Chicago public schools announced that educators would not be locked in virtual classrooms as negotiations with the teachers ’union continue on the return to face-to-face learning.
Meanwhile, appointments at Cook County’s second largest COVID-19 community vaccination site, Triton College in River Grove, will open Tuesday morning at 9 p.m.
These are the latest COVID-19 holders across the state:
2 more Illinois regions “on track” to move to Phase 4 Mitigations Wednesday: IDPH
Two more Illinois regions are “on track” to move to Phase 4 mitigations this week if they continue to trend in the right direction, health officials announced Tuesday.
Regions 8 and 9, which include DuPage, Kane, Lake and McHenry counties in the Chicago area, are expected to loosen restrictions as early as Wednesday, the Illinois Department of Public Health said.
“If all mitigation metrics continue to improve, regions 8 and 9 will move to Phase 4 of the Illinois Restore Plan on Wednesday,” the department said in a statement.
The move would bring all but one of the Illinois regions to Phase 4 of the state’s reopening guidelines after the state began allowing the regions to move forward in mid-January.
Illinois reports 2,304 new COVID-19 cases, 47 additional deaths Tuesday
Illinois health officials on Tuesday reported 2,304 confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus, along with an additional 47 deaths attributed to the virus.
According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, Tuesday’s new cases bring the state to 1,130,917 virus cases in the state, with 19,306 deaths attributed to COVID since the pandemic began last year.
IDPH also noted that regions 8 and 9 are on track to move to phase 4 of the Restore Illinois plan Wednesday.
Over the past 24 hours, 60,899 test samples have been delivered to state laboratories, bringing the total number of tests performed statewide to 16,161,454.
The seven-day positivity rate remained the same on Tuesday, standing at 3.9%, its lowest note since October. The positivity rate in individuals tested during this time stands at 4.9%.
As of Monday night, there were 2,447 coronavirus patients in Illinois hospitals. Of these patients, 533 were currently in intensive care units, while 265 had ventilators.
Several Chicago suburbs are going through phase 4 mitigation on Tuesday, health officials say
Cook suburban county moved Tuesday to phase 4 coronavirus mitigation rules, allowing several suburbs in the Chicago area to further relax restrictions, the state health department announced.
According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, Region 10, which includes Cook County suburbs outside the city of Chicago, has met the metrics needed to move to less restrictive rules on Tuesday.
Region 10 marks the eighth region of the state to return to that level since the state began allowing regions to advance in mid-January. On Monday, Region 7, which includes Will and Kankakee counties, moved to Phase 4, while the city of Chicago introduced a modified version of the phase over the weekend.
Chicago launches COVID vaccine appointments through Zocdoc, officials to announce
Citizens of Chicago seeking appointments for the coronavirus vaccine will soon be able to schedule their visits through an online portal in collaboration with Zocdoc, the city is scheduled to announce on Tuesday.
The Chicago Department of Public Health commissioner is expected to announce the partnership at a news conference at 1 p.m. Tuesday. (Watch here live at 1 p.m.)
The so-called Zocdoc vaccine programmer will be free and “is designed to streamline vaccine programming,” the city said in a statement.
“While the supply of vaccines is currently very limited, appointments will be added on an ongoing basis as more vaccines are allocated to providers. Chicago residents are still encouraged to seek an appointment with their care providers. primary, if they have them, and also local pharmacies or their employers, if they are available, “the statement said. “But vaccine programmer Zocdoc will serve as a free public resource for Chicagoans who might otherwise have difficulty finding and accessing a vaccine.”
The South Side Irish Parade in Chicago is canceled for the second year
The 2021 Irish St. Patrick’s Day parade in Southern Ireland in Chicago in 2021 “will not make its traditional march down West Avenue,” event organizers announced on Tuesday, marking a second year of cancellation of the iconic parade due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Due to continued public health concerns about COVID-19, the city of Chicago has announced that it will not issue any permits for parades or large gatherings in the first quarter of 2021,” parade organizers said Tuesday.
Organizers said the parade committee is exploring alternative ways to celebrate the Irish heritage of the community “to respect public health and the safety of all”.
Read more here.
6 Chicago Walmart locations administer COVID-19 vaccines
Six Walmart locations in Chicago administer COVID-19 vaccines, according to the company.
According to the retailer, sites where vaccines are currently available include:
- 7535 S. Ashland Ave.
- 4650 W. North Ave.
- 4626 W. Diversey Ave.
- 2551 W. Cermak Rd.
- 8331 S. Stewart Ave.
- 10900 S. Doty Ave.
Walmart is one of several retailers that provide COVID-19 vaccines to Illinois residents. The company began managing shootings late last month at more than 150 Walmart stores and Sam’s Clubs in a dozen states, including Illinois and Indiana.
Read more here.
CPS, CTU Avoid blocking teachers, remote learning to continue during the “cooling off” period
After “substantial progress” in negotiations between Chicago’s public schools and the Chicago Teachers Union on Monday, the district announced Monday evening that teachers will not be left out of Google Suite, with e-learning continued by to students at least for the next two days.
According to a CPS email, students will have a remote learning on Tuesday and Wednesday as negotiations continue, for the time being blocking teachers off the table.
“We have reached another important milestone today in our efforts to provide face-to-face learning to our students in the Chicago public school system,” said Mayor Lori Lightfoot and CPS Director, Dr. Janice Jackson, in a statement. “We have reached an agreement on another open issue and made substantial progress in a framework that we hope will address the rest of the issues. We call for a 48-hour refresh period which we hope will lead to a final resolution on all open issues.” .
The news comes after an ultimatum issued Sunday by Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said CPS would be willing to “take action” if teachers did not show up in their classrooms Monday.
Amid the often tense negotiations, teachers had voted in January to return to remote learning, even with pre-school and cluster students already returning to classrooms. This vote was done in response to CPS asking teachers to return to K-8 classrooms on January 25, and students to return to these classrooms on February 1st.
CPS officials said over the weekend that if teachers did not return to schools on Monday, they would be considered “absent without permission” and would not be allowed to conduct remote learning until they return to their classrooms.
Read more here.
Appointments open Tuesday for the New Cook County COVID-19 mass vaccination site
Appointments for Cook County’s second largest COVID-19 community vaccination site, Triton College in River Grove, opened at 9 a.m. Tuesday.
Appointments can be made at vaccine.cookcountyil.gov. People who do not have Internet access or who need assistance scheduling can call 833-308-1988 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday.
According to Phase 1B, the current phase of the vaccination launch in Illinois, people age 65 and older are eligible, as well as “essential front-line workers,” which includes first aid, education workers such as teachers and support staff and grocery store employees.
You can find more information about dating here.
Illinois adds 41 new COVID-19 vaccination sites across the state
The state of Illinois has added 41 new vaccination sites against COVID-19 since Jan. 26, according to a statement Monday from state health officials.
More than 3.2 million residents of the state are eligible to be vaccinated in Phase 1B, which includes people 65 and older, as well as “essential front-line workers.” Among those in this category are: first aid workers, education workers as teachers and support staff, as well as grocery store employees and postal workers.
In all, 310 vaccination sites have been opened across the state.