THE DAILY ILLINI
THURSDAY October 1, 2020
Visit our website!
The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM
Vol. 150 Issue 12
COVID-19 claims 21st life in Champaign County BY ETHAN SIMMONS NEWS EDITOR
Another person in Champaign County died from coronavirus-related complications on Tuesday, the Champaign Public Health District confirmed. The 21st person to die from the virus in Champaign County was a woman in her 80s with underlying health conditions, CUPHD Administrator Julie Pryde said. The woman was hospitalized at the time of her death, Pryde said. The last COVID-19 death in the county occurred over a month ago, on Aug. 20. On Wednesday, CUPHD confirmed another 46 cases of COVID-19 in the county, with 40 new recoveries. With the recent death, county hospitalizations are down to seven. Champaign County also conducted another 11,434 tests, bringing the test total up to 526,539.
As of Wednesday, 4,737 people in Champaign County have tested positive for COVID-19 since the pandemic began. Of them, 4,355 are considered recovered by CUPHD, and 361 are active. ZIP code 61820 is still Champaign County’s biggest contributor to the pandemic, with 2,244 confirmed cases there, 218 of them active. The ZIP code 61820 encapsulates the area within I-74 on the north, Prospect Avenue on the west, Windsor Road on the south and Wright Street on the east, covering most of Campustown. The same ZIP code leads Champaign County in total tests with 231,284. The ZIP code with the next highest number of active cases is 61801, in Urbana, with 34. Two-thirds of all county tests have been done on people between the ages of 10 and 30 years old. In total, 1,894 confirmed
cases have been from people between the ages of 10 and 20, while another 1,298 confirmed cases have been between 20 and 30 years old. CUPHD reports breakdowns of cases and tests by race. According to their webpage, 64% of people who’ve tested positive in the county are white, 15% are African American, 6% are Asian, 15% are “Other” and 1% are unknown. By ethnicity, 16% of people who’ve tested positive identify as Hispanic, but only 3.6% of the tested population is Hispanic. Other cases to tests disparities exist in racial demographics. Asian people represent 6% of cases despite getting 18.7% of tests, while African Americans comprise 15% of cases in the county while only receiving 8.1% of tests. @esimmsnews ecsimmon@dailyillini.com
RYAN ASH THE DAILY ILLINI
A University coronavirus testing site worker organizes vials at the Illini Union testing location on Wednesday morning. Twenty-one people have now died from COVID-19 in Champaign County.
UI COVID-19 costs exceed $300 million BY ETHAN SIMMONS NEWS EDITOR
KENYON EDMOND THE DAILY ILLINI
Students socialize at the Red Lion bar on Aug. 21. Sixty-three students are currently on probation for violating COVID-19 guidelines. Students in photo are not necessarily involved with probation.
Students on probation hits 63, 15 dismissed BY DIANA ANGHEL ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
Since the semester began, the University has issued decisions on 297 cases of COVID-19 related student behavior. In 58 of these cases, the respondent was not found responsible or the charges were dropped. Of those found responsible, 63 students are on probation, one has been placed on dismissal held in abeyance status and 15 have been dismissed, according to Stephen Bryan, associate vice chancellor for student affairs and dean of student support and advocacy. Two weeks ago, just one student had been dismissed for a COVID conduct violation. The Office of Student Conflict Resolution must now assess every reported case of a social distancing rule-break. “The student discipline system utilizes an educational approach, and each case is examined individually,” Bryan said in an email on behalf of himself and Vice Chancellor Danita M.B. Young. “Decisionmakers consider a wide variety of factors, including but not limited to the nature of the behavior itself, the impact of that behavior on others, the explanation of that behavior, and the extent to which the respondent has reflected on their actions.” According to the Office
of Conf lict Resolution website, the office has the following options when determining whether a respondent has violated a University policy: finding no violation, charge(s) dropped and finding of violation. The formal sanctions for a student conduct violation are as follows: • University reprimand, where a student carries an entry in their disciplinary record for a year that serves as a basis for further sanctioning; • University censure, an official communication that the student’s behavior is inappropriate as a member of the academic community and an entry in the disciplinary record until the student graduates; • conduc t probat ion, where the student is no longer in good standing with the academic community and can be dismissed or suspended if another rule-break happens while the student is under probation; • suspension, meaning that the student’s relationship with the University must be terminated for a definite amount of time; • dismissal, in which the student’s relationship with the University is terminated. The student may petition for read-
On Monday, University leaders revealed the costs of COVID-19 to the school so far: $300 million and counting, straight from the University’s operating budget. Add it ion a l ly, t hey revealed that the Emergency Use Authorization approval the saliva test supposedly received from the FDA back in August hasn’t yet been achieved. Gathering at the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University President Tim Killeen, Chancellor Robert Jones, Dr. Martin Burke and several other University representatives were joined by Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin to contextualize the financial impacts of the virus and the school’s testing while asking for federal aid to expand the saliva tests. Most of the costs are coming from canceled events and student refunds, Killeen said, but the total cost of testing continues to grow. According to Burke, leader of the University’s SHIELD team and co-creator of the saliva test, each test costs the University system around $20 to $25. Through Monday, the University had conducted 423,206 tests, putting total testing costs in the range of $8.4 million to $10.5 million. “We just talked to you about the millions of dollars that we’ve had to stand up to
PHOTO COURTESY OF WCIA
Senator Dick Durbin speaks at a press conference at the University’s Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology on Monday. Durbin gathered alongside UI leaders to discuss COVID costs and federal funding.
