The Illinois Manufacturers’ Association has been communicating directly with manufacturers across Illinois as the situation changes and will continue posting resources online at the IMA’s dedicated page
www.ima-net.org/covid-19/
.
Governor JB Pritzker held his daily press conference today and expressed sorrow for those who have passed and encouraged those to grieve as they see necessary. Now one week into the Governor's stay-at-home order, the Governor continued to express that people need to do what is right and stay inside and practice social distancing. The Governor also stressed that the state is doing everything it can to increase testing capacity and obtain supplies for hospitals and medical workers.
The Governor and Director of Public Health announced the following:
- There are 465 new cases of coronavirus in Illinois
- There are a total of 47 deaths related to cornavirus in Illinois, including 13 today. Illinois also saw the first infant death related to coronavirus.
- A total of 3,491 cases have been confirmed in at least 40 of the 102 counties.
New or critical items of note that were discussed today by the Governor and local leaders:
- The Governor indicated that Illinois continues to take a two-pronged approach to tackle COVID-19: (1) suppress the spread, and (2) increase hospital capacity. To help with the hospital capacity, the Governor noted that McCormick Place Convention Center is being turned into the state's first field hospital dedicated to COVID-19 patients.
- The Governor noted that companies are being very generous in their donations of PPE and encouraged all private companies and individuals who are able to follow suit. If you wish to help with PPE donations, you can email ppe.donations@illinois.gov
- For those on Medicaid, the Governor mentioned that the state has suspended the Medicaid renewal process, is fast tracking enrollment, guaranteeing covered costs for COVID-19 treatment for all the uninsured, and is guaranteeing insured residents will have all out of pocket costs covered for COVID-19 treatment.
- Finally, the Governor stated that new best practices are being put into place at grocery stores, including: signage at entrances and throughout the store to remind customers to remain 6 feet away, continuous announcement throughout the store of social distancing rules, floor markers at checkout lines, encouraging the use of curbside pickup and self check out lanes, banning reusable bags, and more.
Employer Resources & Programs
The IMA is continuing to offer conference calls next week to update manufacturers and businesses about changing laws, rules, and regulations.
On Tuesday, March 31, the IMA is partnering with the law firm
Conn Maciel Carey for a webinar on the following topics:
- Strategies for employers to prevent workplace exposures while complying with Federal and State level labor employment laws
- OSHA's guidance about preventing workers from exposure to COVID-19 and related regulatory risks
- FAQs for employers with guidance from the CDC
Conn Maciel Carey is a boutique law firm focused on Labor & Employment, Workplace Safety, and Litigation. Panelists for the webinar include four members of the Conn Maciel Carey team, including: founding partner and OSHA Chair Eric Conn, founding partner and Labor Chair Kara Marciel, partner Amanda R. Strainis-Walker, and Associate Lindsay A. DiSalvo.
T
o register for this webinar,
please click here
.
Additionally, the IMA has released a new
Question & Answer section
on our website. This document contains some of the most frequently asked questions and we continue adding more information as it becomes available.
