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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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Afternoon Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update – 6,980 Confirmed Cases, 141 Deaths; Governor Extends “Stay at Home” Order; CDC, OSHA Guidance on Work Site Safety, Disinfection; Protocol for Returning to Work; CICI Staff Working Remotely
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This afternoon, the Illinois Dept. of Public Health (IDPH) is reporting a total of 141 deaths, an increase of 42 from yesterday, out of 6,980 now-confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 in Illinois, which is an increase of 986 new cases since yesterday. In total, 40,384 people have been tested for the virus, an increase of 5,159 new tests since yesterday.
It was reported today in the governor’s daily press conference that @20% of the current positive COVID-19 cases have required hospitalization and more severe care, and 5% require ICU care. According to the IDPH, the current mortality rate is between 1-3%. The substantial increase in the number of tests is just one reason for the escalation in the number of new COVID-19 cases. As it’s been reported in previous Updates, the state of Illinois would like to conduct at least 10,000 tests per day to get a more complete sense of the extent of this outbreak.
You can see where these cases are occurring at the State of Illinois COVID-19 website which also contains more information on this outbreak. In addition, Western Illinois University has an put together this Map of COVID-19 Cases in Illinois & Surrounding States to give you a better picture of where COVID-19 cases are at in relation to areas surrounding Illinois.
Governor Extends “Stay at Home” Order: Attached to this update is a 30-day continuation of the previous “Stay at Home” Executive Order (EO) issued by Governor Pritzker. This EO contains the same provisions as the previous order allowing essential businesses and its employees to remain operating but does include a new provision prohibiting any price increases for any medical equipment, medicines, supplies, and personal protective equipment (PPE) used to combat the COVID-19 outbreak.
CDC, OSHA Guidance on Work Site Safety, Disinfection: Some CICI members recently inquired about having a contingency plan for safety and disinfection should any of their employees test positive for COVID-19. To that end, the CDC and OSHA have guidance for businesses and employees in preparing the workplace for COVID-19 that can be found here CDC and here OSHA.
Further, OSHA also has the following information on decontamination and disinfection at OSHA Control and Prevention
Protocol for Returning to Work: Attached to this update is a template memo and questionnaire for employers who may have employees returning to work who have either tested positive for COVID-19 or who have or may have been exposed. Please share this with your legal counsels should this apply.
CICI Staff Working Remotely: As many of you already know, the CICI staff has been working from home for the past few weeks.
While the chemical industry is deemed an “Essential Industry”, interestingly - trade associations who represent “Essential Industries” are deemed “Non-Essential” and thus CICI is complying with the Governor’s “Stay-At-Home” order by working from home.
If you need to contact us, the best way to do so is the following:
Brad Babcook, Director of Legislative Affairs – [email protected] or 217-522-5805 ext. 2
Mark Biel, CEO – [email protected] or 217-522-5805 ext. 1
Lisa Frede, Director of Regulatory Affairs – [email protected] or 847-544-5995 ext. 2
Lisa Leahy, Operations Manager – [email protected] or 847-544-5995 ext. 1
Note: Phone calls to the CICI offices are transferred to our cell phones. Voice messages which are left are automatically sent to our email addresses.
For all practical purposes, CICI staff has been working every day since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis and will continue to quickly respond to your requests.
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