invest in this, but the most important thing to consider is in the middle of a pandemic, it’s in everyone’s best interest,” Chancellor Jones said. As for the test’s FDA approval for emergency use, Burke said the guidelines have changed since August when the University declared the tests’ EUA approval. “What we had said at the time, which was our understanding of the guidance at the time, is that we had completed a bridging study to an EUA, which at the time was exactly our understanding of the guidelines,” Burke
said Monday. “What’s being sought now, which is a really important step forward, is a new EUA specifically for this test to be used for asymptomatic testing.” Chancellor Jones divulged on the difference in his weekly responses to The Daily Illini. “The University validated its laboratory-developed test under CLIA by successfully comparing its performance to an FDA Emergency Use Authorized test. This is different than FDA approval,” he said. Burke said the University is working to drive the cost of testing down, especially
with more than 30 universities that have communicated interest in adopting the saliva tests, along with community schools that have been promised testing help. Sen. Durbin said he’s “never been prouder of the University of Illinois,” and called for Republicans to buy into a larger investment in testing. “If we’re going to have another COVID relief bill, the proposal on our side of the aisle is for dramatic investment in further testing,” Durbin said. @esimmsnews ecsimmon@dailyillini.com
Urbana early voting location receives first ballots BY ALIZA MAJID STAFF WRITER
Early voting is underway in Champaign County, and some students are taking advantage. Prashant Shankar, senior in Engineering, voted early last week at the gym next to the Brookens Administrative Center in Urbana, the only in-person voting location open in ChamSEE PROBATION | 3A paign County. “It was a pretty short line with about a 10-minute wait,” Shankar said. “People were socially distant and it was pretty quick and painless. So I would definitely recommend that people go out to vote early if they do want to vote in person.” Champaign County has brought COVID-19 safeguidelines at the voting Sports: Illini volleyball ty locations this year in order values short, to minimize infections, intense practices bringing a distinct new look to the polling places. The PAGE B1 first location was moved
INSIDE
Opinions: Joe Biden must win the White House PAGE 6A
DAILYILLINI, DAILYILLINISPORTS
INSIDE
Police
2A
@THEDAILYILLINI, @DI_OPINION, @DI_SPORTS |
Life
&
Culture
4A
|
Crossword
5A
RYAN ASH THE DAILY ILLINI
Champaign County residents vote at the Brookens Administrative Center in Urbana, IL on Sept. 24. The voting location is currently the only in Champaign County, while 11 more early voting locations will open on Oct. 18.
from the Brookens Administrative Center to the gym to create more space. “We’re asking everyone to wear masks when they come in to vote,” Champaign County Clerk Aar-
THEDAILYILLINI |
Opinions
6A
on Ammons said. “We will have disinfectant wipes sprays, enforce social distancing and do all these different components to make sure that everyone stays safe.”
@THEDAILYILLINI |
Letters
6A
|
Sports
Pl e x i g l a s s sta nds between voters and election judges, who are adorned with personal protective equipment. SEE VOTING | 3A
THEDAILYILLINI
DAILYILLINI
1B
4B
|
Classifieds
|
Sudoku
THEDAILYILLINI 4B
|
buzz
6B