Thread by @BauerJournalism

Gov. JB Pritzker has his daily coronavirus briefing at 2:30 p.m. I'll live tweet it. Follow for updates and let me know if you have questions.

Our latest story: blockclubchicago.org/2020/05/11/cor…

You can watch a stream here: multimedia.illinois.gov/press/press-li…

(And if you, you'll hear my voice today since I'm the print pool reporter! 😀)

Pritzker: "First, I want to address why this live stream looks so different today. One member of my senior staff, who was not exhibiting any symptoms, has tested positive for COVID-19. And for that reason, in accordance with the best public health practices and protocols and ...

"recommendations of doctors, the rest of my team, myself included, is working from home for the time being." The governor's office is "still in full operation."

Dr. Ngozi Ezike, head of the Illinois Department of Public Health, speaking. "We did receive our first allocation of Remdesivir, the investigational antiviral drug."
A trial showed people who got it had a significantly shorter time to recovery than those with a placebo.

Ezike: The cases have been shipped to 14 hospitals across the state. Each has enough vials to treat five or so patients.

Though done via video conference, the briefing still has an ASL interpreter.

Ezike: "We do expect to receive more Remdesivir in the future," but they hope what they have now can improve outcomes for patients who need it.

Ezike: 54 more people have died. Total is now 3,459.
1,266 new cases. Total is now 79,007.

Ezike: They're doing testing at VA facilities. They found 40 in one facility and one in a LaSalle facility.

Ezike: 4,319 people are hospitalized with COVID-19. Of those, 1,248 were in the ICU and 730 were on ventilators.

Ezike: "We must continue to do all of the things we've said here ... stay home as much as possible, wear a face covering, keep 6 feet of distance between you and others and watch your hands frequently."

Pritzker: "As a reminder, the modeling that we follow is led by top researchers from" universities including U of I, U of C, etc. "The modeling uses IDPH's data of daily COVID-19 cases, deaths, hospitalizations, ventilator and ICU usage, all of which is provided by every ...

"hospital in Illinois and by labs that are running COVID-19 testing. Since our last modeling update, the researchers have been able to plug approximately 2.5 more weeks of data into their models, and that's significant.
"... The essence of models is that they get smarter over ...

"time. The more days of data that you have, like how many COVID-19 patients were admitted to the hospital or how many cases tested positive, the better their ability to project future outcome."

Pritzker: "Everyone tracking our state's data has likely seen that, on a statewide basis, we haven't passed our peak yet. We have seen more stability in our numbers, but so far we are not seeing significant declines in key metrics like hospitalizations."

Pritzker: A forecast shared April 23 predicted peak in late April/early May. That's now been extended from mid-May into mid-June. "In many ways, this news is disheartening. We have made great progress, but it's forced us to remain at a moderated through still high level of ...

"those key metrics for this extended period. A pushing-out of our expected peak is a natural consequence of flattening the curve."
"Pushing the peak down and therefore to a longer timeframe might not sound like good news to some, but I promise you: It is saving lives."

Pritzker on R-nought number: "An R-nought number below 1 means that each existing infection causes less than one new infection. Over time, that will lead to a decline in new cases." When this started, an estimate of Illinois' R-nought value was 3.6.
"Right now, I'm told our ...

"R-nought value for Illinois has fallen to 1.0, but not below 1. Once we get down to an R-nought value below 1, that will be very good news for all the people of Illinois.
"Our models also show that our hospital capacity and resources statewide are now sufficient to handle the...

"current rates of transmission.
"There are those who advocate removing all restrictions now or at the end of this month rather than taking the gradual course that our Restore Illinois plan does. If we were to lift all of our regulations entirely [at the end of May] modeling ...

"shows that there would be a new surge of COVID-19 and a higher R-nought in each of the four regions, even in the least hard-hit regions of our state.
"... Lifting all of our mitigation at the end of May would likely lead to a second wave of outbreak in each and every one of ...

"our four regions. That's why the Restore Illinois plan gradually loosens mitigations in each phase while introducing the face covering requirement ... ."

"Thus far, all of our regions are on pace to hit all of the metrics for moving forward after the 28-day period with ...

"possibly one exception. In the Northeast Region, the positivity rate as of midnight, May 8, is at 22.3 percent, which is of course higher than the 20 percent cap on this metric to move into the next phase."
That region includes Chicago.

Pritzker: "There's time for the Northeast Region to fall below this cap."

