Newsletter: Is It Safe To Dine Indoors?

Illinois restaurants can welcome back indoor diners tomorrow. But health experts say it’s risky. That story and more are in today’s Rundown.

Chicago
A patio open sign is displayed at a music venue on Wednesday, June 17, 2020, in Chicago. On Friday, bars, restaurants and other businesses can welcome indoor customers as Illinois relaxes some coronavirus restrictions. Nam Y. Huh
Chicago
A patio open sign is displayed at a music venue on Wednesday, June 17, 2020, in Chicago. On Friday, bars, restaurants and other businesses can welcome indoor customers as Illinois relaxes some coronavirus restrictions. Nam Y. Huh

Newsletter: Is It Safe To Dine Indoors?

Illinois restaurants can welcome back indoor diners tomorrow. But health experts say it’s risky. That story and more are in today’s Rundown.

WBEZ brings you fact-based news and information. Sign up for our newsletters to stay up to date on the stories that matter.

Hey there! It’s Thursday, and I’m counting down the days until my first vacation of the year. And by “vacation,” I mean staying home for a week. Here’s what you need to know today.

1. You’ll be able to eat a cheeseburger indoors tomorrow, but is dining out safe?

Illinois will lift more coronavirus restrictions tomorrow, meaning that restaurants, bars, gyms and other businesses can welcome back indoor customers so long as they follow certain rules.

But is it safe to head to your favorite restaurant? NPR talked to Dr. Emily Landon, a hospital epidemiologist and infectious diseases specialist at University of Chicago Medicine, and other experts who assessed the risks of indoor dining and other summer activities.

Indoor dining “is still amongst the riskier things you can do,” Landon warns. Click the link to learn why. [NPR]

You can find more information about what is reopening in Illinois tomorrow and what precautions must be followed for restaurants, movie theaters and sports gatherings.

And Gov. JB Pritzker said today that he’s “not afraid” to reinstate coronavirus restrictions if Illinois sees a surge in cases like other states. [WBEZ]

A recent COVID-19 case reported at a popular Chicago restaurant illustrates the challenges facing the service industry, which finds itself navigating a delicate situation of keeping employees safe while also staying in business. [Block Club Chicago]

Meanwhile, the seven-day positivity rate in Illinois remains low at 3%. State officials announced 41 new deaths, bringing the total number of fatalities to more than 6,800. Nearly 900 new known cases were reported after more than 31,000 tests were performed in the last 24 hours. Illinois has seen a total of more than 139,000 confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic. [IDPH]

2. Texas hits the pause button on reopening amid a massive outbreak

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced today that the Lone Star State will halt plans to further reopen its economy as cases and hospitalizations mount. Abbott said elective surgeries in parts of Texas will stop so that hospitals can have more space for COVID-19 patients.

The situation has grown dire in some parts of Texas, which was one of the first states to begin reopening. In Houston, one hospital’s ICU was at 120% capacity. [NPR]

Other states, particularly in the South and West, are also slowing down their reopening plans as they face growing numbers of hospitalizations and infections. [NPR]

Health experts say they are finding clusters of infections connected to parties and not protests. [NPR]

Meanwhile, dozens of Secret Service agents and officers who were at President Trump’s Tulsa rally were ordered to self-quarantine. The order came after two of their colleagues tested positive for the coronavirus. [Washington Post]

3. U.S. jobless claims top 1 million for 14th week

Nearly 1.5 million unemployment claims were filed last week, the Labor Department announced today. That’s only slightly down from the previous week, suggesting that the economic havoc caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is not over. The total number of people receiving benefits also saw a slight decline from 20.3 million to 19.5 million.

But economists worry that the nascent economic rebound we’re currently seeing will be short lived as the states halt reopening plans due to spikes in COVID-19 cases. [AP]

Meanwhile, more than 1 million dead people received stimulus payments from the Treasury Department, according to Congress’ independent watchdog. The payments totaled nearly $1.4 billion. [Washington Post]

4. Immigrants can’t contest asylum denials in federal court, SCOTUS rules

In a victory for the Trump administration, the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that immigrants seeking asylum in the U.S. have no right to a federal court hearing.

The decision means the Trump administration can fast-track the deportations of thousands of immigrants who say they face persecution and torture in their home countries.

Writing for the majority, Justice Samuel Alito said that Congress, not the courts, is “entitled to set the conditions for an alien’s lawful entry into this country.” The two dissenters were Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. [NPR]

5. Protesters call for charges in Breonna Taylor’s death

Hundreds of people rallied today outside Kentucky’s Capitol building, where they called for charges against three officers involved in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Three plainclothes detectives burst into Taylor’s apartment in Louisville, Ky., on March 13 and shot the 26-year-old Black woman to death. Protesters are demanding a statewide ban on no-knock warrants, which allowed the detectives into Taylor’s apartment.

One of the three officers was fired this week, but no charges have been filed. [Courier Journal]

Meanwhile, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis announced his administration will reexamine the case of Elijah McClain, who died while in police custody in 2019. [CNN]

Here’s what else is happening

  • A scaled down Democratic National Convention will take place in Milwaukee in August. [NPR]
  • Applications for gun permits are up more than 500% in Illinois. [Chicago Tribune]
  • Native Americans are protesting President Trump’s Independence Day visit to Mount Rushmore. [AP]
  • Disneyland pushed back its reopening. [NPR]

Oh, and one more thing …

If you had “massive plume of Saharan dust” on your bingo card for 2020, then you’re in luck.

An unusually large amount of dust from the Sahara Desert is traveling more than 6,000 miles toward the U.S. The plume is so massive that it has been nicknamed the “Godzilla dust cloud,” and it’s expected to impact parts of Illinois tomorrow and Saturday.

It’s not uncommon for Saharan dust to travel across the world, but the “Godzilla dust cloud” is so bad that air quality fell to dangerous levels in the Caribbean, where experts warned people to stay indoors. [WGN]

Tell me something good …

We’re officially now in summer! And I’d like to know: What is one of your favorite “songs of summer”?

Carol Hofer writes:

“Everyone needs to dance around the house to El Vega Life’s ‘Mi Paraiso.’ So happy and upbeat!”

Lin writes:

“ ‘Summer in the City’ by The Lovin’ Spoonful. I’m showing my age with this and I don’t care! I’ve been singing it every summer for 50 years!”

And Emma writes:

“My absolute favorite summer jam is ‘Soy Yo’ by Bomba Estéreo. It’s a celebratory anthem of self-confidence and singularity. Every single time I listen to it, I feel like I’m capable of anything. Just as a bonus, the music video is a small cinematic masterpiece.”

What’s one of your favorite “songs of the summer”? Feel free to email at therundown@wbez.org or tweet to @whuntah.

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