SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker said Monday the state could enter the “bridge” phase to greater reopening as soon as next week, while the state’s vaccination rate continues to drop.
Speaking at a news conference at Providence Hospital in Chicago, Pritzker said Illinois is nearing the necessary metrics to reach the next phase of reopening as case numbers stabilize.
“It looks to me, if you look at all the hospital admissions data, like we’re in decent shape and moving exactly as I would hope we would toward the bridge phase,” Pritzker said Monday.
According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, IDPH, new COVID-19 hospital admissions, total COVID-19 patients in the hospital, and death rates all must be stable or decreasing before the state can move to the next phase with more relaxed capacity restrictions and allowing some large-scale events to resume with safety measures in place.
Wednesday, May 5, 202105/05/2021
Joey McLaughlin talks with Springfield Mayor Jim Langfelder on the ‘Ask the Mayor’ segment on the WTAX Morning Newswatch about his veto of the spending ordinance, downtown parking, Shot Spotter, the Legacy Pointe Sports Complex, gun violence, the Illinois State Fair and more.
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Vendor samples, live entertainment and kids’ programming are back at some locales for the summer 2021 farmers market season. So, too, are face masks, hand-washing stations and social distancing.
Area market managers plan to reintroduce the more social aspects of these traditionally community-oriented venues a year after the coronavirus pandemic pared farmers markets down to commercial transactions in the 2020 season.
But everyone acknowledges it is a balancing act as farmers markets throughout central Illinois are welcoming customers back.
“We’re approaching this farmers market season planning on a social atmosphere from the past,” said Nicole Moore, market manager for the Illinois Products Farmers’ Market held at the Illinois State Fairgrounds, “realizing if the (state’s COVID-19 infection) numbers go up, we will have to respond.
Class pets, weed boom, school robots: News from around our 50 states
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May 5, 2021, 7:33 AM·51 min read
Alabama
Birmingham: Declaring the COVID-19 pandemic “absolutely” managed despite lagging vaccinations, Gov. Kay Ivey said Monday that she will end a health order meant to guard against the spread of an illness that has killed nearly 11,000 people statewide. Citing improved infection rates, fewer hospitalizations and more widespread immunizations, Ivey said the current order recommending that people follow health guidance and requiring some precautions for senior citizens and long-term care facilities will end May 31, barring a sharp rise in cases. The declared state of emergency will end July 6, she said in a statement. “For over a year now, Alabamians, like people around the globe, have made sacrifices and adjusted to a temporary ‘new normal.’ We have learned much since last year, and this is absolutely now a managed pandemic. Our infection rates and
Joey McLaughlin talks with Springfield Mayor Jim Langfelder on the ‘Ask the Mayor’ segment on the WTAX Morning Newswatch about his veto of the spending ordinance, downtown parking, Shot Spotter, the Legacy Pointe Sports Complex, gun violence, the Illinois State Fair and more.