Pritzker: "So far, all hospital metrics are being met in the Northeast Region."

Pritzker: "Over these next 18 days, I'll share updates with this information with you regularly, at least once a week with likely more updates as we get later in the month."

Pritzker on staffer who tested positive: "Well, we're gonna follow the doctor's orders. We discovered the person who tested positive late in the week; in fact, I think that we were notified on Saturday that, that occurred. The test had been done a few days before earlier in ...

"the week. That was when we discovered. It's slightly different lengths of time for people depending upon their contact with the person, how recent that contact was, etc."
"We don't want to reveal the name of the person who tested positive; however, they have given us all of ...

"their contacts, all of the locations they were in ... ."

Pritzker: They work on the same floor, down the hall from him. "I don't have regular, everyday contact with that person directly, although that person would sometimes, every day, sit in a large meeting room where we were all social distancing."

Pritzker: "This is not a public person, and again, this person, we've identified all this person's contacts. Just like the contact tracing protocols call for, there's no release of the name of the person who was found to have COVID-19" but their contacts are told.

Pritzker: "I was in contact with that person today. That person is still asymptomatic and so feeling fine, although obviously it's an anxious-ridden moment for that person just to know they've tested positive."

Pritzker: "I am in Chicago. I have been in Chicago for ... quite a while. I'm at my home."

Pritzker: "The succession plan is in fact in the constitution and, as you know, we have a terrific lieutenant governor, highly capable person who, if she needed to step in, would of course be terrific at managing everything. But I feel fine. I have tested negative. I don't ...

"think, at least at the moment, there's any real danger."

Pritzker on unemployment: "There have been 44,000 successful connections online for people who wanted to file today. Those people have been able to connect. Their applications, many of them have been submitted. The challenges that exist for people who have an expired license ...

"the secretary of state has extended the expirations of licenses for everybody ... . They shouldn't worry about that. I think the bigger challenge is that we had some glitches, again, with phone calls today. The entire phone system for the state of Illinois, actually, had some...

"interruption today, so that went down. I believe it's back up again."

Pritzker: "The day we announced the protocols for Restore Illinois, the metrics, was actually the 6th of May, I believe. So we were already six days into the 28 days, so there were 22 days left. ... The difference between 22 days and 14 days, we can have a discussion about, ...

"certainly, but the effort here is the same. I think we all have the same goal, which is to get people back to work but to do it safely. The 14-day guidance that was put out by the White House is actually more stringent than the guidance we put out. Their guidance would have ...

"required 14 days in a decline of the numbers; what we require is simply following a flattened number for 28 days, which is a much easier metric ... ."

Pritzker: "I think the earliest date would be the 29th of May, so rather than in June. But the 29th of May. And we're not looking so much at the tweaking of the plan ... . [On May 1,] we brought back retail, curbside and delivery retail as well as" opening state parks and ...

elective surgeries. "All of those things ... those are things that are in other states' plans that are just beginning now, we actually did about 10 days ago."

Ezike: "That's deeply concerning and troubling. When I hear of reports such as that, I shudder. You can imagine that cases of coronavirus were potentially spread int hat arena, which potentially could mean a week or so later there could be some associated hospitalizations from...

"that. With that in mind, I just encourage everyone, ... allowances have been made. We just want people to be as safe as possible. If you cannot keep 6-foot distance, please try to use some kind of face covering to protect yourself, to protect others. ... We just want to limit...

"the spread of infection, and remembering that one might not have symptoms to make it very obvious that you have anything that potentially could be spread ... ."

Pritzker: "We are following all the doctor's orders here at home. We have been really self-isolating, in my home, anyway, for some time now. We're trying to follow all the best protocols and to keep each other safe."

Pritzker: "People who open their businesses at this time, knowing that mitigations are just now beginning to bend, help us bend the curve down — we've flattened it but the goal here is to bend the curve down, ultimately. By opening early, they're putting people at risk. The ...

"potential here is that we'll have an upsurge in Quincy in cases and hospitalizations, and that will drive that whole region, potentially, to a point where it may not reopen. They're putting people at risk and they're putting the entire region's economy at risk by opening early."

Pritzker: Restaruant industry leaders have suggested ways to safely reopen, "but it's true that it is difficult to open restaurants and bars in a circumstance where we need to, in Phase 3, make sure there aren't groups of 10, more than 10 gathering, and making sure we're ...

