Even as covid numbers slowly decline in the state, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has said there may be tougher covid restrictions ahead. At a press conference this week, Pritzker noted that rather than a removal of the mask mandate and a pulling back of mitigations, covid restrictions may remain and be tightened up if numbers begin to rise like they did last fall. “If you go look at the hospitalizations – the new hospitalizations, as well as the ones that are, you know, existing in total – they are not dropping at the rate that they were dropping even a couple of weeks ago,” Pritzker said.... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: Illinois won’t be lifting its mask mandate or any other covid restrictions any time soon, Gov. JB Pritzker said in his press conference Monday, adding that the covid numbers need to be “on a good downward trajectory” before he’d even consider removing any of the restrictions. “We’re watching to make sure that we’re on a good downward trajectory,” Pritzker said. “That’s what we were looking for back in May leading into June; it’s what we’re looking for now in order for us to possibly make changes.” Pritzker said the number of ICU beds being... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: California is becoming the first state to mandate covid-19 vaccines for kids attending school once the shots are federally approved for their age groups, and with Illinois following many of the same paths as the most-populous U.S. state, could Illinois be next? Several school districts in California are already requiring the vaccine for students, and the statewide mandate will begin for grades 7-12, then move to K-6, by summer 2022, pending FDA approval of the vaccines for those age groups. “These requirements are working, across the country,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said.... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: The latest Illinois weekly covid-19 numbers are trending in a positive direction, with a third straight week of slowly declining numbers after two months of spiking cases. There were 21,787 new cases over the past week, a 16 percent decrease in infections over the previous week, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. Deaths due to covid also fell about 16 percent from the previous week, and across the state, the positivity rate has dropped from 4.1 to 2.7 over the last week. Hospitals across the state also saw an 8 percent decline in covid patients, although southern... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: Illinois students, teachers and school staff with confirmed and probable covid-19 infections are now required to be banned from schools and school activities due to an executive order signed by Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker. The executive order, signed late Friday night, states that people are required to remove themselves from schools or school activities if they have covid-19 or knowingly have been in close contact with someone who has the virus. The order states schools must exclude any student or school personnel with confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19 for at least 10 days,... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: Starting TODAY, Illinois teachers and school employees will be required to get a covid-19 vaccination or submit to weekly testing for covid-19 in order to continue working in the schools. The following e-mail was sent out to Rock Island School District 41 employees today. Variations of the same e-mail have been sent out to other school district employees across the state. Starting Monday, September 20, 2021 all RIMSD employees must be vaccinated OR get a COVID- 19 test each week. Fully vaccinated employees must submit proof by sending a copy of their vaccination card to the District... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: Davenport and Bettendorf School District schools will require masks on all buses and school vehicles starting Wednesday, Sept. 22, according to an e-mail sent out to all students in the districts. The following e-mail was sent out today: Beginning on Wednesday, September 22, 2021, masks will be required on all school buses and other district vehicles based on the CDC requirements and affirmation by the IDPH and Iowa Department of Education. This guidance was posted in the Iowa Department of Public Health “COVID-19 and K-12 School Update for Fall 2021” guidance which... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: Southern Illinois regions have run out of available ICU beds, a dangerous metric that could trigger new, harsher covid-19 mandates from Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker. Southern Illinois reported Monday that it had no available ICU beds in an area of almost a half-million people, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. That marked the first time since the covid pandemic began that an Illinois region had reported no available ICU beds. Illinois Medical Professionals Action Collaborative Team, known by its acronym IMPACT, released a statement Tuesday, describing it as “signaling... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: As the covid-19 delta variant spikes numbers throughout the state of Illinois and schools are hit particularly hard, some officials and parents are calling to close schools and return to remote learning. More than 125 schools statewide — including several in the Quad-Cities area — have been hit with significant outbreaks of covid, according to the Illinois Department of Health. As of Friday, 128 outbreaks were active and causing significant absenteeism, according to the IDPH. Some of the worst outbreaks have been occurring in western and southern Illinois, and among Quad-Cities... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: Vaccines could be available to schoolchildren ages 5-11 throughout Illinois as soon as later this year, according to reports out of Frankfurt, Germany. The company behind the vaccines, BioNTech will be requesting approval for its covid-19 vaccine use in kids 5-11 across the globe over the next few weeks and preparations for a launch are on track, the biotech firm’s two top executives told German newspaper Der Spiegel. “Already over the next few weeks we will file the results of our trial in five to 11 year olds with regulators across the world and will request approval... Read More