Saturday's coronavirus live updates: St. Louis County nurse dies from COVID-19

Mar. 21--More from the series

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Keep up with all the coronavirus news in southwestern Illinois

Stay updated with the events in southwestern Illinois that have been canceled or postponed because of coronavirus concerns.

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Here's a roundup of coronavirus news on Saturday. We will be frequently updating this story throughout the day.

Pritzker calls on former medical professionals to rejoin workforce, as cases rise

Gov. J.B. Pritzker called on former and retired medical professionals to rejoin Illinois' medical force today during his daily COVID-19 update where new cases in Illinois and another death from the virus also were announced.

Officials announced 168 new cases of COVID-19 in Illinois Saturday afternoon, along with the death of a Cook County man in his 70s, raising the current death total in the state to six.

"We're in the middle of a battle and we need reinforcements," he said, calling on any doctors or nurses who recently left the field to rejoin the states' ranks.

Pritzker said anyone who decides to return to their previous profession or come out of retirement will need to fill out reinstatement forms found at idfpr.com. He said the processing of those forms will be expedited and that the state is working with hospitals to get returning professionals back to work.

The Governor also said any medical professionals with a license that is expiring soon will be given an automatic extension until further notice. He said because the current situation in Illinois means all hands must be on duck for the foreseeable future.

St. Louis City and County enact stay-at-home orders, starting Monday

St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson and County Executive Sam Page announced the county and city will implement stay-at-home orders starting Monday in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19.

The restrictions, Krewson said in a tweet, still allow residents to meet basic needs and noted that essential services will still be provided, like groceries and pharmacies. She said the new restrictions require people to "stay at home when possible."

In a follow-up tweet, Krewson said people may still leave their homes for carryout from bars or restaurants, to go to work for "most businesses," to take a walk or exercise outside or for doctor appointments and other "essential activities.

St. Louis County reported its first death from COVID-19 Friday night. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Judy Wilson-Griffon, a nurse at SSM Health St. Mary's hospital, who was diagnosed with the virus earlier this week, died Friday. As of Friday, there were 10 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in St. Louis County.

Shelter-in-place order takes effect at 5 p.m.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued an order Friday telling all Illinois residents to shelter in place.

The order is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. Saturday and last until April 7 in an effort to help reduce the number of people who get COVID-19, or coronavirus disease 2019.

"My bedrock has been to rely upon science," Pritzker said of his decision. "To avoid the loss of potentially tens of thousands of lives, we must enact an immediate stay-at-home order for the state of Illinois."

The governor emphasized that residents will still be able to make essential trips such as going to the grocery store, gas station, doctor, hospital or pharmacy, and crucial workers will still be able to do their jobs.

For more on this order, go to BND.com.

MetroLink, bus schedule changes

Ridership on the region's public transportation system is down about 40 percent due to the coronavirus outbreak, prompting Metro Transit to announce changes in service starting Monday.

Frequency of MetroLink train and MetroBus services on weekdays will be reduced as a result. Here are the changes:

-- MetroLink train service will operate on a weekend schedule seven days a week until further notice.

-- Most buses will operate on a Saturday schedule during the week.

Five Illinois bus routes that currently do not run on Saturdays will operate their normal weekday schedules seven days a week. They are: No. 14 Memorial Hospital-Westfield Plaza ; No. 15 Belleville-O'Fallon; No. 17 Carlyle Plaza-17th Street; No. 21 Scott AFB-Main Base Shuttle; and No. 21X Scott AFB-East Base Shuttle, Metro Transit stated in its announcement. Service on express routes No. 2X Waterloo-Columbia and No 17X Lebanon-Mascoutah will run on weekday schedules until further notice.

County extends disaster declaration

St. Clair County has approved extending a disaster declaration in response to the coronavirus outbreak affecting Illinois and much of the world.

County Board Chairman Mark Kern said the declaration will allow the county to better contain and fight COVID-19, making state and federal resources more readily available, while also making a portion of those funds eligible for reimbursement.

As of Friday, St. Clair County had three cases of coronavirus and the state of Illinois had 585 and five deaths.

Madison County Board Chairman Kurt Prenzler also announced an emergency disaster. Last year, both counties made disaster declarations during record-setting flooding that caused millions in damage in the metro-east.