"limiting the transmission" that could occur through food/drinks. "The biggest thing to change would be if we get a treatment. That's the thing that will change the game. ... We'll alter the playbook if we need to, but the fact is we put a plan out there. Really, nothing has ...

"changed since we put the plan out there. The intention here is to stick with the plan." But he is talking to industry leaders and listening to their ideas.

Pritzker on pre-mixed cocktails: He's listening to experts on "whether or not the delivery of mixed drinks — are they closed? Are they packaged right? Because that's something that matters ... . It's something that, no doubt, our team and IDPH is looking at and will look at."

Pritzker: "I'm not making any changes to the plan that we've put out, to be clear, but I certainly want to hear from everybody about why that ought to be in the next phase because that's when things will change."

Pritzker: Staff at nursing homes with outbreaks get PPE and training.

Ezike: Every longterm facility has an existing infection control protocol. "We are trying to assist with making sure that those are properly followed and maintained ... ."

Pritzker: "IDOC is performing tests on staff on a regular basis and anybody that's got any symptoms, and then as people are being released they go through a process over a number of days before they actually are released. They would likely show symptoms during the course of ...

"that process. It's known who's being released for days, in fact weeks, before they are released. There's not a need to go test every single one of them."

Pritzker: "Our goal here is to weave together the county health departments' contact tracing ... we want to make sure all those people are part of this larger process while we're also going to be hiring new people to join."

Ezike on her mother's day sermon: "I was honored to be given the opportunity to share a Mother's Day message. ... I was able to talk about my faith and the influences in my life and how having an extra source of strength has really helped me get through this difficult ...

"pandemic period."

Ezike: "I'm not shy about the fact I am nothing without having my source of strength and my guide, which is my God. Being able to share that with my community is something that I think is an important thing to do."

Pritzker on if he got a haircut: "No, I have a pair of clippers that I use, that I've been using on the sides of my head. I ask my 15-year-old to get a little buzz on the back of my hair, and that's it. I haven't had a haircut other than that."

Pritzker: "That you're likely not only breaking the law and the mayor has made it clear that those services are not allowed. But also, you're potentially putting hundreds of people in danger, and that's something that I think people should be thinking about, the parishioners ...

"and the faith leaders ... it's not just about yourself. It's about the many people who will attend" and people who will come into contact with them. "It's highly likely, in fact, that when large groups of people are getting together right now ... that there are going to be ...

"carriers among the people who are getting together."

Pritzker: "As of today, those independent contractors, small sole proprietors can apply for unemployment under the CARES Act and through the portal that's been provided" online. Many regions are headed toward Phase 3, and those places can reopen then.

Pritzker: "Those alternate care facilities are really intended to be for transfers from hospitals of people who are less acute cases ... ."

Ezike: "Of course our message remains the same in the situation: We want to reinforce the appropriate guidelines, report, enforce the appropriate infection control measures," make sure testing of staff is consistent, etc. When you're dealing with this "fragile, elderly ...

"population," moving them to an entirely different place is "very unsettling and destabilizing" and could do more harm than good.

Pritzker: "... The Illinois Municipal League, and I understand they would like to break the state into 11 regions and not just 4 regions, and I know there are other people who would like to break the state into every county, 102 counties, and yet others who would like to do it...

"by city or by town. I'll just say there are lots of ways it could be done, but there needs to be a uniformity tot he way that we manage the state of Illinois."

Pritzker: "As circumstances change, as we find, for example, that there are fewer COVID-19 symptoms that are affecting people because there might be a treatment that's available, we will of course revisit Restore Illinois. The goal here is ... to reopen the state as fast as ...

"possible, but in a safe fashion ... ."

Ezike: "We can't be sure that it won't rise again this summer, and that is obviously the concern. That's why we want to slowly and cautiously be able to follow the data and move through these stages ... ."

Ezike: "If people have been strictly at home and now they're out and about ... obviously the" R0 won't be the same.

Pritzker: "Many of our staff people already were working from home. We tried to make sure that we did enough social distancing by allowing those, particularly those who are most vulnerable, to continue to do their jobs from home."

Pritzker: "We took advantage of that by allowing much of our staff to work from home; they've been doing a terrific job." They're on calls, communicating, working on projects daily, etc. "The functions of the governor's office have really been operating well even with a ...

