COVID-19

As hospitalizations due to COVID-19 remain at record levels, hospitals that serve small towns and rural areas in Illinois are facing unique challenges.

Twenty-seven residents of the LaSalle Veterans’ Home have died in the last few weeks since the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs reported a COVID-19 outbreak at the facility in early November.

On the same day local enforcement began of COVID-19 mitigations aimed at bars and restaurants, the Sangamon County Department of Public Health released contact tracing data Friday showing where people who tested positive for COVID-19 and their close contacts had been the two weeks prior to the positive test.

Just days into their two-week plan to allow bars and restaurants to continue indoor service despite Gov. JB Pritzker’s order to curb COVID-19’s rapid resurgence in the region, Sangamon County and Springfield officials are reversing course.

Mirroring Illinois’ statewide spike in Coronavirus cases, Sangamon County on Friday reported a record one-day total of new COVID-19 infections with 288 new cases.

Individuals not wearing a face covering around their nose and mouth in grocery stores, gas stations and other retail businesses in Springfield can now be fined $50, and businesses can get hit with a $250 fine for not requiring customers to comply with the mask mandate.

Springfield and Sangamon County officials insist they support Gov. JB Pritzker’s new COVID-19 restrictions, despite announcing a plan Tuesday to delay by two weeks enforcement of a ban on indoor dining and drinking.

A group of Springfield bars and restaurant owners say they’re taking legal action and refusing to follow new rules imposed by the governor shuttering indoor service after the west-central Illinois region saw a sustained rise in COVID-19 test positivity rates, triggering the restrictions.

Just hours after Gov. JB Pritzker announced new COVID-19 restrictions for west-central Illinois on Thursday, the Sangamon County Health Board passed a resolution supporting local law enforcement agencies in enforcing the ban on indoor dining and bar service.

High school basketball in Illinois — along with hockey and wrestling — won't take place as scheduled as the state struggles against a resurgence of COVID-19.

More than 100 Sangamon County residents tested positive for COVID-19 on both Saturday and Sunday, setting a new daily record of 111 on Sunday. The county health department reported 285 new cases in its update Monday, which includes totals from the weekend.

Seven months after Congress passed a $2 trillion stimulus package in the early days of the Coronavirus pandemic, local governments in Illinois are still fighting Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration over approximately $150 million meant for municipalities. 

The Illinois Municipal League, which lobbies on behalf of cities and towns in Illinois, already won a fight with Pritzker’s administration this summer over whether municipalities would be able to spend their share of CARES Act money on small grants for businesses in their communities. 

Sangamon County is nearing 4,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began – about 2% of its population. Local public health officials gathered at a news conference Sunday to sound the alarm about the surge, warning the area is “strikingly close” to having additional restrictions imposed by the state.

Local State Rep. Tim Butler (R-Springfield) tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday, he announced on social media.

Butler said he was quarantining in the basement at his Springfield home and was unsure where he contracted the virus.

The Illinois Department of Public Health Friday announced 51 counties are considered to be at a warning level for spread of the coronavirus disease.

A county enters the warning level when two or more risk indicators that measure the amount of COVID-19 increase.

For the third time in recent weeks, Sangamon County set a record of new COVID-19 cases recorded in a single day. On Thursday, the county reported 105 new cases and two additional deaths.

Illinois' plan to distribute a COVID-19 vaccine will initially target health care providers, first responders and those associated with vulnerable populations, like nursing home employees and residents.  But many uncertainties remain, including a timetable.

December 2, 3:00 p.m.

Sangamon County COVID-19 Update

Wednesday, the Sangamon County Department of Public Health reported 131 new cases of COVID-19 and one additional death: a woman in her 90's, who tested positive for COVID-19 on November 29th.

A surge in COVID-19 cases in central Illinois is causing concern for some local hospital leaders.

For now, there are enough hospital beds to accommodate those with serious COVID-19 infections. But as the number of confirmed cases and local test positivity rate rises, hospital leaders worry their emergency rooms and intensive care units could become overwhelmed – a threat that led to the statewide stay-at-home order in the spring.