Longtime MDPD employee dies following COVID-19 battle

6 min readNov 29, 2020

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — We all know how important it is to shop local. But this year during the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s vital to keep some businesses running. We caught up with some local shop owners who say their goal this year was to keep customers safe.

“You know, safety is the biggest thing we’re working on,” said Jarrod Hennis, the owner of Rockford Art Deli.

On ‘Small Business Saturday,’ many local shops are hoping to boost their sales after many losses from the pandemic. Rockford Art Deli Owner Jarrod Hennis says he prioritizes his shoppers’ safety.

“We’re following all of the protocols, wearing masks, cleaning hands, trying to limit the store to 12 people if we can. But you know, just physically distancing and you know just keeping things safe as much as we can,” Hennis added.

For customers who don’t feel safe entering a store, online shopping or curbside pickup is an option.

“Our biggest thing is if you don’t feel safe you can shop online. All of our items are online so if it makes it easier you can do curbside pickup,” he said.

Down the street, Bath and Body Fusion Owner Jenny Ralston tells us it has been a difficult year but she appreciates the support from her customers.

“It just makes my heart so happy. We pour our whole heart and soul into this business and handmaking the products for the community and making it look magical for the holidays. So it just makes my heart so happy to see everyone comin’ out today,” Ralston said.

Both owners say they are grateful for customers helping them stay afloat.

“The biggest thing though is to support local. Like, deals or no deals, you should be out supporting your local economy in any way you can,” Hennis said.

“Get out and support everything local you can. I share it almost everyday on my social media accounts. Shopping local means more than ever this year. Being a small business owner it’s never easy in the town of Rockford or any town for that matter. So it really does make a huge impact,” added Ralston.

With winter coming, small businesses continue to encourage the entire community to shop locally. Residents made it out Saturday to show their support.

DORAL, FLA. (WSVN) — A longtime employee at the Miami-Dade Police Department has died after battling COVID-19, officials said.

In a tweet posted Saturday morning, the law enforcement agency confirmed that Robert Gonzalez had passed away. BOSTON —
Small businesses in Roxbury are also hoping for a strong holiday shopping season.

On Saturday, approximately a dozen of them gathered at Black Joy Market in Boston’s Nubian Square, selling everything from dolls to jewelry to body creams.
Normally, the market opens up to shoppers several times a year, but due to the coronavirus, Saturday was the first time they were able to open amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“What we’ve done in essence is created an opportunity for Nubian Square to be destination during the holiday season,” Kai Grant, the organizer of Black Joy Market said.

Shoppers got free face-masks while they waited in line.

The Black Joy Market will continue every Saturday afternoon through Christmas.
CHICAGO (WLS) — Chicago area hospitals bracing for a post-Thanksgiving COVID-19 spike following the long holiday weekend.

“We are concerned that there will be a ramp-up in cases,” said Dr. Bala Hota at Rush University Medical Center. “The incubation period to develop symptoms is about 5–7 days, so it would be mid next week where people might have some symptoms of the illness and that would be when we would expect more cases to come into the hospital.

RELATED: Should you quarantine after Thanksgiving gathering amid rising COVID cases? Yes, expert says

Health officials said Thanksgiving travel numbers are a clue that the positivity rate could start climbing, yet again.

AAA predicted more than 50 million people had plans to travel for the holiday. Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport is just one that had a steady stream of travelers as well.

“If there is going to be a spike, it will be sometime late next week through about 2–3 weeks after that,” Dr. Hota said. “Even though it is steady about 7–10 days we are going to see a real ramp up in admissions. We are prepared for that.”

Right now, the statewide positivity rate in Illinois remains just above 12%, but with less people getting COVID-19 tests over the holiday weekend, the data could be misleading.

“Even though it has been somewhat stable, that translates to quite a bit of disease and it also shows that there is pretty significant spread in the community,” he added.

RELATED: Illinois coronavirus testing: Where to get tested for COVID-19 in Illinois, Chicago area

Just in the past three weeks, the coronavirus hospitalizations at Rush have tripled.

“What we are seeing now is anywhere from 10–25 admissions per day,” Dr. Hota said.

Many of those patients are now in the ICU.

Still, doctors are asking people to practice social distancing and monitor their symptoms to avoid another surge.

RELATED: Respiratory therapists struggle to keep up with demand as COVID-19 cases continue to rise

“[In] December, we could see a decline in cases but it is dependent on what we do — If we wear masks, wash hands, and distance,” Dr. Hota pointed out.

If you did go to a gathering, monitor for symptoms and limit contact with others until you have a COVID-19 test result.

COVID-19 has found its way to an Oregon mink farm, where both staff and animals are getting infected, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The USDA’s National Veterinary Service Laboratory has confirmed the presence of the virus in 10 samples it received from the Oregon Department of Agriculture, and the state veterinarian, Dr. Ryan Scholz, put the farm under quarantine until further notice.

“We have been engaged with the Oregon mink industry for some time, providing information on biosecurity to prevent the introduction of SARS-CoV-2 and were ready to respond,” Scholz said.

“The farmer did the right thing by self-reporting symptoms very early and he is now cooperating with us and Oregon Health Authority (OHA) in taking care of his animals and staff.

“So far, we have no reports of mink mortalities linked to the virus but that could change as the virus progresses.”

COVID-19 has been found on farms in three other states, including Utah, where 8,000 minks were lost to the virus, as well as in Michigan and Wisconsin.

Outbreaks have also occurred on farms in the Netherlands, Italy, Sweden, Spain, and Denmark, where the virus forced the slaughter of 17 million mink.

University of Chicago Medical Center nurse Talisa Hardin held her phone in front of a cozy fireplace as she stared at the familiar but perhaps unexpected face on the screen: Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.

During the video call on Thursday, Harris thanked Hardin for tirelessly treating COVID-19 patients — for “everything you do every day,” according to a video posted on Harris’ Instagram account.

“I wanted to see you to say, ‘Happy Thanksgiving,’ ” Harris says in the video as a loose ear bud dangles against her turtleneck. “I’ve been reading about you and just all that you do in service of so many people.”

Harris wrote that she and her husband called Hardin and other front-line workers “to thank them for everything they have done in the fight against COVID-19. We won’t be able to get through this without them.”

She also told Hardin, “I know it’s personal for you and I know … it requires mental and emotional and physical and spiritual energy and power that you give to it, so thank you.”

In a video posted to Facebook by the union National Nurses United, Hardin is seen receiving the call and chatting with Harris. She tells Harris, “Thank you so much for saying that.”

In May, Hardin offered written testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives’ Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis detailing her experience working in the ICU with COVID-19 patients. In her statement, Hardin wrote that “hospital management has consistently refused to give nurses in my unit the protections that we need to avoid exposure and infection.”

In a caption to the Facebook video, Bonnie Castillo, executive director for National Nurses United, said Harris supports invoking the Defense Production Act “to finally produce the PPE nurses on the front lines of COVID-19 so desperately need to protect ourselves and our patients.”

Longtime MDPD employee dies following COVID-19 battle

Written by Shuk dukk