Good afternoon! It’s Monday, April 20, the first 4/20 since recreational marijuana became legal in Illinois. Here’s a playlist from NPR to help mark the occasion. And here’s what you need to know today. (PS: You can have this delivered to your inbox by subscribing here.)

1. Hospitalizations still on the rise in Illinois, Pritzker says

Gov. JB Pritzker today gave a more detailed update on the state’s capacity levels at hospitals: Of the 4,599 patients hospitalized in Illinois with COVID-19, fewer than half — or 1,239 — were being treated in intensive care units, the governor said. That means the number of ICU beds being used is at 40%. Of those ICU patients, about 750 were on ventilators, Pritzker said, adding that the state has 3,200 ventilators.

But Pritzker warned that Illinois has not reached the peak, but added “our curve is bending the right way.”

State officials announced 59 more people have died, bringing Illinois’ death toll to 1,349. Officials also announced 1,151 new known cases, pushing the total number of confirmed infections to 31,508. [WBEZ]

You can find a map of where Illinois infections have been reported here. [WBEZ]

Deaths in nursing homes account for one in every four COVID-19 fatalities in Cook County, according to a WBEZ analysis. Here’s a map showing where deaths and cases have been reported at nursing homes throughout Illinois. [WBEZ]

And case workers at Chicago’s Howard Brown Health clinics are hunting down the virus, one patient at a time, in an effort to contain outbreaks. [WBEZ]

Meanwhile, Illinois Senate Democrats are asking for $41 billion in federal aid, with $10 billion set aside for a pension bailout, reports the Chicago Sun-Times. The request comes as that state faces a staggering budget shortfall for this year estimated at $2.7 billion. [Chicago Sun-Times]

And Chicago Ald. Matt Martin, 47th Ward, said he will introduce an ordinance this week to provide some relief for renters who are struggling financially. [Chicago Tribune]

2. Congress nears deal on small business aid

The White House and congressional leaders could reach an agreement this week over a plan that would provide $450 billion to a small-business loan program that ran out of money last week.

Democrats want to expand the scope of the plan to include financial support for hospitals and state and local governments. Democrats are also pushing for $25 billion for coronavirus testing. Senate leaders are hoping to hold a procedural session this week, and the House announced it could meet as soon as Wednesday. [AP]

Meanwhile, the small-business loan program faces mounting criticism after several chain restaurants got money from the fund, such as Potbelly and Ruth’s Chris Steak House. Burger chain Shake Shack said it would return a $10 million loan it received. [NPR]

And the Trump administration is expected to hold a call with governors today on how to boost testing in states. Experts at Harvard University believe the U.S. needs to be testing at least 500,000 people a day in order to lift shutdowns. [NPR]

3. U.S. governors see public approval ratings climb

Both Republican and Democratic governors who have imposed stay-at-home orders have seen their public support grow, but President Donald Trump is seeing a smaller bump, according to national polls.

As NPR reports, governors have a 69% approval for their handling of the pandemic, while Trump is at 44%, according to an average of national polls used by the data website FiveThirtyEight. [NPR]

Meanwhile, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo today announced that 478 people have died, marking the lowest daily death-toll count in more than two weeks. The state’s total death count is now 14,347.

New York has recently seen glimmers of hope that the state has gotten past the worst of the pandemic, with Cuomo saying the state has begun descending from a plateau of cases. But the governor warned that it remains unclear how quickly the number of infections will drop. [New York Times]

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio today announced that concerts, festivals and parades will be canceled through June. [CNBC]

Across the U.S., there have been more than 766,000 cases and more than 40,000 deaths reported. Here’s a map showing how quickly the virus is spreading in each state. [NPR]

4. Several countries begin easing lockdowns

As American politicians and health experts debate the next steps for reopening the U.S., a number of other countries are beginning to gradually relax restrictions this week.

In Germany, many non-essential businesses, like bookstores and car dealerships, will reopen. And in Italy, officials are expected to unveil a plan to lift the nation’s lockdown on May 4.

But Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization, warned world leaders against reopening too soon, saying that lifting restrictions “is not the end of the epidemic in any country. It’s just the beginning of the next phase.” [AP]

Worldwide, more than 2.4 million cases and more than 168,000 deaths have been reported. [Johns Hopkins]

5. A look at how the pandemic is playing out in the U.S. race for president

President Trump’s election campaign is hoping to link former Vice President Joe Biden to China, a move that comes as polling shows a “declining approval rating for Trump among key groups and growing openness to supporting Biden in recent weeks,” reports The Washington Post.

The newspaper, citing officials familiar with the Trump campaign’s polling, reports that surveys found more than three-quarters of voters blamed China for the coronavirus pandemic, data that is fueling a push to link Biden to China.

But some White House officials and donors have privately argued against that strategy, and Democrats say they can use it against Trump to highlight his support of Chinese President Xi Jinping during the early days of the outbreak. [Washington Post]

Here’s what else is happening

• Here’s what is known about Saturday’s mass shooting in Nova Scotia that left at least 18 people dead. [BBC]
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will remain in power after persuading his rival to form a unity government. [New York Times]
• ESPN’s documentary series about Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls is finally out. [NPR]
• This takes Rear Window to a new level. [WBEZ]

Oh, and one more thing …

Like I mentioned before, today is the stoner holiday known as 4/20. Why this day?

There are a lot of myths about why 4/20 holds a special place in the hearts of pot heads, but no, it has nothing to do with Jerry Garcia’s birthday nor a police code for the act of smoking marijuana. Check out this story from NPR to get the real story. [NPR]

How does one celebrate 4/20 during a pandemic? Here’s a look at how cannabis lovers are marking the biggest day for marijuana online. [Rolling Stone]

And here’s a look at some of the best stoner movies ever, from Dazed and Confused to Friday. [Rolling Stone]

Tell me something good …

If you could be in self-quarantine with anyone other than a family member, who would it be?

I’d totally want to hang out with Tracy Morgan because I’m still laughing about his Today show interview.

Who would you like to self-quarantine with? Feel free to email at therundown@wbez.org or tweet to @whuntah.

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