Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Thursday he will extend his stay-at-home order into late May, with some modifications that will take effect May 1, including a requirement for people to wear a face covering or mask when in a public space where they can’t maintain a six-foot distance from other people and a phased re-opening of state parks.

Retail stores not designated as non-essential businesses will also be able to reopen to fulfill phone and online orders for curbside pick-up and delivery, under the new order. Greenhouses, garden centers and nurseries, and animal grooming services will also be able to reopen. Employees and customers must wear face coverings, under the new order.


Officials reported 1,826 new known cases on Thursday. There have now been 36,934 cases since the start of the outbreak. With 123 more fatalities also reported, the death toll stands at 1,688, officials said.

Here’s a recap of what happened on April 23 with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:


9:30 p.m.: McHenry drive-in theater’s plans to reopen May 1 are shelved after Pritzker extends stay-at-home order in Illinois

Drive-in movies were an essential part of Scott Dehn’s life growing up. Not only did he take in films with family and friends at the McHenry Outdoor Theater, but he got a job there, and ended up buying the operation in February — just before the state closed all movie theaters.

Devastated by the closure order due to the coronavirus, Dehn came up with a plan to open for business May 1, the day after the stay-at-home order was set to expire. He decided to allow cars only in every other space and keep people in their vehicles to maintain social distancing.

A buzz over the opening built on Facebook, where dozens of drive-in fans thanked him for giving them a chance to get out for a little fun. Dehn said he even had gotten early encouragement from officials in the state’s Small Business Development Centers, one of whom offered advice on how to do it safely.

But Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Thursday extended his stay-at-home order, which also kept closed most businesses, through the end of May.

State officials told Dehn by email that he cannot open because the theater is not an essential business. Defeated, Dehn gave up his dream of showing movies anytime soon, saying he did so with “a very heavy and saddened heart.” Read more here. — Robert McCoppin

9:08 p.m.: Illinois officials say the state is hitting its COVID-19 peak — and that’s actually good news

For weeks, Illinois officials have said the state has been “bending the curve” on the COVID-19 pandemic’s rate of growth. Now the state’s leaders say they think Illinois is reaching the peak, based on models by Illinois researchers that officials unveiled Thursday. Read more here. — Joe Mahr

8:35 p.m.: Gov. J.B. Pritzker gives Illinois golf courses the all-clear to reopen May 1 under ‘strict safety guidelines’ amid the coronavirus pandemic

Like finding a ball that was thought to be lost off the tee, Illinois golfers got some good news Thursday: Courses may open May 1 under “strict safety guidelines.”

What are those guidelines? They had not been spelled out as of 8 p.m. Thursday. Read more here. — Teddy Greenstein

8:05 p.m.: Worker became ‘super spreader’ at Joliet nursing home where 26 people died

After the coronavirus shut down dining rooms at nursing homes, a maintenance worker at Symphony of Joliet took it upon himself to order, assemble and install personal dining tables in more than 40 rooms.

Tragically, though the worker had no symptoms, it was discovered later that he was carrying the COVID-19 virus. By visiting those rooms and through his physical exertion, officials at the nursing home believe, he became a “super spreader” and infected many of the residents.

As soon as administrators learned the worker had the virus, they relocated the exposed patients and other workers to another floor. Regardless, 24 residents and two workers — one of them the maintenance worker — died of the disease. Read more here. —Robert McCoppin

6:50 p.m.: Illinois wants all shoppers to wear masks at the grocery store. Enforcing that rule is trickier.

Customers and employees will have to start wearing masks in Illinois stores starting May 1 under the modified stay-at-home order Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Thursday.


Major chains like Walmart, Target, Whole Foods, CVS and Walgreens say they have already mandated all store employees wear masks or facial coverings. Enforcing the same rule for customers can be more challenging.

