General Information

COVID-19

COVID-19 is an emerging respiratory illness first identified in China and which has now been detected in multiple countries around the world, including the United States. Reported illnesses have ranged from mild symptoms to severe illness and death.
Symptoms can include fever, cough, shortness of breath. Symptoms may appear 2–14 days after exposure.
The virus is thought to spread primarily from person-to-person who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet) via respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes, or by by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes.
Symptoms can include fever, cough, shortness of breath. If you have these symptoms call your doctor. Serious emergency warning signs for COVID-19 include trouble breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, new confusion or inability to arouse, bluish lips or face. If you have these symptoms seek medical attention immediately.
Residents are encouraged to follow the below general guidance to reduce the likelihood of airborne transmission of any respiratory disease:
  • Practice “social distancing” of at least 6 feet
  • Wash your hands, often, with soap and water for at least 20 seconds
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands
  • Avoid close contact with people who are sick
  • If you or a family member is sick, stay home and limit contact with others
  • Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces
If you are sick and have also either recently traveled to a country with sustained community spread of COVID-19 or had close contact with someone diagnosed with COVID-19, contact your healthcare provider.
Residents are encouraged to follow the below general guidance to reduce the likelihood of airborne transmission of any respiratory disease:
  • Practice “social distancing” of at least 6 feet
  • Wash your hands, often, with soap and water for at least 20 seconds
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands
  • Avoid close contact with people who are sick
  • If you or a family member is sick, stay home and limit contact with others
  • Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces
For more information visit the CDC's website.
“Restore Illinois” is the 5-Phase plan that is designed to safely re-open our state.  The plan is guided by health-based metrics and provides distinct guidelines for each Phase. The plan is an initial framework that will likely be updated as research and science develop and as the potential for treatments or vaccines is realized. The plan is based upon regional healthcare availability, and it recognizes the distinct impact COVID-19 has had on different regions of our state as well as regional variations in hospital capacity.  The Village will refer to the plan’s framework along with guidelines and direction issued by the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), the Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH) and the Village’s local sanitarian.
Phase 4
Executive Order #43 took effect on June 26, 2020 and supersedes Executive Order #38 which implemented Phase 3. An overview of Phase 4 can be found at here.
To view all the Governor’s Executive Orders, click here
CLOTH FACE COVERING DIRECTIVE

On April 15, 2020 Village of Morton Grove Mayor Dan DiMaria joined the US Surgeon General, the CDC and communities across the country by issuing an Executive Directive requesting that people wear a cloth face covering when they are in public settings, especially while shopping, using public transportation and in situations where social distancing is difficult. People need not wear a face covering when engaged in outdoor exercise such as walking, running, or biking, when riding alone in a personal vehicle, when alone or with household members in a separate single space, or when wearing a mask creates a health, safety or security risk.Recent studies have shown that people who are asymptomatic can spread COVID-19 more widely than previously thought. Wearing a cloth mask or other covering will help prevent the further spread of the coronavirus and keep it from accelerating. Face coverings not only helps to reduce the risk that a healthy person can breathe the droplets in but also protects others around someone with mild symptoms who may not yet realize they have the illness.

Coverings can be made from several options most people probably already have at home. bandanas, fabric masks, neck gaiters, or even a triangle out of an old t-shirt. Fabric masks and bandanas can be washed and used again. However, please don't buy medical-grade N-95 masks, which are in short supply. Those should be saved for first responders.

In issuing this directive, Mayor DiMaria also reminded residents that wearing a mask is not a substitute for following social and physical distancing. “The best thing you can do for yourself, your family, our healthcare workers, first responders and those who must work is to stay safe at home. If you must leave home for essential work or shopping, please keep at least a double arm’s length distance from others. Social distancing is still the best way that we as a community can fight the COVID- 19 pandemic.”