Area hospitals tighten rules for hospital visitors

Memorial Hospital in Belleville and Memorial Hospital East in O'Falllon no longer are allowing visitors to the hospital and entrances have been restricted to minimize the spread of coronavirus.

According to a release from the hospital, Memorial is working on ways to facilitate electronic communications for patients and families who would like real-time updates and videos on tablets, phones and Skype.

There are a few exceptions to the hospitals no-visitor policy.

Obstetrical patients and hospice care patients are allowed to have one support person during their stay. Pediatric inpatients under the age of 18 are allowed two parents or guardians to be with them. Emergency room patients and patients having surgery also are allowed one support person to stay in a designated waiting area.

St. Elizabeth's Hospital in O'Fallon announced similar visitor restrictions Friday.

In Highland and Breese, HSHS St. Joseph's Hospital is no longer allowing visitors and encouraging visitors to call patients instead. There are exceptions, however. Obstetrical patients are allowed one "support person" throughout their stay, pediatric patients under the age of 18 are allowed one parent or guardian and emergency services or surgical patients are allowed one support person.

HSHS hospitals are screening patients and exempt visitors at the building's entrances, in order to prevent the possible spread of COVID-19.

U.S. attorney warns of coronavirus-related scams

U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft is warning residents of southern Illinois of the myriad scams people and businesses are attempting to profit illegally from the coronavirus pandemic.

Anyone who suspects fraud related to COVID-19 should call the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) hotline at 1-866-720 6721 or send a complaint to the NCDF email address: [email protected]., Weinhoeft said.

"Across the world, there have been reports of online advertisements for fake Corona virus cures, phishing emails from entities posing as the World Health Organization or the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention and even malicious websites and apps that appear to share Corona virus-related information, only to gain and lock access to your devices until payment is received," Weinhoeft said.

Weinhoeft says people should be wary of:

-- Private companies selling COVID-19 tests or lists of infected persons,

-- Online resellers peddling "fake, low-quality and potentially dangerous" health care and hygiene products, including face masks, lotions and sanitizers.

-- Door-to-door sales of professional decontamination services.

-- Fake charities and phony fundraising offers.

-- Medical providers obtaining patient information for COVID-19 testing and then using that Information to fraudulently bill for other tests and procedures.

Companies advertising debt relief services, government assistance to displaced workers, or investment opportunities promising quick, high-dollar returns should also be viewed with caution, Weinhoeft said.

"The elderly are likely to be targeted in many of these schemes and should be especially wary of any virus-related marketing efforts that appear to be aimed at older Americans," he said.

As directed by the U.S. Department of Justice, Weinhoeft has appointed a coronavirus coordinator for the Southern District of Illinois. Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott A. Verseman will head up the effort to investigate and prosecute potential scammers.

Edwardsville Relief Fund Announced

The Edwardsville Community Foundation announced the launch of a COVID-19 Relief Fund to raise grant money for organizations in Edwardsville and Glen Carbon that are seeing "increased demand" or are heaviest affected during the coronavirus outbreak.

The organizations the relief fund would benefit include the City of Edwardsville, the area YMCA, Edwardsville Neighbors, Main Street Community Center, the Glen Ed Pantry and the Edwardsville Public Library.

For more information call 855-464-3223 or visit http://www.edwardsvillecommunityfoundation.org/

Metro-east Campgrounds and Comfort Stations Closing

The U.S. Corps of Engineers announces closures to St. Louis District campgrounds and comfort stations located in Illinois until further notice starting today.

Due to the state's shelter-in-place order, campgrounds, comfort stations and projects at Lake Shelbyville, Carlyle Lake, Red Lake and the Kaskaskia Navigation Project will close.

Postponed and canceled events

The News-Democrat has compiled a list of events in Illinois and St. Louis that have been canceled due to concerns about coronavirus.

You can find the list at BND.com.

Get the latest news on coronavirus

BND.com will keep you updated through the day with information about the spread of coronavirus through southwestern Illinois.

You can also find the most complete and up-to-date information from government sites including:

State of Illinois' coronavirus page: coronavirus.illinois.gov

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/summary.html

Federal government's coronavirus page: cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

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