Approaches have varied in suburbs that have already adopted similar rules. Some grocery stores in suburbs that require masks be worn in public say they are turning away shoppers who arrive bare-faced. Others say confronting customers could put employees’ safety at risk. Read more here. —Lauren Zumbach

6:20 p.m.: Long-term care facilities in DuPage now account for 83 of county’s overall total of 118

Twelve more people with coronavirus in DuPage County have died, all of them from long-term care facilities such as nursing homes, officials said Thursday.

That makes 83 deaths attributed to long-term care facilities, out of 118 overall in the county. That includes 10 at Chateau Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Willowbrook, as well deaths as 34 other such businesses. Read more here. —Robert McCoppin

6:05 p.m.: Doctors give tips on telling COVID-19 from seasonal allergies

As captive Chicagoans focus on COVID-19, allergy sufferers have an added layer of worry: Pollen counts for both trees and grass have yet to peak in Illinois and they’re hoping their congestion and cough don’t mean something more serious.

Figuring out when allergy season starts has gotten harder in recent years because of long cold spells in spring, which have led to an overlap of different kinds of pollen that trigger allergies. At the same time, the Illinois stay-at-home order may be triggering allergies for people stuck in the house with pets. But while allergies and the novel coronavirus show some of the same symptoms, experts say there are ways to tell which people are experiencing.

Those who have known allergies to either tree or grass pollen — they tend to trigger the similar symptoms, said Dr. Rachna Shah, Loyola Medicine’s allergy expert — can expect itchy eyes and nose, sneezing and a runny nose. Some can develop headaches, nasal congestion and postnasal drip.

In some cases, allergies also can lead to or exacerbate asthma, a disease that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says can put people at higher risk for more severe COVID-19.


Dr. Sharmilee Nyenhuis, an associate professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago with expertise in allergies and asthma, said there can be some overlap in the symptoms of allergies and the new coronavirus. But the ones that do overlap aren’t common for those suffering from the new coronavirus. Read more here. —Katherine Rosenberg-Douglas


5:05 p.m.: COVID-19 deaths in Southland top 100 for third consecutive week

For a third straight week, more than 100 Southland residents are confirmed to have died of COVID-19 complications, according to a Southtown analysis.

At least 378 south and southwest suburban residents — 257 in South Cook County and 121 in Will County — have died of complications from the virus since March 19, according to data from the Cook County medical examiner’s office and Will County public health officials.

The South Cook County patients who died — 137 men and 120 women — hailed from 47 different communities and range in age from a 19-year-old Riverdale man to a 108-year-old Evergreen Park nursing home resident.

At least one resident at 43 south and southwest suburban nursing homes has died of COVID-19, and 26 nursing homes have had multiple residents die, according to data provided by state public health department and the medical examiner’s office. Read more here. —Zak Koeske

4:54 p.m.: Judge allows Green and Libertarian candidates on Nov. 3 ballot without normal petition-gathering process due to pandemic

A federal judge on Thursday issued an order that allows presidential, vice presidential and U.S. Senate candidates for the Green and Libertarian parties on Illinois’ Nov. 3 general election ballot without the normal petition-gathering process, which the judge called a “nearly insurmountable hurdle” amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer also ruled that most other independent and third-party candidates for lower offices can collect signatures electronically and will need to get only 10% of the previously required signatures to get on the ballot. The deadline for getting the signatures, which will not have to be notarized, was extended from June 22 to Aug. 7 under Pallmeyer’s order.

“The combined effect of the restrictions on public gatherings imposed by Illinois’ stay-at-home order and the usual in-person signature requirements in the Illinois Election Code is a nearly insurmountable hurdle for new party and independent candidates attempting to have their names placed on the general election ballot,” Pallmeyer wrote.

4:21 p.m.: Federal judge hears testimony in ongoing lawsuit over the response to COVID-19 at Cook County Jail

The assistant director of the Cook County Jail testified in federal court Thursday that more than 175 tiers in the sprawling facility have been transitioned to single-cell housing to help stem the rapid spread of coronavirus that so far has killed six inmates and a correctional officer.