Cloth Face Covering Directive Executive Directive 2020-1

CDC guidelines on how to wear and make cloth face coverings

See video of United States Surgeon General demonstrating how to create a cloth face covering

CDC CLOTH FACE COVERING GUIDANCE
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies), especially in areas of significant community-based transmission. CDC also advises the use of simple cloth face coverings to slow the spread of the virus and help people who may have the virus and do not know it from transmitting it to others.
When to Wear a Mask
All Illinoisans should wear as mask or face covering when they must leave their home or report to work for essential operations and they either cannot or it is impractical to maintain 6 feet of physical distance between themselves and others. Examples include:
  • Shopping at essential businesses, like grocery stores or pharmacies,
  • Picking up food from the drive thru or curbside pickup,
  • While visiting your health care provider,
  • Traveling on public transportation,
  • Interacting with customers, clients, or coworkers at essential businesses,
  • Performing essential services for state and local government agencies, such as laboratory testing, where close interactions with other people are unavoidable, and
  • When feeling sick, coughing, or sneezing.
Those who are staying home and have no close contacts that are infected with COVID-19 don’t need a mask while at home. Provided you do so alone or with close, household contacts, other situations that don’t require a mask or face covering include running or walking in your neighborhood, mowing the lawn, performing spring yard cleanup, gardening, driveway car washing, and other outdoor activities on your own property. Nevertheless we must be intentional about avoiding crowds and social distancing so we can enjoy physical connections later.
The full IDPH document can be viewed here.
See more information from the CDC, including instructions on how to make a cloth face mask with or without a sewing machine.
See video of United States Surgeon General demonstrating how to create a cloth face covering.
GROCERY SHOPPING GUIDANCE
grocery shopping
The Illinois Department of Public Health is providing guidance on grocery shopping during this time.
Click on the graphic to view the full size page.
The Illinois Gaming Board has announced - Licensed gaming operations at all Illinois Casinos and Video Gaming locations are authorized to resume operations at 9 AM on July 1, 2020. The Board is continuously monitoring developments in connection with the COVID-19 public health crisis and will update licensees and the public as warranted. The Gaming Board’s announcement is available via this link.
Restore Illinois Recovery Plan
“Restore Illinois” is the 5-Phase plan that is designed to safely re-open our state.  The plan is guided by health-based metrics and provides distinct guidelines for each Phase.
Phase 4
Executive Order #43 took effect on June 26, 2020 and supersedes Executive Order #38 which implemented Phase 3.  An overview of Phase 4 can be found at here. All Village restaurants have been informed that they are allowed to continue their “Phase 3 Approved Outdoor Dining” until further notice.  Phase 4 also includes the approval for indoor dining and drinking with limitations to occupancy and the size of dining parties.  All Village liquor license holders have been informed of the Phase 4 guidelines.
Please be aware of fraud during the coronavirus emergency. An order is now in effect prohibiting door to door solicitation of any kind. If someone attempts to enter your home or comes to your door to try to sell you anything, do not open the door and call 911.
Be on the lookout for phishing emails asking you to verify your personal information in order to receive an economic stimulus check from the government. Government agencies are not sending unsolicited emails asking for your private information in order to send you money.
Other phishing emails may claim to be related to: charitable contributions, general financial relief, airline carrier refunds, fake cures and vaccines, and fake testing kits.
https://www.cdc.gov/media/phishing.html

https://www.irs.gov/compliance/criminal-investigation/do-not-fall-victim-to-a-covid-19-scam
Do not open emails claiming to be from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Do not click on links or open attachments you do not recognize. If clicked on, these links could be used to deliver malware to your computer to steal personal information.
https://www.cdc.gov/media/phishing.html

