McCormick Place drafted in coronavirus fight

State passes 5,000 COVID-19 cases with 461 new; eight additional deaths bring toll to 73

McCormick Place Lakeside Center is part of the process as the Chicago convention center is adapted to accommodate 3,000 hospital beds for COVID-19 patients. (McCormickPlace.com)

By Ted Cox

Chicago’s McCormick Place Convention Center has been drafted in the fight against the coronavirus outbreak.

At his daily COVID-19 briefing at the Thompson Center in Chicago on Monday, Gov. Pritzker said the Illinois National Guard, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency were already in the process of “building out capacity” for placing hospital beds in the convention center, with 500 to be ready this week, another 500 next week, 1,200 more by April 20, and a final 750 acute-care beds by the end of April for a total of 3,000. Pritzker said McCormick Place was intended to augment existing hospitals and not replace them in the rush to treat coronavirus patients, and that it would help “meet the surge” of expected cases. He added that shuttered hospitals were being prepared to reopen in Elgin and Blue Island as well.

Illinois Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said the state registered 461 new COVID-19 cases Monday, bringing the total to 5,057. Eight new deaths raised the statewide toll to 73. Although the 461 new cases were down considerably from the 1,105 reported Sunday, she cautioned against seeing that as a sign they’d turned the corner on the pandemic, saying, “The truth is, the number of cases will continue to increase, unfortunately, as will the deaths. … We’re still in an exponential growth phase.”

“We really have to look at the trends, not a single day,” added Pritzker, who pointed out that commercial testing labs tend to deliver their results to the Illinois Department of Public Health in bunches, not necessarily day to day.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said the city’s cases were doubling every three or four days, and she repeated her warning that it could face the need for 40,000 hospitalizations. “Here in Chicago, our capacity is still ahead of demand — for now — but it’s truly a race against time, and we have nothing to waste,” Lightfoot said. “We have to lessen stress on our health-care system and first responders.” McCormick Place, she added, “will be needed in the coming weeks given the trajectory we’re seeing.”

Pritzker again repeated his criticism of the lackluster response to the outbreak by the Trump administration, saying, “We received a fraction of what we asked for” in masks, gowns, ventilators, and other personal protective equipment — commonly known as PPE. While the state had received a new shipment from the federal stockpile on Sunday, he added, “This federal shipment still pales in comparison to our requests and appears to be even smaller than our previous two shipments.” Pritzker said the Trump administration claimed to have sent 300,000 N95 masks when in fact it sent surgical masks instead, “which is not what we asked for.”

The governor added, “I can’t emphasize enough how much we need the federal government to step up and amplify the size of their PPE deliveries to Illinois and, frankly, across the nation.” He pointed out they’re essential to protect health-care workers on the front lines, and he again called on President Trump to make use of the Defense Production Act to streamline manufacturing of the materials, including ventilators, and to distribute them to the states.

“I once again implore the president to utilize this important tool that is within his power,” Pritzker said.

The governor also urged the feds to distribute more COVID-19 tests, critical to tracing the advance of the disease and clusters of infection. “Every state is behind in testing,” Pritzker said. “This is an enormous problem.”

Pritzker cheered Abbott Labs’ development of a new quick test for the coronavirus that produces results in 15 minutes, saying, “I am very, very excited about the development of this rapid Abbott test that’s coming out,” but he tempered expectations by pointing out Abbott can still only produce about 50,000 a day — not just for Illinois but the entire nation.

According to Ezike, one of the eight new deaths involved a prisoner at the Stateville Correctional Center in Crest Hill, where a dozen other inmates are hospitalized, seven in intensive care, and 77 other prisoners are showing symptoms, along with 11 staffers. She added that Stateville has an older prison population, making them more prone to COVID-19 complications, and those showing symptoms were being isolated, and staff was taking additional precautionary measures to halt spread of the disease.

“We’re doing the best that we can,” Pritzker said.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is taking in stride internet memes making fun of her stern approach to the Stay Home, Save Lives campaign. (Twitter)

Pritzker and Lightfoot did not yet extend the April 7 end date for the statewide stay-at-home order, but the governor emphasized they were following the science as they reassess from day to day. “What does this look like going forward?” Pritzker said. “It’s something we have to consider whether to extend and, if so, how long.”

Earlier in the afternoon, Lightfoot and Chicago Public Schools Chief Executive Officer Janice Jackson said the system would be going to “remote learning,” via the internet, with details on lesson plans to be completed April 6 so that the program can launch April 13, when CPS was originally scheduled to resume classes after spring break. They’re following in the footsteps of Chicago’s City Colleges, which have already shifted 92 percent of their classes online.

“We know it can be done because we just did it,” said Chancellor Juan Salgado.

According to Jackson, the district will distribute more than 100,000 devices to students without internet access at home to “help bridge the digital divide.” Lightfoot is also working with internet service providers to expand access for students. Principals will be expected to determine what suits the needs and abilities of each school’s students.

Lightfoot was amused by a question asking her about internet memes that had sprouted up concerning her strict enforcement of the city’s Stay Home, Save Lives campaign — including one playing off Georges Seurat’s “Sunday on La Grande Jatte” painting at the Art Institute, in which the mayor singlehandedly clears the crowded island with a scowl.

“Like in any difficult time, we have to have a sense of balance, and humor is a part of that,” Lightfoot said. “I love them.”

Later, at the governor’s daily briefing, she added, “I must say, hats off to the vast majority of Chicagoans who got the message and are staying home to save lives.”