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To:
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Chemical Industry Council of Illinois (CICI) Members
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From:
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Mark Biel, Chief Executive Officer
[email protected] or 217/522-5805
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Re:
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Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update - More Warnings for Counties Approaching Higher Positivity Rates, Travel to Missouri; Updated Specific State Information on COVID-19 Orders; Important Information for Essential Employees Exposed to COVID-19 but Test Negative; Update on COVID-19 Cases
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More Warnings for Counties Approaching Higher Positivity Rates, Travel to Missouri: Governor Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) warned again today that while the state’s overall positivity rate is at 4.1%, 14 counties - Bureau, Cass, Clinton, Franklin, Greene, Grundy, Hancock, Jefferson, Kane, LaSalle, Moultrie, Perry, Union, and Will – are at a warning level due to a high positivity rate exceeding 8% among other metrics.
You can see where the various regions are at in terms of their positivity rates, hospitalizations and other metrics at this link. In addition, you can see where each individual county is at in terms of these metrics here.
In addition, Governor Pritzker today warned against travel to Missouri as the positivity rates in some St. Louis area and Metro-East Illinois counties are experiencing tremendous growth in positivity rates and travel between these areas has been increasing.
In Missouri, positivity rates for St. Charles County is at 12.7% and Jefferson County is at 11.9%. For the Metro-East area in Illinois, Monroe County is at 9.7%, St. Clair County is at 8.6%, and Madison County is at 6.6%.
Updated Specific State Information on COVID-19 Orders: The American Chemistry Council (ACC) has updated their comprehensive chart detailing state specific orders, re-opening plans, and other restrictions as well as executive orders and legislation relating to business liability. This chart is attached to this Update. As always, these figures will be updated and reported here at least once a week.
Important Information for Essential Employees Exposed to COVID-19 but Test Negative: It has come to CICI’s attention that one of our member company’s facilities, which is deemed an “essential business”, had an “essential employee” exposed to COVID-19. This employee was subsequently tested and was found negative for the virus, but doctor instructed the employee to self-quarantine for 14-days anyway.
According to a CDC hotline employee, this is not consistent with the advice they are giving concerning essential workers who have been exposed, but tested negative. It’s suspected that the employee didn’t inform the doctor that they were an essential employee.
IDPH suggests that essential employees who are exposed to Covid-19, but test negative, are allowed to return to work assuming that:
- They pre-screen (temperature check, void of any Covid-19 symptoms) prior to going to work each day
- They monitor themselves while they are at work and if they develop symptoms, return home, and get tested
- They social distance as much as possible while they are at work
- They wear masks while they are at work
Further, it is also the responsibility of the employee to tell their doctor that they are an essential employee. Essential employees who were exposed, but tested negative and did not have symptoms, are allowed to return to work if they were symptom free for 24 hours.
Update on COVID-19 Cases: IDPH is reporting 202,691 positive cases of COVID-19 in Illinois, an average increase of 1,914 new cases per day since reported here 3 days ago on August 11. In total, 3,285,348 tests have now been conducted in Illinois for the virus, an average increase of 45,881 tests per day since August 11. The state’s positivity rate over the last few weeks has risen from 2.6% at the beginning of July to a 7-day rolling average of 4.1% today, as well as in the last 3 days. You can see where the various regions are at in terms of their positivity rates, hospitalizations and other metrics at this link
Unfortunately, IDPH is reporting a total of 7,721 deaths, an average increase of 21 per day since August 11.
You can also check where these cases are occurring at the State of Illinois COVID-19 website which also contains more information on this outbreak.
Also, IDPH has a case breakdown of the number of positive cases in Chicago and each county relative to the number of fatalities. The IDPH website also now includes a breakdown of the cases under each zip code in the state.
For information on other states and countries, John Hopkins University has developed this website that provides invaluable resources at a one-stop location detailing testing and tracing trends, timelines of COVID-19 policies, and interactive maps.
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