COVID-19 in Illinois updates: Here’s what’s happening Friday

Nearly 400 people with COVID-19 are hospitalized in intensive care units across Illinois, more than 150 of them on ventilators, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.

That’s the highest number of people receiving critical care because of the coronavirus since late June, the department said.

COVID-19 patients occupy about 10% of the state’s ICU beds and are using 3% of its ventilators. At the height of the pandemic in mid-May, Illinois ICUs were treating nearly 1,300 coronavirus patient daily, with close to half on ventilators.

On Thursday, the public health department reported 1,707 new cases of COVID-19 and 24 deaths from the virus. The new cases were confirmed from 44,510 tests, raising the statewide, seven-day positivity rate to 4.1%.

High positivity rates, an indication of how rapidly the virus is spreading, prompted Gov. J.B. Pritzker to roll back bar and restaurant service last week in the downstate Metro East region, which has a 10% positivity rate.

Pritzker this week banned indoor dining in Will and Kankakee counties, where the positivity rate is at 8.3%.

Here’s what’s happening Friday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:

6:30 a.m.: Illinois counties rush to finalize early voting sites amid looming election deadlines, COVID-19 concerns

Illinois election authorities are confronting higher levels of pushback from polling sites wary of hosting this year because of concerns and closures related to COVID-19. With early voting scheduled to begin Oct. 19, and the deadline to finalize sites set for early September, election administrators don’t have much time left.

“It’s been difficult,” McHenry County Clerk Joseph Tirio said. “We have received word from a number of locations — and that changes from day to day — that no longer wish to participate.”

Election authorities can order public buildings or schools in their jurisdiction to host early or Election Day voting, according to state law. Privately-owned sites, however, have more say in whether or not to participate in the election — and many are choosing to withdraw from earlier agreements, primarily because of coronavirus-related health concerns, closures or lack of adequate spacing to accommodate social distancing.

“There’s always a lot of effort that goes into acquiring voting locations and so this year it’s just an even more intense process than usual,” said Adam Johnson, chief deputy of the DuPage County clerk’s office.

6:15 a.m.: Judge orders U.S. Postal Service to turn over records on changes

A federal judge in Washington state is giving the Trump administration and the U.S. Postal Service 10 days to turn over records and information about service changes that critics say could undermine mail-in voting in the November election.

More than 20 states filed lawsuits last week over the changes, including 14 states that sued in U.S. District Court in Yakima.

U.S. District Judge Stanley Bastian on Thursday granted the states’ request to speed up discovery in that case. The Justice Department opposed the request, saying that much of the information the states are seeking is already in the public record, including in congressional testimony, and that responding to the states’ requests within 10 days would be burdensome.

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson said many questions remain about the Postal Service’s actions, whether the changes such as the removal of sorting equipment are being reversed, and whether mail delays will continue. He noted the case isn’t just about the timely delivery of mail-in ballots, but also about the delivery of prescriptions, Social Security benefits and other items people depend on.

Among the information sought by the states is a list of all mail sorting machines identified for decommissioning, including their locations, and whether they will be reinstalled if they have already been decommissioned.  –Associated Press

Here are five stories from Thursday about COVID-19.

United Airlines will furlough 2,850 pilots this fall as it faces a sharp decline in travel because of the coronavirus pandemic.