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Coping with COVID: Local, state case numbers steady while elsewhere numbers continue spike

H-F and Illinois COVID-19 case numbers make modest increases. Two new laws plus additional funding aimed at helping hospitals. Secretary of state extends deadlines for drivers licenses and other document renewals. 

Trends and milestones. Homewood added eight new COVID-19 cases during the past week. Flossmoor added four. 

Illinois began to see daily case numbers edge higher in mid-week. After staying under 1,000 from June 5 to July 8, the numbers topped 1,000 for July 9, 10 and 11. On July 12, the number of new cases dropped back under 1,000 at 954. 

The state also surpassed 150,000 total cases on July 9. The number of deaths per day has remained fairly low so far, averaging 24 per day for the week of July 5, up from nearly 20 during the first week of July.

Elsewhere in the country, the spike in cases among states that reopened early after quarantine continues to worsen. On Saturday, Florida set a record with more than 15,000 new cases, more than any state has tallied in a single day. The country also set a record on Friday with more than 68,000 new cases in a week. Florida’s test positivity rate is just under 20 percent. Illinois’ positivity rate has been steady at between 2.5 and 3 percent since mid-June.

SSC testing site changes. South Suburban College’s COVID-19 testing drive-thru has relocated testing tents to the SSC Fitness Center’s east parking lot and has new hours beginning on Sunday, July 12, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

New deadline Nov. 1 for Secretary of State services: To reduce heavy customer volume at driver services facilities and ensure current documents remain valid, Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White has extended renewal expiration deadlines to Nov. 1.

Persons planning to renew driver’s licenses, identification cards, vehicle registration and license plate stickers. Many transactions, including renewing license plate stickers, can be done online, preventing people from waiting in line.

Through July 31, driver services facilities are serving only new drivers, customers with expired driver’s licenses and ID cards, and vehicle transactions. Customers who must visit a facility to renew their driver’s license or ID card are encouraged to fill out the preregistration application here before their visit, which will speed up their transaction while at the facility.

State expands hospital assessment program. Two new laws will bring $250 million in additional federal funding to help the health care system in areas disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. SB 2541, renews the Hospital Assessment Program, and SB 1864 establishes the Health Care Affordability Act.  

“The COVID-19 pandemic has only heightened the nation’s critical need for more equitable health care access and delivery, particularly in Black and Brown communities and for those who are uninsured or underinsured,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said. “These new laws bring safety net hospitals over $250 million in additional annual funding – to the tune of $3.8 billion in payments over the life of the program.”

The legislation helps make the Medicaid program more responsive to the needs of individual members on where to seek care. Funding is also reserved to improve access to health care services, including diagnostic and treatment services, in under resourced communities across the state. Payments to hospitals will be more transparent and the billing system will be simplified for some services like laboratory tests performed by hospitals.

The Health Care Affordability Act helps expand access to quality and affordable health care in response to health and economic inequities and challenges heightened by the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the legislation eliminates or loosens requirements on who can access Medicaid.

Quote of the week: “We will never get tired of saying that the best way out of this pandemic is to take a comprehensive approach. … Not testing alone. Not physical distancing alone. Not contact tracing alone. Not masks alone. Do it all.” — Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization during the introduction to the July 1 briefing.

Illinois new cases, new deaths

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