In addition to putting more prisoners in cells by themselves, jail officials have stepped up social distancing measures by spray painting Xs on the floors to try to keep detainees six feet apart, said Mike Miller, the executive director of the Cook County Department of Corrections.

They’ve instructed inmates to spray down showers with disinfectant after use, handed out writing tablets and puzzle books to keep detainees occupied, and threatened those who violate social distancing protocols with loss of phone time or even the privilege of using the microwave, Miller testified via a video link in U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly’s courtroom.

When officials with the Chicago Department of Public Health and the federal Center for Disease Control toured the jail complex last week, they were stunned by what they saw, according to Miller.

“One of them told me, ‘I can’t believe how well you guys are doing,’” Miller testified. “It was phenomenal.”

His testimony came as part of an ongoing lawsuit filed by the Loevy and Loevy law firm and the MacArthur Justice Center at Northwestern University alleging Sheriff Tom Dart has failed to stop a “rapidly unfolding public health disaster” at the jail, which has been identified as one of the nations’ leading hot spots for COVID-19 infections.

As of Wednesday, six detainees have died after contracting COVID-19 at the jail, according to the sheriff’s office. Another 231 inmates currently have the virus, 18 of whom are hospitalized. Hundreds of others have tested positive and have since recovered.

Also, 173 correctional officers who work at the jail are currently positive for COVID-19. One officer has died of the disease, the sheriff’s office said.

Earlier this month, Kennelly rejected an emergency request by plaintiffs in the suit to order the release of hundreds of medically vulnerable detainees due to the pandemic threat. Kennelly did, however, grant a temporary restraining order forcing Dart to comply with strict sanitation and testing measures. Read more here. —Megan Crepeau and Jason Meisner

3:44 p.m.: Pritzker says hospitals can begin to resume some elective surgeries May 1

Some elective surgeries in Illinois may soon resume, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Thursday as he extended and modified the state’s stay-at-home order.

The Illinois Department of Public Health will issue guidance to surgical centers and hospitals allowing certain elective surgeries for non-life threatening conditions, starting on May 1, the governor’s office said.

In order to restart elective surgeries, facilities will have to meet certain criteria including having appropriate personal protective equipment, enough space for COVID-19 patients and the ability to test elective-surgery patients to make sure they don’t have the illness.

In recent weeks, hospitals in Illinois have canceled elective surgeries to ensure they had enough resources to handle surges of COVID-19 patients.

Those cancellations have left many patients with important but non-emergency health needs waiting for treatment, and have hit hospitals’ bottom lines hard.

The Illinois Health and Hospital Association has estimated that Illinois hospitals are now losing about $1.4 billion a month because of canceled surgeries and fewer non-COVID-19 patients. A number of hospitals in the Chicago area, including Lurie, Mount Sinai, Holy Cross, Weiss, West Suburban and Loyola University Medical Center have instituted employee furloughs in recent weeks to help them deal with financial challenges. —Lisa Schencker

3:28 p.m.: Alderman calls for City Council to meet twice monthly to respond faster to coronavirus crisis

The Chicago City Council should meet twice as often during the coronavirus stay-at-home order to act faster on plans to deal with the emergency, an alderman said Thursday.


North Side Ald. Andre Vasquez, 40th, said he will introduce a plan to the council this week to require the body to have twice-monthly meetings during the pandemic, instead of meeting once a month as usual.

Vasquez pointed to ordinances brought forward this week by colleagues to set caps on the fees collected by food delivery services during the stay-at-home order and to require Chicagoans to wear masks in public as ideas that need a swifter response.

“We clearly have the capability to do this, so if it helps us act more quickly, let’s do it,” Vasquez said. Read more here. —John Byrne

3:01 p.m.: Pritzker announces he will extend stay-at-home order, with some modifications that will take effect May 1

Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Thursday he will extend his stay-at-home order into late May, with some modifications that will take effect May 1, including a requirement for people to wear a face covering or mask when in a public space where they can’t maintain a 6-foot distance from other people and a phased re-opening of state parks.

