County Housing Authority in a fourth wave of CARES Act funding.

One southern Illinois county has experienced a surge in COVID-19 cases in the past week.

Union County's total number of cases has nearly doubled since May 7. On the 7th, the county had 57 cases. In just the past week, the county has recorded 51 cases...including 38 on Wednesday.

Southern Illinois Healthcare has opened a new COVID-19 testing site at the former Region’s Bank building at Rt. 13 and Poplar in Carbondale.

The drive-through location is in addition to a similar testing site at SIH Urgent Care in Marion. Both are open seven days a week.

The Illinois Department of Public Health is tracking COVID-19 cases at the state's veteran's homes.

IDPH director Dr. Ngoze Ezike says there are 30 residents and ten workers at Manteno and one resident in the LaSalle facility who have tested positive.

The Carbondale Warming Center is seeking donations.

The facility is staying open through the warmer months to help those in need of a place to stay during the state's stay at home order.

City of Carbondale spokesperson Roni LeForge says the center needs men's clothing.

The son of an emergency room doctor in Cape Girardeau is doing what he can to help protect his father from COVID-19.

Saxony Lutheran High School senior Andrew Hyatt built an intubation box for his dad to use while working on patients.

The Jefferson County Health Department says a man in his 70's has died due to COVID-19.

The man had been hospitalized since April 14 and was a resident of a long-term care facility in Jefferson County.

The Jefferson County Health Department reports 38 new cases of COVID-19 at a single long-term care facility.

Officials say four others tested positive bringing the total to 42 additional cases in the county within the last 24 hours.

The State of Illinois is trying to ramp up testing for COVID-19.

The Illinois Department of Public Health has hired a consulting group to help find additional staff for state labs in Carbondale, Chicago and Springfield. The Carbondale lab needs 56 workers.

The Illinois Poison Center urges people to use caution with cleaning products, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The center says exposures to cleaning products are up 30-percent as people try to disinfect their homes.

Illinois Governor J-B Pritzker and some state and federal health officials are stressing the need for contact tracing as one of the pillars for helping re-open the economy.

Older adults are at the highest risk for complications, including death, from Covid-19.

So, extra precautions are in place to protect this age group.

Illinois continues to try to expand testing capacity across the state.

During the daily briefing on Friday, Governor J-B Pritzker said that includes rural areas.

Jackson County Health Department was notified in the past 24 hours of three new confirmed cases of COVID-19, including the death of a female in her nineties.

This death is the second overall known from the disease in Jackson County.

A southern Illinois science teacher is among those helping produce protective materials for local healthcare workers.

Cobden High School Science Teacher Holly Hurt says she's using her skills and equipment at home to help fill a need for those on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I've got two 3-D printers set up in my dining room right now, printing face shields, as a request from Southern Illinois Healthcare."

Cape Girardeau County reported its first death from COVID-19 on Tuesday.

The Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center says the victim was a resident in their 80's. No further details are being provided at this time due to privacy laws.

The Jackson County Health Department reports five new cases.

The new positive results include two people in their 20's; one each in their 40's, 60's and 70's.

Southern Seven Health Department will implement new measures to keep resident and staff safe from COVID-19.

The Jackson County Health Department is reporting three new cases of COVID-19.

The three new positive tests are a man in his 60's, likely acquired from travel out of state...a woman in her 20's, likely acquired from travel to the Chicago area... and a woman in her 90's, acquired locally.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Missouri has jumped by nearly 300, even as calls for a statewide stay-at-home mandate increased.

The state health department said Tuesday 14 people have died and 1,327 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed.

While states keep track of the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and those who die from the virus, some are calling for news on how many people are recovering.

As COVID-19 has sent college students home to learn remotely for the remainder of the semester, faculty and staff at Southeast Missouri State University are working rapidly to engineer Personal Protective Equipment for the local healthcare community.

A 4th Jackson County resident has tested positive for COVID-19.

The Jackson County Health Department says this individual is a male in his early twenties. He is reportedly doing well and is at home on isolation.

45 Community Health Centers in Illinois will received 3.6-million dollars in federal grants to support their COVID-19 response efforts. 

They'll be able to use the funding to help increase screening and testing needs, acquire medical supplies, protective equipment, and boost telehealth capacity.

States across the country are developing their own responses to the COVID-19 outbreak, sometimes more aggressively than what the Centers for Disease Control may be recommending.

A local bank is teaming up with the American Red Cross to host at least three blood drives later this month.

Shawnee Alliance has received an Emergency Assistance Services grant from Illinois Department on Aging in response to COVID-19.

Grant funds will be used to assist older adults 60 and older in Shawnee Alliance’s 18-county service area with unmet needs related to COVID-19 and isolation.