"smaller group of people working in the Thompson Center or in Springfield. But now we've moved the remaining 20 or so plus people out of the office for isolation, we've been in contact all day today, making sure that we're following all of the things we need to follow each day...

"and getting things done."

Pritzker: "I was tested earlier in the week, last week, when others in our office, when the whole office was tested. And then when there was the discovery of the one person, there was a desire to have me tested again ... ."

Pritzker: "We certainly need to consider everything we can to alleviate the burden on people across the state. Anything we can do is worth considering. ... When you decide, for example, to not collect property taxes, you're affecting local governments and their ability to ...

"delivery services." But he knows there are people struggling to pay their property taxes. Legislature should consider that.

Pritzker: "I think you know I'm nothing like Bruce Rauner and don't believe" in what he did. He does want the Legislature to get together to pass a budget.

Pritzker: "Certainly a lot is being invested through the CARES Act directly in schools" for summer schools and e-learning. "We are focusing much of that on e-learning and also on making sure that we're dealing with" the potential of loss of learning this summer.

Pritzker: It'd be difficult to have in-person summer school if you can't have gatherings of 10+ people. "It would have to really be in Phase 4, and that also could occur in the middle" of the summer.

Pritzker: "Actually, we have a testing strategy and we have been working with hospitals all across the state on that testing strategy." It's focused on using available equipment on hospitals and focusing on the collection of specimens in the places where they're going to test ...

"people who are most vulnerable. "We have been following a testing strategy, and we'll continue to do that."

"We encourage local governments to launch testing as best they can. The state has really been in the best position, would've been the federal government had they taken...

"it up, but the state's ben in the best position to gather the supplies and identify the locations of the machines and then to make arrangements and partnerships with those institutions" that have machines. "We absolutely encourage the city of Chicago, the city of Aurora, the ...

"cities all over the state, counties and others to launch testing wherever they can. The more testing the better."

Pritzker: "We now are the second-largest testing among the top 10 most populous states in the United States, and we continue to grow our testing ability and are hoping — we're gonna fight to be the biggest and best testing state in the nation, and certainly on a per capita ...

"basis we're almost there."

Pritzker: "It's an unusual circumstance that the Supreme Court would, in fact, take a case directly from circuit court and not let it go through the normal process. I think it was the right thing to do for the AG to seek the supreme court's intervention," but they're not ...

saying they won't ever rule on this.

Pritzker: "We are doing much more testing, as you know; we've been ramping up testing at our nursing homes as more tests are available. We'll continue to do that."

Pritzker: "It's not something that's being asked on the forms that people are submitting, the hospitals are submitting. I don't currently see that there is going to be a collection of that data."

Pritzker: "The goal here is that there will be a package that will support small, smaller cities than the last CARES Act did, as well as the states with funding that doesn't have the restrictions that the last set of funding did. It absolutely is the case that, by funding ...

"states, and particularly our state where we had LGDF funding for local governments, there will be a good deal of money that comes from the federal government that will flow to small cities, towns and counties."

Pritzker: "Perhaps I didn't word it quite correctly; what I was trying to say was we ware spinning up a massive contact tracing effort across the state, and over the next few states that will be launched. And it will be a large effort" and it'll take time to hire, etc. "But I ...

"also want to say that backing up that large contact tracing effort that we're trying to get up and running here, is the existing contact tracing effort that we've got really across every county in the state. We're plugging in the existing capability as well as many of the ...

"community health care workers; Chicago has hundreds of those already and has suggested they will be bringing those people into this new, large contact tracing effort. I have confidence we will have grown this significantly but, yes, it's true that it's over more than just a ...

"few weeks it will take in order for this to become massive."

Pritzker: "I have looked at the plan; indeed, I spoke with the mayor of Quincy about that plan and I read that plan. It's got a lot of really good points in it, some of which I have considered ... . There's a lot of overlap. The biggest difference, frankly, are in timing. ...

"There are people who want to open everything up sooner, much sooner. ... If we did that, we would really have a surge of cases and it could potentially lead to an overwhelming of our hospitals and many more people getting sick. We have a good plan out there. It is a regional ...

"plan and it takes into account that Adams County is very different than Cook County, for example."

Pritzker: He talked with economist this morning about what they need to think about given the downturn and its impact on families, businesses, and how to mitigate those. "It is something that's part of a broader effort that I'm talking to experienced economists about."

Press conference over. Story here: blockclubchicago.org/2020/05/11/ill…