Retail stores not designated as non-essential businesses will also be able to reopen to fulfill phone and online orders for curbside pick-up and delivery, under the new order. Greenhouses, garden centers and nurseries, and animal grooming services will also be able to reopen. Employees and customers must wear face coverings, under the new order.

“We now have what we didn’t have two months ago, an understanding of what COVID-19 cases, deaths, hospitalizations and ventilator and ICU usage look like every day in Illinois,” Pritzker said, presenting data that he’s basing his decisions on.

Pritzker addressed projections that Illinois will not see its peak in the COVID-19 pandemic until next month, after models previously projected an April peak.

A pushed-out peak “is the best indicator that we are flattening the curve,” Pritzker said.

“That’s what you’re aiming to do, slow down the rate of transmission, which leads to a slower rate of increase over a longer period of time,” Pritzker said. “Hence, a later and lower peak, pushing the peak further down the line might not sound like good news, but I promise you, it saves lives.”

The modified executive order will require businesses deemed “essential” to provide face-coverings to all employees who are not able to maintain six feet of social distance, and will impose occupancy limits for essential businesses and other measures including shift-staggering and operating only essential lines for manufacturers.

Pritzker said his administration is finalizing steps for “safely moving toward reopening in phases.”

“We are making progress building out testing and launching our contract tracing initiative,” he said.

Pritzker said he will be giving more details on that in the coming days. —Jamie Munks

3 p.m.: Remote learning could be the ‘new normal’ — even into fall, Chicago leaders say

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said local leaders are “making sure we’re truly prepared” in case the school shutdown continues in the fall.

In-class instruction is now halted through the end of the academic year. But both the mayor and Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson have both acknowledged there’s a possibility that schooling might not be back to normal in the fall.

“We don’t know that at this stage, but I think one of the things all of us are thinking about, and obviously CPS is as well, is ‘what if?’ and making sure we’re truly prepared,” Lightfoot said Thursday. Read more here. —Gregory Pratt and Hannah Leone

2:53 p.m.: Feds pressure Potbelly, Ruth’s Chris, other public companies to give back small-business loans

Big public companies that received loans under a government program intended to help small businesses devastated by the coronavirus outbreak could be forced to return it.

The Small Business Administration issued an advisory Thursday clearly aimed at companies like restaurant chains Ruth’s Chris Steak House and Potbelly that received loans under the Paycheck Protection Program. The guidelines imply that unless a company can prove it was truly eligible for a loan, the money should be returned by May 7. Read more here. —Associated Press

2:45 p.m.: 1,826 new COVID-19 cases, 123 additional deaths

Officials reported 1,826 new known cases on Thursday. There have now been 36,934 cases since the start of the outbreak. With 123 more fatalities also reported Thursday, the death toll stands at 1,688, officials said. —Chicago Tribune staff

2:41 p.m.: A Fourth with no fireworks? Some suburban towns have already had to cancel for Independence Day

The Memorial Day Parade and Chicago Blues Fest have been scrapped. No ruling yet on Taste of Chicago but it’s hard to think about. Next in line for what’s shaping up to be a quiet Chicago summer? The question of what will happen with fireworks for the Fourth of July, both in the city and the displays put on in the suburbs.

In Chicago, a decision will come from Navy Pier, the city’s go-to spot for fireworks since the city last put on its own display in 2010.

But the logistics of what it takes to put on a show, along with other factors such as the Illinois shelter-in-place order extending and Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s recent warnings about the summer, mean some of those decisions to cancel are being made now. Read more here. —Doug George

2:13 p.m.: Nearly empty of regular commuters, CTA trains are now carrying essential workers and the homeless, 'a recipe for disaster’

Advocates for the homeless have seen an increase in people sheltering on trains during the health crisis, and the CTA has received more complaints about the issue.

