Public Health Archives - Page 6 of 14

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.

U of I COVID-19 cases surge as total cases surpass 3,000

Post author:Raleigh Butler / For CU-CitizenAccess
Post published:November 6, 2020
Post category:CU-Covid19 Public Health

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has reported 3,421 cases since students began returning to campus on August 15 despite university researchers predicting only 700 Covid-19 cases on campus by Thanksgiving.

Reported daily COVID-19 cases vary widely for Champaign County, U of I cases

Post author:CU-CitizenAccess.org
Post published:October 28, 2020
Post category:CU-Covid19 Public Health

The highest number reported by the state was September 8, which indicated delayed reporting. The county's highest number was 356 cases on Sept. 11. County public health officials said their case numbers lag behind the state and university because they take time to confirm positive cases.

Read more about the article Beds in emergency hallways perilous during pandemic, experts say

Google Street View

OSF Heart of Mary as it appears on Google Maps Street View on October 16, 2020.

Beds in emergency hallways perilous during pandemic, experts say

Post author:Marissa Plescia / For CU-CitizenAccess
Post published:October 17, 2020
Post category:CU-Covid19 Health Care Public Health

Carle Foundation Hospital is routinely treating people in beds in the hallways of the emergency room at its Urbana facility on University Avenue, although the practice has come under criticism by health experts. The practice is generally done because a hospital is at overcapacity and does not have room for patients and is known as “boarding.” Boarding has been criticized because negative effects can include death, preventable disability, prolonged hospital stays and general discomfort.

Read more about the article The University Of Illinois Dials Back Statements About FDA Authorization For Its COVID-19 Test

Photo: Christine Herman/Illinois Newsroom

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign requires students and employees get tested regularly for COVID-19, using a saliva-based test developed by its own researchers.

The University Of Illinois Dials Back Statements About FDA Authorization For Its COVID-19 Test

Post author:Lee Gaines / Illinois Newsroom and Christine Herman / Illinois Newsroom
Post published:October 5, 2020
Post category:CU-Covid19 Education Public Health

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s saliva-based COVID-19 test has never operated under emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, despite prior claims that it did, an FDA spokesperson tells Illinois Newsroom. So far, campus officials say the U of I has been contacted by 35 organizations, including other universities, expressing interest in adopting the campus’ Shield program, which involves testing, contact tracing and other mitigation measures.

University of Illinois

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

University of Illinois COVID-19 cases surge past official predictions

Post author:Raleigh Butler / For CU-CitizenAccess
Post published:September 11, 2020
Post category:CU-Covid19 Education Public Health

University of Illinois officials reported 1,754 new cases from Aug. 15 when students started coming back to campus, through Sept. 8, although a team of researchers working directly for the university administration had projected only 500 to 700 cases by Thanksgiving.

Photos are being captured of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign student gatherings and parties as they return to campus. This gathering, located at Green Street Towers on August 21, 2020, was posted to Reddit, shaming students for ignoring city orders and not wearing masks amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Champaign-Urbana emergency orders fall short of researchers’ recommendations

Post author:Samantha Boyle / For CU-CitizenAccess
Post published:August 23, 2020
Post category:CU-Covid19 Public Health

The cities of Champaign and Urbana both issued emergency orders intended to prevent a possible surge in COVID-19 cases as students return to campus for the fall semester. Illinois researchers Eric Jakobsson and Santiago Nunez-Corrales created a computer model that estimated that students will bring back nine times the viral load – or rate of disease – than of community members. In a letter to both city councils, they recommended the cities, all bars and restaurants return to having only curbside pick-up, delivery or drive through. They said without those measures there could be an additional 800 cases, 80 more hospitalizations and four more deaths.

Read more about the article Returning international students from countries with lower infection rates of COVID-19 than the U.S.

Pam Dempsey/CU-CitizenAccess

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.

Returning international students from countries with lower infection rates of COVID-19 than the U.S.

Post author:Samantha Boyle / For CU-CitizenAccess
Post published:August 7, 2020
Post category:CU-Covid19 Education Public Health

Most of the international students from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s 2019-2020 academic year are from countries with lower daily Covid-19 infection rates than the United States, according to a CU-CitizenAccess analysis. Last spring, 9,824 international students attended the University from more than 100 countries, according to university data.

Read more about the article Reports on “recovered” COVID-19 cases inconsistent and incomplete; Numbers elusive and may mislead on real medical impact of virus

Dylan Tiger

A Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting review of state health data found four primary categories of definitions for "recovered" COVID-19 patients. See below for an interactive version.

Reports on “recovered” COVID-19 cases inconsistent and incomplete; Numbers elusive and may mislead on real medical impact of virus

Post author:Dylan Tiger, Isaiah Baba / For CU-CitizenAccess, Daria Makhneva / For CU-CitizenAccess and Samantha Boyle / For CU-CitizenAccess
Post published:July 10, 2020
Post category:CU-Covid19 Government Public Health

As Covid-19 surges again in the U.S., the high percentage of "recovered" cases might be cited as a sign that a vast majority of those infected quickly rid themselves of the virus. But the “recovered” statistics are incomplete, inconsistent and call into question the accuracy of any total number of recovered cases, according to a review of 50 state public health sites by CU-CitizenAccess.org.

Champaign-Urbana Public Health District

COVID-19 testing data shows high recovery rate, weekly increase in testing

Post author:Isaiah Baba / For CU-CitizenAccess
Post published:July 9, 2020
Post category:Public Health

By the end of June Champaign County had conducted more than 33,000 COVID-19 tests, according to data from the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District. A review of the data saw the number of daily tests increasing dramatically while showing that Champaign County has had a relatively low positive rate (2.5%) with 723 cases out of 29508 tests (May to June). It also showed a high “recovered” rate, but the term “recovered’ can be misleading. In Illinois, the definition of recovered means that an infected person has not died within 42 days of being diagnosed. The rate was 93 percent (May to June).

Champaign-Urbana Public Health District

C-U Health District focusing on prevention efforts, contact tracing in Phase Four

Post author:Samantha Boyle / For CU-CitizenAccess
Post published:July 8, 2020
Post category:Public Health

Julie Pryde, administrator for the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District, said the state will continue in Phase Four now until the pandemic ends, meaning masks and six-feet social distancing are still recommended and required in public spaces. The health district is in the process of hiring more contact tracers, for example. About 30 contact tracers work there now to track the persons with whom an infected person has had potential contact with.