MONDAY September 14, 2020
THE DAILY ILLINI The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
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Vol. 150 Issue 7
UI awaits approval for on-campus micronuclear reactor funds Since the University entered the Illinois Climate Action Plan in 2008, annual carbon emissions on campus have been cut by 25%. The University’s strategic plan means achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, and preferably sooner. One micro-nuclear reactor is able to supply 43,000 megawatt-hours in electricity and 15 MWh of thermal power per year, the energy equivalents of 10 utility-scale wind turbines and 175,200 tons of coal respectively. The reactor timeline would consist of four and a half years of regulatory review and environmental impact, safety, operational license review by federal and state authorities, then construction if all else goes well. Currently, the plan is to locate the reactor next to Abbott Laboratory. “It fits wonderfully (like) a glove on the hand in terms of campus needs, not only
BY HEATHER ROBINSON ASSISTANT DAYTIME NEWS EDITOR
The University may soon be home to a new micronuclear reactor, which would provide campus with clean energy, as well as opportunities in research and education on campus. The project is pending approval and funding by the U.S. Department of Energy. If awarded, work will begin in 2021, with projected completion by 2026. The DOE would give the University $44.8 million for the project, said Caleb Brooks, professor of Nuclear, Plasma and Radiological Engineering. “It’s no surprise that the University of Illinois has been working at the cutting edge of future energy and technologies,” Brooks said. “And if the project is awarded, the University is in position to deliver on a critical research and education necessary for a climate-conscious energy future.”
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RYAN ASH THE DAILY ILLINI
Students wait at the testing site at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications on Aug. 30. A helpful feature of the Safer Illinois app is the OSF OnCall Connect program, which puts COVID-positive people in contact with pandemic health workers.
App assists COVID-positive students BY AMRITA BHATTACHARYYA STAFF WRITER
The Safer Illinois app is mainly used by the on-campus University community to track COVID-19 test results and gain access to buildings. One overlooked feature allows COVID-positive users to get medical advice without leaving their isolation spaces. The OSF OnCall Connect program allows students, faculty and staff who test positive for COVID-19 to connect daily with pandemic health workers through phone, video or text chat for up to 16 days for free. “(These are) people who are trained to take care of people, delivering expert and trusted advice,” said John Vozenilek, OSF’s chief medical officer for innovation and
digital health. When students receive a positive test result through the Safer Illinois app, there is a care team button they can tap, which directs them to call in and begin the enrollment process. It’s always been a part of the app, but OSF is still trying to get the word out and get more students to enroll, said Colleen Reynolds, media relations coordinator for OSF HealthCare. “This was built off of what we were doing in the community almost since the start of the pandemic,” said Reynolds. OnCall Connect was developed in partnership with the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services to cover patients across
the Central Illinois region. The service was reworked for campus once OSF was brought into the discussion of the University’s return plan. “The whole program for campus was designed around the principle that it wasn’t just screening … it was also clinical services that were going to be needed to keep the population, and the students in particular, safe,” Vozenilek said. The OnCall Connect program has different layers of check-in, depending on how severe the symptoms of the patient are. The Acute COVID@Home program consistently monitors those with more severe COVID symptoms. Patients are delivered packages of devices to moni-
tor their blood pressure, temperature and oxygen saturation. They are also given a tablet that directly connects them to nurses from the Home Health Team. Connected through Bluetooth, the results of the devices are sent to OSF, which can then regulate the services provided “day by day or even hour by hour if necessary,” Vozenilek said. “It prevents people from needing to occupy hospital beds in a time when that resource may be precious, but still gives us the safety of being alerted to changes in vital signs,” Vozenilek said. OSF has also provided the University with patient monitoring care kits which are giv-
PHOTO COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS ISEE
Madhu Khanna hosted a Zoom webinar on Sept. 10. The meeting proposed bringing a nuclear reactor to campus.
University investigates around 200 students for COVID-19 policy violations dent Support and Advocacy Stephen Bryan said 119 students and 11 organizations were under investigation for COVID-19-related violations. On Wednesday, Student Affairs spokesperson Chantelle Thompson said there were around 200 open investigations into student
BY ETHAN SIMMONS NEWS EDITOR
The number of students on campus under investigation for potential violations of the COVID-19 policy has SEE APP | 3A nearly doubled since the University issued a stay-athome order for undergraduate students. During the Senate Executive Committee meeting on Aug. 31, Dean of Stu-
New cases decline during third week of classes BY ETHAN SIMMONS NEWS EDITOR
After a spike in new COVID-19 cases during the second week of classes, the University of Illinois upped restrictions on student movement, discouraged travel during Labor Day weekend and required faculty, staff and graduate students to test only once a week. Last week, the University performed fewer tests, but those tests turned up far fewer cases. The week ended Sept. 4 turned up the newest positives from students, faculty and staff since the University began its saliva tests in July: 895 new cases of COVID-19 were identified from 74,000 tests, for a new case positivity rate of 1.21% across the week. The week ended Friday, Sept. 11 was substantially lighter: 340 new people tested positive for the virus after 53,000 tests, for a seven-day new case rate of 0.64%. Saturday was also encouraging, with just 10 new cases from 4,009 tests. The 0.25% new case positivity rate was the lowest of the semester so far. In all, from week two to week three, 28% fewer tests were conducted, and new cases dropped by 62%. The seven-day new case positivity rate that the Uni-
RYAN ASH THE DAILY ILLINI
Sophomore Jacob Harris catches a frisbee on the Main Quad on Sunday. Around 200 students are under investigation for potentially violating COVID-19 policies.
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RYAN ASH THE DAILY ILLINI
A pair of masked students look at a laptop while sitting at a table outside of Lundgren Hall on Sunday. After a spike in positive cases during week two, the positives lessened in week three.
versity displays on its dashboard isn’t an accurate measure of how much of campus has been infected, because the University does not share how many individual students, faculty and staff are being tested every week. Most students test twice a week, and those who test positive are usually taken
out of the testing pool for a little while. Additionally, some students who are at high risk of exposure are being ordered to test three times a week. The University’s twoweek order for students to limit themselves to essential activities ends on Wednesday.
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Since Sept. 2, undergraduate students have had to avoid in-person activities besides “taking twice-weekly COVID-19 tests, attending class, purchasing groceries and food, going to work, engaging in individual outdoor activity, attend-
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Opinions
Opinions: Cats deserve more love than they get
buzz: Artist explores hardships of life through music
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