Public Health – Page 3 – CU-CitizenAccess.org

A tent and signs indicate a Covid-19 testing site at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's Alice Campbell Alumni Center on Friday, July 31, 2020. The University is conducting free saliva tests for faculty, staff and students with results typically known within 48 hours.

COVID’s toll in Champaign County as emergency ends: 325 deaths, 86,946 cases, unknown number of long haulers

Post author:Carmen Martinez / For CU-CitizenAccess and Yuzhu Liu / For CU-CitizenAccess
Post published:May 12, 2023
Post category:CU-Covid19 Public Health

As the COVID-19 pandemic emergency measures ended this month, Champaign County had reported 325 COVID-related deaths from 86,946 cases over the past three years.…

Screenshot of the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District's COVID-19 dashboard taken on August 1, 2022.

Lack of funding forces end of public health district housing, food assistance for COVID-positive residents

Post author:Pam G. Dempsey
Post published:August 4, 2022
Post category:CU-Covid19 Public Health

Come mid-August, the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District will no longer offer food and housing assistance to those who have tested positive for the COVID-19…

This illustration, created at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reveals ultrastructural morphology exhibited by coronaviruses. Note the spikes that adorn the outer surface of the virus, which impart the look of a corona surrounding the virion, when viewed electron microscopically. A novel coronavirus, named Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness first detected in Wuhan, China in 2019. The illness caused by this virus has been named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Two years later, COVID breaks death records in Champaign County

Post author:Dylan Tiger
Post published:March 30, 2022
Post category:CU-Covid19 Public Health

As the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic begins, cases plunge after the deadliest month for Champaign County just this year. Nearly 62,000 cases.…

Read more about the article County COVID breakthrough cases undercounted, but university offers more accurate numbers

McKinley Health Center website

McKinley Health Center on the University of Illinois campus.

County COVID breakthrough cases undercounted, but university offers more accurate numbers

Post author:Casey Daly / For CU-CitizenAccess
Post published:January 13, 2022
Post category:CU-Covid19 Education Public Health

Because the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) only requires healthcare administrators to report severe infections of COVID-19 among the fully vaccinated, the true number and percentage of vaccine breakthrough cases infections in Champaign County and across the nation is significantly undercounted, public health experts say. Data from the University of Illinois shows that breakthrough cases — severe and mild — are much larger than than the state numbers. Since May, 75.9% of, or more than three out of four, positive tests belonged to fully vaccinated students or staff.

University of Illinois

The logo for the University of Illinois's COVID-19 SHIELD saliva-based testing.

The story behind the race to test for COVID-19 at the University of Illinois

Post author:Raleigh Butler / For CU-CitizenAccess
Post published:January 12, 2022
Post category:CU-Covid19 Education Public Health

It was late the evening of April 22, 2020 when Martin Burke, a then 44-year-old professor of chemistry, received a phone call from the university provost. The provost, Andreas Cangellaris, requested that Burke develop a COVID-19 testing program for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus. Over the next week, Burke gathered eight more team members, forming the founding members of what was known as the SHIELD team. The first SHIELD meeting was held on April 30, 2020, just eight days after the Provost’s call.

Ignited, contaminated water from the Spiro's Law website. "In some places, the amount of concentrated gas is enough to set the water coming out of a kitchen sink on fire," the website about the lawsuit said.

Contaminated drinking water from Peoples Gas leak persists, funds to fix frozen as lawsuit continues

Post author:Ryan Head / For CU-CitizenAccess
Post published:January 12, 2022
Post category:Environment Government Public Funds Public Health

A 2016 gas leak into the drinking water supply north of Mahomet continues to be a hot topic even five years later as 2021 nears its end. The first official report of a methane leak from the underground holding wells of Peoples Gas was reported on December 20, 2016. The problem location was County Rd 350 E. in the township of Newcomb, just north of Mahomet and near Fisher, IL. Peoples Gas claims to have capped off the well which was leaking and terminated its use. However, homes in the vicinity were still affected by the leak.

KFC & A&W, 1321 N Dunlap Ave., Champaign The health department closed the restaurant Aug. 22 due to “gross unsanitary conditions” during its routine inspection. No details were provided in the report. On Thursday, November 29, 2018. photo by Darrell Hoemann/C-U Citizen Access

Restaurant closures, failures down under new restaurant health inspection system

Post author:Allison Silvestro / For CU-CitizenAccess
Post published:December 23, 2021
Post category:Food Government Public Health Technology

Since 2019, at least 63 Champaign-Urbana restaurants have failed and 19 have been temporarily closed down by public health officials under a new restaurant inspection system launched that year.

Read more about the article Domestic violence exacerbated by pandemic, leaving marginalized communities especially vulnerable

Darrell Hoemann

Satellite Jail exterior on Wednesday, December 15, 2021. photo by Darrell Hoemann/C-U Citizen Access

Domestic violence exacerbated by pandemic, leaving marginalized communities especially vulnerable

Post author:Da Yeon Eom / For CU-CitizenAccess
Post published:December 22, 2021
Post category:Justice Neighborhoods Public Health

Domestic violence in the city of Champaign rose by 13% last year, surging from 871 incidents in 2019 to 982 incidents in 2020, a…

Read more about the article University of Illinois building monitors inconsistently enforced access while campus COVID cases surged

Vivian La

A vacant building monitor desk in the School of Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics in Urbana.

University of Illinois building monitors inconsistently enforced access while campus COVID cases surged

Post author:Olivia Abbott / For CU-CitizenAccess and Marykate Green / For CU-CitizenAccess
Post published:December 22, 2021
Post category:CU-Covid19 Education Public Health Technology

To mitigate infection, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign had to utilize several novel technologies, yet lack of staff availability to enforce this technology…

Read more about the article Champaign elementary students grapple with masks, vaccines

Darrell Hoemann

Kenwood School on Sunday, December 19, 2021. photo by Darrell Hoemann/C-U Citizen Access

Champaign elementary students grapple with masks, vaccines

Post author:Cesar Sanchez / For CU-CitizenAccess
Post published:December 22, 2021
Post category:CU-Covid19 Education Public Health

For one Champaign Unit 4 school parent, vaccinating his child is important. “How can you go against science?” Daniel Martinez said. “I lost my…