It has heightened concerns that homeless people, many of whom have health problems, are on trains with essential workers like medical personnel and grocery store clerks who may have been exposed to the virus.

As the economic impact of stay-at-home orders grows and more people find themselves out of work, experts worry the ranks of the homeless may grow, making the situation worse. Read more here. —Mary Wisniewski

1:53 p.m.: Target extends temporary pay raises as online sales surge. Some workers call for more protection from COVID-19.

Target is extending temporary raises of $2 an hour for store employees as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to fuel a surge in online shopping and dramatic shifts in what shoppers are buying.


Sales in Target stores have been down slightly since early February, but online sales more than doubled as customers in many parts of the country stocked up while staying home as much as possible, Target said Thursday.

Overall, sales online and at stores open at least 13 months are up more than 7% so far in its fiscal quarter that began in February, according to a news release from the retailer.

Even with the shift to online shopping, some workers say the health and safety precautions Target is taking don’t go far enough, and that temporary raises aren’t enough to compensate them for the risk. Employees are planning a mass sickout on May 1, according to a statement posted by employee activist group Target Workers Unite. Read more here. —Lauren Zumbach

1:40 p.m.: Lightfoot launches COVID-19 economic recovery task force

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has enlisted the help of former President George H.W. Bush’s chief of staff in launching an economic recovery task force to help guide the city’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Lightfoot announced the COVID-19 Recovery Taskforce outside the water tower downtown as a nod to the city’s resilience and recovery from the Great Chicago Fire.

“We are the great American city of Chicago," Lightfoot said. "We must be a model for the rest of the nation on how to move forward and we will be.”

Lightfoot will co-chair the task force with former White House Chief of Staff Sam Skinner.

There also will be working groups dedicated to Policy and Economic Stimulus, Mental and Emotional Health, Marketing and Business Development, Regional Coordination, and Economic Change Study.

The committees include political and business heavy hitters, including Mellody Hobson, co-CEO of Ariel Investments; Bob Reiter, the Chicago Federation of Labor’s president; Evelyn Diaz, President of the Heartland Alliance; Karen Freeman Wilson, president and CEO of the Urban League of Chicago; Daniel Cronin, DuPage County board chair, and Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County board president.

“As Chicago goes, so does the entire Chicagoland region and very much vice versa,” Lightfoot said.

The task force’s work will include creating a plan to help residents coping with grief, fear and loss, address COVID-created unemployment, keep Chicago a hotspot for tourism and events, and making sure recovery efforts “are aligned across multiple jurisdictions,” the mayor’s office said. Read more here. —Gregory Pratt

1:14 p.m.: No youths test positive for COVID-19 at Cook County’s Juvenile Temporary Detention Center, officials say

Of the 88 youths tested for COVID-19 in Cook County’s Juvenile Temporary Detention Center, none were positive for the disease, according to the Chief Judge’s office.

The office conducted preemptive testing in the detention center’s general population this week after seven JTDC employees had confirmed infections.

Three juvenile detainees have tested positive, but had not been admitted into the general population at the time of their tests. There were 160 youths housed at the center as of Thursday. Ten of them have been ordered released by a judge but remain in custody since state child-welfare officials have not yet found places for them to live. —Megan Crepeau

1 p.m.: Aurora COVID-19 testing site reaches capacity by 12:30 p.m. on first full day open

On its first official day open on Thursday, the new Aurora coronavirus testing site reached full capacity by 12:30 p.m., officials said.

The fourth state-run drive-through COVID-19 testing facility had a line of people in 97 vehicles waiting to be tested when it opened at 8 a.m. Thursday, Aurora police spokesman Paris Lewbel said.

Cars snaked through the parking lot of the site outside the Chicago Premium Outlets mall off of Interstate 88 in Aurora. The mall temporarily closed on March 19 due to the pandemic.

