Chicago’s public schools have announced that educators will not be locked out of their virtual classrooms as negotiations with the teachers’ union continue on a return to personal learning.
Meanwhile, schedules for the second large COVID-19 community vaccination site in Cook County, Triton College in River Grove, will open Tuesday morning at 9 p.m.
Here are the latest COVID-19 titles from across the country:
2 other Illinois regions “on track” to move to Phase 4 mitigation Wednesday: IDPH
Two other regions in Illinois are on track to move to Phase 4 mitigation this week if they continue to move in the right direction, health officials said Tuesday.
Regions 8 and 9 – which include DuPage, Kane, Lake and McHenry counties in the Chicago area – are expected to be able to ease restrictions as early as Wednesday, the Illinois Department of Public Health said.
“If all mitigation values continue to improve, regions 8 and 9 will enter Phase 4 of the Restore Illinois plan on Wednesday,” the department said in a statement.
The measure will bring all but one of the Illinois regions back to Phase 4 of the state’s reopening guidelines after the state began allowing the regions to move forward in mid-January.
Illinois reported 2,304 new COVID-19 cases, 47 additional deaths Tuesday
Illinois health officials reported 2,304 confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus on Tuesday, 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 about to go into Phase 4 of the Illinois Restore Plan on Wednesday.
In the last 24 hours, 60,899 test samples were handed over to state laboratories, bringing the total number of tests performed nationwide to 16,161,454.
The seven-day positivity rate remained the same on Tuesday, standing at 3.9%, the lowest mark since October. The positivity rate in the people tested during this time amounts to 4.9%.
On Monday night, there were 2,447 coronavirus patients in Illinois hospitals. Of these patients, 533 were currently in intensive care units, while 265 were on ventilators.
Several suburbs in Chicago move to Phase 4 mitigation on Tuesday, health officials say
Suburban Cook County on Tuesday moved to phase 4 coronavirus attenuation rules, allowing several Chicago suburbs to further ease restrictions, the state health department said.
According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, Region 10, which includes Cook County suburbs outside of Chicago, met the values required to move to less restrictive rules on Tuesday.
Region 10 marks the eighth region in 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 appointments for COVID vaccines through Zocdoc, officials are to announce
Chicagoans looking for meetings with the coronavirus vaccine will soon be able to schedule their visits through an online portal in partnership with Zocdoc, the city will announce on Tuesday.
The Chicago Department of Public Health commissioner is expected to announce the partnership at a press conference at 1 p.m. Tuesday. (Watch live here at 13:00)
The so-called Zocdoc vaccine programmer will be free and “designed to streamline vaccine programming,” the city said in a statement.
“Although the supply of vaccines is currently very limited, appointments will be added continuously as more vaccines are allocated to providers. Chicagoans are still encouraged to seek a vaccination meeting with their primary care providers if they have one and, for example, also through local pharmacies or their employers, if available, “the statement said. “But the Zocdoc vaccination program will serve as a free public resource for Chicagoans who might otherwise have difficulty finding and accessing a vaccine.”
The Irish South Side Parade in Chicago has been canceled for the second year
The 2021 St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Chicago’s South Side will “not run its traditional march on Western Avenue,” event organizers announced Tuesday, marking a second year of cancellation for the iconic parade due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Due to COVID-19’s continuing public health concerns, the city of Chicago has announced that it will not issue any permits for parades or large gatherings in the first quarter of 2021,” the parade organizers said in a statement Tuesday.
Organizers said the parade committee was exploring alternative ways to celebrate the Irish community heritage “to respect public health and safety for all”.
Read more here.
6 Walmart locations in Chicago administer COVID-19 vaccinations
Six Walmart locations in Chicago administer COVID-19 vaccinations, the company says.
Locations where vaccines are currently available, according to the retailer, 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 offering COVID-19 vaccinations to Illinois residents. The company began managing photos late last month in more than 150 Walmart and Sam’s Clubs stores in a dozen states, including Illinois and Indiana.
Read more here.
CPS, CTU Avoid blocking teachers, distance learning to continue during the “cooling” period
After “substantial progress” in negotiations between the Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers’ Union on Monday, the district announced Monday night that teachers will not be blocked from Google Suite, with virtual learning continuing for students for at least the next two days.
According to an e-mail from CPS, the students will have distance learning on Tuesday and Wednesday, as the negotiations continue, the teacher’s block being on the table for the time being.
“We have reached another milestone today in our efforts to provide personal learning to our students in the Chicago public school system,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot and CPS Director Dr. Janice Jackson said in a statement. another open issue and has made substantial progress in a framework that we hope will address the remaining issues. We call for a 48-hour cooling-off period which will hopefully lead to a final resolution on all open issues. “
The news comes after a Sunday ultimatum issued by Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who said CPS would be ready to “take action” if teachers do not report to their classes on Monday.
Amid often tense negotiations, teachers voted in January to return to distance learning, even with pre-K and group learning students already back in the classrooms. This vote was made in response to the SPC’s request for teachers to return to K-8 classrooms on January 25, with those students returning to these classes on February 1.
CPS officials said over the weekend that if teachers do not return to school on Monday, they will be considered “absent without leave” and will not be allowed to do distance learning until they return to their classes.
Read more here.
Appointments open Tuesday for the New Cook County COVID-19 mass vaccination site
Appointments for the second large COVID-19 community vaccination site in Cook County, Triton College in River Grove, opened Tuesday morning at 9:00 p.m.
Appointments can be made at vaccines.cookcountyil.gov. Those without internet access or in need of programming assistance can call 833-308-1988 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Phase 1B, the current phase of the Illinois vaccination launch, is eligible for people age 65 and older, as well as “essential front-line workers,” which includes first responders, education workers such as teachers and support staff, and grocery store employees.
You can find more information about appointments here.
Illinois adds 41 new COVID-19 vaccination sites across the state
Illinois has added 41 new COVID-19 vaccination sites starting Jan. 26, according to a state health official press release Monday.
More than 3.2 million state residents are eligible for vaccinations under Phase 1B, which includes people aged 65 and over, as well as “essential frontline workers”. Among those in this category are: first responders, education workers such as teachers and support staff, as well as grocery store employees and postal workers.
A total of 310 vaccination sites have been opened across the state.