COVID-19 Impacts

The large white dove sign that hangs out front of the West County Center in St. Louis County is the focus of an art walk to promote local artists.

African Americans in the St. Louis region have found that when the economy sputters, it hits Black people hard. The coronavirus pandemic, which has left more than 18 million Americans unemployed, has made it worse. Just as the virus has shined a spotlight on disparities in the health care system, it’s also highlighted economic disparities.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is placing an additional restriction on Metro East bars and restaurants to try to slow the spread of coronavirus in the region.

Lumiere Place has backed off plans to lay off 97 workers, said Kim Bartholomew, secretary of the Unite Here Local 74 union. A petition and press coverage seem to have brought the casino's owners back to the negotiating table.

Federal unemployment money dried up at the end of last month for thousands of Missouri residents.

Illinois officials are imposing new health restrictions for Metro East restaurants, bars and gatherings to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.

COCA has added 52,000 square feet to its facility, plus additional studio space, a community area, a 450-seat theater and a 200-car parking garage. Officials say the expanded space will help people practice social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch education reporter Blythe Bernhard put the school reopening situation in stark terms in a story last week: “No public school in St. Louis city or county will open five days a week to all students this fall,” she wrote. “No private school is likely to open 100% online.” On Monday's St. Louis on the Air, Bernhard talked about why some private schools are seeing rising enrollment for the fall semester and why private institutions are offering more in-person learning than their public counterparts.

Calvin Davis became very ill in late March and was diagnosed with COVID-19 shortly after. He spent 76 days in the hospital after being admitted on April 9, then two weeks more in a care facility as he battled the coronavirus. For much of that time, he was on a ventilator.His daughter Melynie Blackshear now spends about 62 hours a week caring for her dad. In this St. Louis on the Air episode, she details the intensive recovery process that they are still dealing with, weeks later.

An increase of COVID-19 cases in the region has caused the St. Louis Sports Medicine COVID-19 Task Force, the St. Louis County Department of Public Health and the City of St. Louis Department of Health to initiate a hold on all youth sport games and scrimmages. The move has some pediatricians frustrated that the focus has been on youth sports, rather than congregations in bars and restaurants.