The site is run by the Illinois National Guard and opened Wednesday as part of a statewide effort to respond to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Anyone with COVID-19 symptoms can be tested at the site for free and do not need a doctor’s note, officials said. Health care workers and first responders can be tested regardless of symptoms. Read more here. —Megan Jones

12:22 p.m.: Gov. J.B. Pritzker expected to extend Illinois’ stay-at-home order into late May, sources say

Gov. J.B. Pritzker is expected to announce Thursday that he will extend a statewide stay-at-home order into late May, sources said.

The directive is set to expire April 30, but Pritzker’s action would extend it another 30 days, sources said.

Pritzker has said he planned to make changes to the stay-at-home order and that restrictions will continue to be needed to curb the spread of the virus. Read more here. —Jamie Munks, Gregory Pratt and Dan Petrella

11:14 a.m.: Furloughs and layoffs for workers at Sinai hospitals

Sinai Health System is furloughing about 150 caregivers, reducing hours for another 200 and laying off about two dozen other workers, the system announced Thursday.

“As a result of cancellations and increased costs to care for COVID patients, like every other health system, Sinai is experiencing serious financial challenges,” Karen Teitelbaum, president and CEO of Sinai Health System, said in a news release. “It has meant drastic changes to every part of our daily operations including services, supplies, scheduling, security, food service, maintenance and finance.”

The system, which runs Mount Sinai, Holy Cross and Schwab Rehabilitation hospitals, is now losing about $10 million a month because of canceled elective surgeries and higher costs for care of COVID-19 patients, system leaders said.

Mount Sinai had about 50 COVID-19 patients and Holy Cross had 36 as of Thursday. About 90% of the regular ICU beds at Mount Sinai and all of the regular ICU beds at Holy Cross were full, said spokesman Dan Regan, though the hospitals have additional surge ICU beds.

The 24 workers being laid off are mostly in management and non-clinical positions and will be offered severance packages. Those who are furloughed are expected to come back to work within 60 days.

The system estimates the changes will help save about $1.5 million. Sinai said it has received about $2.3 million in donations to help it weather the pandemic, as well as about $4.9 million from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and $29.6 million in early Medicare payments. The early payments must be paid back.


Sinai joins a growing number of Chicago-area hospitals furloughing employees amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as they struggle with losses from canceled elective surgeries and reduced visits from other types of patients.

Lurie Children’s Hospital announced temporary pay cuts and furloughs for employees Monday. Weiss Memorial Hospital in Chicago, West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park, Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Gottlieb Memorial Hospital in Melrose Park and MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn have also instituted furloughs.

The Illinois Health and Hospital Association estimates that hospitals statewide could now be losing about $1.4 billion a month because of canceled elective surgeries and fewer visits by other patients. —Lisa Schencker

9:55 a.m.: Looking for a job? Here’s a list of places that are hiring right now in Chicago

The coronavirus pandemic has caused a historic number of job losses, with 26 million people now unemployed in the United States in the five weeks since the outbreak began. In Illinois, more than 737,000 people have filed unemployment claims, leaving many struggling to find work.

Here’s a list of major businesses that are hiring right now in the Chicago area. —Chicago Tribune staff

9:52 a.m.: Chicago’s warm-weather businesses prepare for the worst as coronavirus shutdowns are extended

April 1 was the magic date for Tony Zarcone, owner of The Freeze in Logan Square. Whatever happened — rain, snow, or shine — that was when he would open his doors for the season.

Instead, cases of ice cream destined for soft serve machines are sitting in Zarcone’s freezer. Orders for meat and bread have been canceled.

“I visit the store and I say a prayer,” Zarcone said. “I remember the good old days, when the lines were long … and everybody was smiling. And it’s all come to a halt.”

