Respiratory virus mitigation advised
With half the counties in Illinois now at a medium or high level for COVID-19 hospitalizations, the Illinois Department of Public Health is advising healthcare facilities to step up mitigation efforts to minimize the spread of respiratory viruses. The department has issued a health alert to hospitals, long-term care facilities and local health departments outlining various mitigation measures such as the use of masking and screening, especially in areas where more vulnerable patients are treated. Statewide, 1,225 new COVID-19 hospitalizations were reported, up 22% over the previous week.
Durbin to work on Epstein subpoenas
Illinois U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin has agreed to work at securing subpoenas for records around Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking operations, according to The Epoch Times. The announcement of Durbin’s reversal follows a week of heavy criticism from Republicans. Tennessee U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn called out Durbin for blocking efforts to subpoena such records, including previously released files that were redacted along with Epstein’s private plane’s flight logs.
Catching carp
It was a good year for eradicating an invasive fish from Illinois. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources and a group of professional fishermen teamed up to reduce the number of invasive carp populating the Illinois River. State biologists, Illinois River Biological Station biologists, and commercial fishing contractors caught more than 700,000 pounds of silver carp within 10 days at the Starved Rock pool of the Illinois River. The haul is roughly double what the program removed last year.
