Latest Coronavirus News on February 15, 2021: Live Update

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Illinois has surpassed 20,000 coronavirus deaths, but has recorded the lowest number of cases per day since September.

Ashlee Rezin Garcia / Sun-Times file

Illinois recorded a daily minimum of new COVID-19 cases since late September on Monday, but also passed a tough milestone of a total of 20,000 deaths across the state.

An additional 1,420 coronavirus infections were reported to the Illinois Public Health Service on Monday. This is the lowest number of days since September 29, when 1,362 cases were confirmed.

An additional 41 people died from the virus, and the state’s death toll increased to 20,002.Illinois Total deaths exceeded 10,000 November 5.

Despite passing a total of 20,000 deaths, state mortality continued to decline.

Coronavirus deaths in February are half that of January. The state reported an average of 50 deaths per day in the first 15 days of February, compared to an average of 104 deaths per day during the same period last month.

So far in February, 763 Illinois have died of COVID-19. In January, 2,774 people died of the virus. 4,324 in December.

Reporter David Struett tells the whole story.

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3:50 pm Office landlord uses a pledge of health to plead for a spooky tenant

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Many office workers haven’t looked at their desks for months. Persistent thoughts are common in vaccines that provide hope for suppressing a pandemic. How safe would the place be if there was a general return to work?

Some landlords are taking extra and sometimes expensive steps to ensure their tenants are clean and healthy, worried about unused space and sluggish demand. They have undergone third-party verification that their practices promote well-being. Returning tenants can look at the certificate on the decals and plaques to reduce their anxiety about working away from home.

The prolific Chicago developer, Sterling Bay, is an example of an approach. Sterling Bay has a WELL Health-Safety Rating for six office properties that span Loop, River West and Fulton Markets. The developer is one of the first to get that reputation for its portfolio of properties, managed by the International WELL Building Institute for commercial purposes.

Others are following a stricter program from the same institute that awards what is called WELL certification. It’s much more expensive than a health and safety assessment and can retreat office skyscraper owners by more than $ 100,000. From air and water quality to the presence of fresh fruit in buildings and quiet spaces, on-site verification of 10 core concepts is needed to reduce stress.

It goes far beyond controlling a pandemic. However, supporters say COVID-19 must raise awareness of workplace health and meet new standards for landlords to compete for tenants.

Read David Roeder’s full report here.

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1:34 pm COVID obese killer: “Pour petrol over the fire”

When Rev. Robert Beekman was diagnosed with COVID-19 last month, he couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if he still weighed more than 360 pounds. The virus and potentially sacrificed his life.

“If I were as big as myself, this would probably have taken me away,” he said, maintaining his weight after a 2017 surgery, a diet change, and a promise to run five miles every other day. Mr. Beekman (61) is about 190 pounds or less. He has recovered from the virus and is now negative on test.

Obesity is the killer of the black community and is responsible for heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and all causes of death. This is one of the factors that makes heart disease the leading cause of death for black men in the United States.

The pandemic has exposed another deadly threat from obesity. There is a high risk of complications or death from COVID-19.

After old age, the underlying health conditions caused by overweight and obesity contribute most to complications and death in COVID patients, according to US health officials. Obesity can triple the risk of hospitalization for COVID, and higher body fat readings increase the risk of death. Reasons range from poor lung function to suppression of the immune system due to related health conditions such as heart disease and diabetes.

By January 10, the Cook County Coroner’s record listed obesity as the cause of 760 COVID deaths, with approximately 1 in 11 deaths out of more than 8,500 deaths during that period. I am.

The data also reveal trends among young people who have died. People under the age of 40 account for only 2.5% of deaths from COVID. However, nearly 40% of death records in that group indicate that obesity was the cause of death.

Read the full story of Brett Chase here.

10:24 am COVID-19 vaccine may be adjusted if mutations worsen

COVID-19 vaccine makers are looking for ways to fine-tune their recipes for mutations in the virus of concern. Regulators want to get the flu as a blueprint when shots need to be updated.

“It’s not something you can switch on and do overnight,” warned Richard Webby, head of the World Health Organization’s Influenza Center at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

The virus is constantly mutating and requires the appropriate combination of specific mutations to avoid vaccination. However, studies have raised concerns that first-generation COVID-19 vaccines will not work well against the first mutants that emerged in South Africa and against other versions distributed around the world. I will.

Good news: Many of the new COVID-19 vaccines are made with new flexible technologies that are easy to upgrade. Difficulty: Decide if the virus has mutated enough to change the vaccine and what changes to make.

“When do you trigger?” Asked Norman Baylor, a former Food and Drug Administration vaccine director. “This is currently a moving target.”

Read the full text of the Associated Press here.

8:35 am Illinois COVID vaccination rate tripled compared to January

As Illinois stepped up its vaccination efforts, public health data show that the vaccine was given in the first half of February at three times the rate of the same period in January.

According to Illinois Public Health Service statistics, an average of about 57,000 shots were given per day in the first half of February, compared to an average of about 19,000 shots per day during the first 14 days of January.

However, the lack of shipments of vaccines from the federal government means that not everyone eligible to receive the vaccine can make reservations, Governor JB Pritzker said Friday. Vaccination rates were expected to continue to rise as the federal government shipped large doses of vaccine.

According to the Ministry of Health, another 59,000 people were vaccinated with COVID-19 in Illinois on Saturday, increasing the total dose to 1,783,345. Nearly 250,000 of these doses were administered in long-term medical facilities.

In Illinois, 414,301 people have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus since the start of vaccination in mid-December. That’s 3.25% of the state’s 12.7 million people.

Read the full story of Mitchell Armentrout here.

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