The coronavirus pandemic has forced businesses in almost every industry to search for lifelines that might help recoup months of lost revenue. But for seasonal businesses like ice cream shops and garden centers that make most of their sales in warm-weather months, the future is even more uncertain. Read more here. —Ally Marotti

9:48 a.m.: New $310 billion for PPP small-business loans likely already gone, banks say

The more than $300 billion set aside to replenish the emergency loan program for small businesses impacted by the coronavirus pandemic is likely already all spoken for, banking industry groups said Wednesday.

The initial $349 billion set aside for the Paycheck Protection Program ran out on April 16, after being available for less than two weeks. The Senate has approved an additional $310 billion for the program, which the House of Representatives is expected to vote in favor of it Thursday.

But banking groups say the volume of applications already sent to the Small Business Administration makes it likely that much, if not all, the new money will go to those already in the queue. Any new applicants would likely miss out on this funding round.

“The majority if not all of the funding Congress is considering right now is already exhausted,” said Nick Simpson, a spokesman with the Consumer Bankers Association. Read more here. —Associated Press

9:45 a.m.: 19 people who went to polls on election day in Wisconsin contracted coronavirus, but ties uncertain, officials say

State health officials said 19 voters and poll workers in April’s spring election tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus afterward, but caution they can’t say for certain whether election exposure was the cause.

“We are not able to say that their exposure was necessarily at the polls because they are all people who could have had exposure in other places,” Department of Health Services Deputy Secretary Julie Willems Van Dijk said. “We have correlation — they voted and they were at the polls — but we do not have causation.”

The disclosure comes after a precipitous increase of 225 COVID-19 cases in a single day, the most in the state so far, as state health officials tied nearly 150 coronavirus cases to a Green Bay meatpacking plant on Wednesday. Read more here. —The Wisconsin State Journal

9:35 a.m.: Coronavirus pandemic creates suicide risk. ‘This could last years’

After years of a steady climb in suicide deaths, prevention advocates worry there could be a mental health fallout from the coronavirus pandemic for years to come.

Consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic are also risk factors for suicide, experts say, including prolonged isolation, a down economy with massive job losses, and an uptick in domestic violence.

That could lead to more suicides in the coming months, or even years, said Jonathan Singer, associate professor of social work at Loyola University Chicago and president of the Washington, D.C.-based American Association of Suicidology. Read more here. —Kate Thayer

8:17 a.m.: New Illinois unemployment claims top 100,000 as 4.4 million Americans file for jobess aid

More than 4.4 million laid-off workers applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week as job cuts escalated across an economy that remains all but shut down, the federal government said Thursday.

In Illinois, unemployment insurance claims dropped, but still topped 100,000. For the week ended April 18, 102,736 people in the state filed initial claims for benefits, down 38,424 from the previous week’s 141,160. In the comparable week a year ago, 8,209 Illinois residents sought benefits. Read more here. —Associated Press

8:15 a.m.: Hidden coronavirus outbreaks spread through Chicago, other major cities far earlier than Americans knew, researchers say

Hidden outbreaks of coronavirus were spreading almost completely undetected in Chicago, New York, Boston, San Francisco and Seattle long before testing showed that each city had a major problem, according to a model of the spread of the disease by researchers at Northeastern University who shared their results with The New York Times.

Even in early February — while the world focused on China — the virus was not only likely to be spreading in multiple U.S. cities, but also seeding blooms of infection elsewhere in the United States, the researchers found.


In mid-February, a month before New York City schools were closed, New York City and San Francisco already had more than 600 people with unidentified infections, and Seattle, Chicago and Boston already had more than 100 people, the findings estimate. By March 1, as New York confirmed its first case, the numbers there may already have surpassed 10,000.

From these primary travel hubs and a few other cities, the model shows, the disease was then spread to other locations in the United States. Read more here. —The New York Times

7:15 a.m.: At least 20 Chicago suburbs are requiring face coverings in public. Here’s the list.

