FDA Pulls Approval for Some Face Masks Makers: It was announced today that the Food and Drug Administration withdrew approval for more than 60 manufacturers in China to export N95-style masks to the U.S.  Recent tests by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) found that about 60% of 67 different types of imported N95-style masks in at least one sample allowed in more tiny particles than U.S. standards normally permit.  This decision cuts the number of mask makers in China approved to make N95-style masks for use in the U.S. to 14, from around 80. This determination reverses an April 3 decision to allow imports from manufacturers whose masks hadn’t been tested by U.S. authorities but had been reviewed by an independent laboratory.   

Stay Safe Initiative for Returning Back to Work: CICI member company, Ecolab, was instrumental in the development of the American Hotel & Lodging Association’s Stay Safe proposal that has some great resources on employee health and responsibilities, cleaning products and protocols, and physical distancing recommendations.  These guidelines are intended to be iterative, and will be revised as needed based on the recommendations of public health authorities, in compliance with any federal, state and local laws.  In addition, Ecolab has also developed this Facilities Resource Library for information on opening back up commercial facilities. 

IDPH Issues Guidance for Return of General Assembly: For those CICI members who work in various roles in government affairs at state Capitols, draft recommendations were issued today by the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) to help ensure the public health and safety of legislators, legislative staff and other support personnel.  These guidelinesare meant to help the General Assembly when it reconvenes its session activities, which doesn’t appear to be anytime soon. These guidelines are fairly extensive and quite challenging to administer to 177 State Senators and Representatives and countless staff personnel.   

Update on COVID-19 Cases: The Illinois Dept. of Public Health (IDPH) is now reporting a total of 3,111 deaths, an increase of 138 deaths from yesterday.  There are currently 70,873 positive cases of COVID-19 in Illinois, an increase of 2,641 since yesterday. In total, 379,043 people have now been tested in Illinois for the virus, which is an increase of 17,783.  The percentage of positive cases since yesterday as compared to increased testing is at 14.8%.  Remember – one of the parameters for the governor’s Restore Illinois plan calls for regions to be at or under a 20% test positivity rate before regions can proceed to another phase of this plan.

You can 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. In addition, Western Illinois University has an put together this Map of COVID-19 Cases in Illinois & Surrounding States which gives you picture of where COVID-19 cases are occurring in relation to areas surrounding Illinois. 

Worldometer also has a site with pertinent statistics on a state by state breakdown and comparison. Also, the City of Chicago has a good categorization of the cases within the city.

Pritzker Halts Weekend Press Briefings: Governor Pritzker also announced today that his office will not be holding any further weekend press conferences.  As such, CICI will be issuing its weekend Update on Monday instead of Sunday.  

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