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Good morning, Chicago. Here’s the coronavirus news and other top stories you need to know to start your day.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Sunday announced 2,126 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state and 59 new deaths, bringing the state’s total to 43,903 known cases and 1,933 deaths
In the U.S., nearly 965,000 people have been infected and more than 54,000 have died as a result of the coronavirus, according to Johns Hopkins University on Sunday
The official death toll from the virus topped 205,000 worldwide on Sunday, with over 2.9 million reported infections, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University
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A viral video purporting to show a crowded house party in Chicago over the weekend prompted Gov. J.B. Pritzker to admonish the young partiers who appear to be standing shoulder to shoulder and flouting social distancing orders amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I have not seen the video though I did hear about it,” he said Sunday during his daily coronavirus briefing. “First, I want to remind everyone that by doing that, by standing together, not social distancing, many people not wearing masks, you’re literally putting everyone around you in danger. They are putting you in danger and, very importantly, all of those people are putting their families and their friends who are not there with them in danger.”
Officials scale back McCormick Place plans by 2,000 beds as coronavirus curve flattens
City and state officials have decided to open 2,000 fewer beds at the McCormick Place medical center for now, citing the slowing growth of COVID-19 cases in Illinois.
McCormick originally was supposed to have 3,000 beds in case Chicago-area hospitals were hit with more coronavirus patients than they could handle at once. For the time being, however, a planned 1,750-bed hall won’t be opened. And a separate hall for sicker patients has been scaled back by 250 beds.
The shutdown of schools across Illinois — now extended for the rest of the academic year — has created particular hardships for families of students with disabilities. Some students are paired with full-time aides at school or get speech or physical therapy, roles that aren’t easily filled by parents who are also figuring out remote learning, working from home or dealing with their own economic challenges.
Josephine Tapiru had been pulling extra shifts, working from 9 a.m. until sometimes 11 p.m., because the North Side nursing home was getting more and more short-staffed as co-workers fell ill. She kept a close watch on her temperature: still 98. Fine, she thought.
After clocking out on April 3 from Park View Rehab, Tapiru told a friend her throat was getting sore and she was coughing. She stopped at a drugstore, picked up a bottle of NyQuil and went to bed as soon as she got home. Sometime that night, she slipped into a coma. The world’s novel coronavirus was beginning to take its terrible toll on her family.
The Tribune identified at least one dozen Chicago-area families who suffered a double loss from COVID-19 in the last several weeks.
‘The Last Dance’ Episode 4 recap: Chicago Bulls win their 1st NBA title
Carmen Electra hiding in a Las Vegas hotel room when Michael Jordan comes to retrieve Dennis Rodman and the Chicago Bulls winning their first NBA title under Phil Jackson highlight Episode 4 of “The Last Dance,” ESPN’s 10-part documentary on the Bulls’ 1997-98 championship season and the era it ended.
Now that we’ve had a chance to see the fourth hour, let’s see what we can take away. And here’s our recap of episode three, which focuses on how Dennis Rodman became a member of the Bulls.