On Thursday, Evanston joined more than a dozen suburbs requiring that masks or face coverings be worn in public to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The Evanston order goes into effect at 8 a.m. and requires “all persons working in or patronizing essential businesses and operations ... to wear cloth face coverings,” according to the town’s Facebook page.

The order does list some exceptions, including children under the age of 2, “anyone who has trouble breathing, or anyone who is unconscious, incapacitated, or otherwise unable to remove the covering without assistance. Please get a note from your medical provider if your medical condition requires you to not wear a face covering.”

As for outdoor exercise like walking or running or biking, “as long as you are practicing strict social distancing (6+ feet apart) with people outside your household, you do not need to wear a face covering while engaging in a permissible outdoor physical activity.” Read more here, including list of other suburbs.

6:50 a.m.: City to hold first online town hall on COVID-19 aimed at slowing spread of virus in majority black communities

The city’s task force on the coronavirus in minority communities and a South Side community group will hold an online town hall Thursday afternoon as part of the city’s strategy to fight “the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on African American communities,” according to the city.

The town hall, being hosted by community group South Shore works, is the first of three to be held in communities hard-hit by the novel coronavirus outbreak: South Shore, Auburn Gresham and Austin, according to a news release from the mayor’s office.

The city’s Racial Equity Rapid Response Team, formed to try to slow the spread of the virus, is working with South Shore Works, the Greater Auburn Gresham Development Corporation and Austin Coming Together on its strategy in those three neighborhoods.

Each online town hall “will provide targeted information to residents, while also allowing the (response team) to listen to the concerns of community members and advise on how to navigate during these unprecedented times,” according to the news release.

Thursday’s event will be held online at South Shore Works’ Facebook page. It was slated to start at 5:30 p.m.

About 60% of the approximately 500 people in the city whose deaths have been linked to COVID-19 have been black, despite black residents making up 30% of the city’s population. Check back for updates. —Chicago Tribune staff and Associated Press

6 a.m.: McHenry drive-in theater owner making plans to reopen May 1. Extension of stay-at-home order would nix that idea.

Devastated by the closure order due to the coronavirus, new owner Scott Dehn came up with a plan to reopen the McHenry Outdoor Theater – which he just bought in February – for business May 1, the day after the stay-at-home order is set to expire. He decided to allow cars only in every other space, and keep people in their vehicles to maintain social distancing.

A buzz over the opening built on Facebook, where dozens of drive-in fans thanked him for restoring a feeling of normalcy. Dehn said he even got encouragement from officials in the state’s Small Business Development Centers, one of whom offered advice on how to do it.

But when asked about the plans, the Illinois Department of Public Health replied flatly, “Under the Stay-At-Home Order, movie theaters, including drive-ins, are considered non-essential and should remain closed.” Read more here. —Robert McCoppin

6 a.m.: For decades Chicago’s lunchtime dining room, Manny’s now fights for new business during coronavirus pandemic

Less than two months ago, if you wanted to find the biggest and busiest lunchtime rush in the city, it would have been hard to beat the one that gathered most days at Manny’s. Founded in 1942, this South Loop cafeteria normally serves heaping portions of corned beef, matzo ball soup and other deli classics to Loop workers, politicians, local celebrities and anyone else with a hankering for an over-sized sandwich, with a potato pancake on the side.

But due to the coronavirus pandemic and the closing of all restaurant dining rooms, these days there’s no hum, clang of utensils, or conversation sounding off the walls at Manny’s. “Obviously, it’s pretty quiet,” says fourth-generation co-owner Dan Raskin in a phone interview. “We are still open for customers, and have curbside and delivery options, but business is down like 70 percent.”

Raskin says that some of his biggest losses came from canceled events. “Corporate events, wedding rehearsals, conventions — all of those orders were canceled,” says Raskin.

Which doesn’t mean Raskin isn’t trying. “I have been personally doing everything possible to get more business,” says Raskin. “I’m not a give up kind of person. I’m going to get scrappy and do what I can.” Read more here. —Nick Kindelsperger

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