https://www.irs.gov/compliance/criminal-investigation/do-not-fall-victim-to-a-covid-19-scam
Be cautious of anyone trying to sell you products that claim to prevent, treat, diagnose, or cure COVID-19. Be alert to counterfeit products like sanitizers, gloves, N95 respirator masks, and face shields. Report counterfeit products at ic3.gov.
If you are sick and have also either recently traveled to a country with sustained community spread of COVID-19 or had close contact with someone diagnosed with COVID-19, contact your healthcare provider.
Don’t fall prey to Coronavirus tricks; retirees among potential targets
The IRS and its Criminal Investigation Division have seen a wave of new and evolving phishing schemes against taxpayers. In most cases, the IRS will deposit economic impact payments into the direct deposit account taxpayers previously provided on tax returns. Those taxpayers who have previously filed but not provided direct deposit information to the IRS will be able to provide their banking information online to a newly designed secure portal on IRS.gov in mid-April. If the IRS does not have a taxpayer’s direct deposit information, a check will be mailed to the address on file. Taxpayers should not provide their direct deposit or other banking information for others to input on their behalf into the secure portal.
The IRS also reminds retirees who don’t normally have a requirement to file a tax return that no action on their part is needed to receive their $1,200 economic impact payment. Seniors should be especially careful during this period. The IRS reminds retirees – including recipients of Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099 − that no one from the agency will be reaching out to them by phone, email, mail or in person asking for any kind of information to complete their economic impact payment, also sometimes referred to as rebates or stimulus payments. The IRS is sending these $1,200 payments automatically to retirees – no additional action or information is needed on their part to receive this.
The IRS reminds taxpayers that scammers may:
  • Emphasize the words “Stimulus Check” or “Stimulus Payment.” The official term is economic impact payment.
  • Ask the taxpayer to sign over their economic impact payment check to them.
  • Ask by phone, email, text or social media for verification of personal and/or banking information saying that the information is needed to receive or speed up their economic impact payment.
  • Suggest that they can get a tax refund or economic impact payment faster by working on the taxpayer’s behalf. This scam could be conducted by social media or even in person.
  • Mail the taxpayer a bogus check, perhaps in an odd amount, then tell the taxpayer to call a number or verify information online in order to cash it.
Reporting Coronavirus-related or other phishing attempts
Those who receive unsolicited emails, text messages or social media attempts to gather information that appear to be from either the IRS or an organization closely linked to the IRS, such as the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS), should forward it to phishing@irs.gov.
Taxpayers are encouraged not to engage potential scammers online or on the phone. Learn more about reporting suspected scams by going to the Report Phishing and Online Scams page on IRS.gov.
Official IRS information about the COVID-19 pandemic and economic impact payments can be found on the Coronavirus Tax Relief page on IRS.gov. The page is updated quickly when new information is available.
Village Water Billing
The Village will not disconnect any residential or commercial water supply during the Gubenatorial Declaration of Emergency including any extenstions. Click here to make an online water bill payment.
Utilities- Nicor
Nicor is providing a special information site regarding assistance during this time. Click here for more information.
Utilities- Com Ed
ComEd is maintaining a Coronavirus information page for customers who have been impacted or has a hardship. Click here for more information
Internet/Phone
Comcast Xfinity is offering free WiFi hotspots across the country for anyone who needs them, including non-Xfinity Internet subscribers. For a map of Xfinity WiFi hotspots click here
Changes to Groot’s Recycling Program

In an effort to reduce potential exposure to personnel, if you or someone in your household has tested positive for COVID-19, or is exhibiting symptoms related to COVID-19, please bag your recyclables and place them in your trash/refuse cart. Please continue this practice until symptoms subside. If there are no signs of COVID-19 in your household, please continue to place your loose recyclables in your recycle cart.

Q&A – In an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19 via recyclables, please refer to the following list of questions and answers.

Q: What if I have COVID-19 symptoms?
A: Bag all recyclables and place them in your trash/refuse cart.

Q: What if someone in my household has COVID-19 symptoms?
A: Bag all recyclables and place them in your trash/refuse cart.

Q: When can I resume normal recycling if I have had COVID-19 symptoms?
A: Resume normal recycling when on one in your household shows signs or symptoms of COVID-19

Q: Can I still recycle if I don’t have signs of COVID-19?
A: Yes. Continue to place loose recyclables in your recycle cart.

As always, please refer to Groot’s list of approved items before placing them in your recycle cart. Now more than ever, “WHEN IN DOUBT, THROW IT OUT”.

We understand the challenges faced by older adults during this time of restricted activity. Getting groceries, medications and staying connected can be difficult. The Village of Morton Grove offers the below information in an effort to provide alternatives to our senior residents who, along with the rest of us, are forced to change our lifestyles in response to COVID-19 restrictions.
Senior Shopping
The below vendors* offer limited opportunities EXCLUSIVE to senior citizens:

*Please check with the particular location to verify days & times.

In addition, there are services available that will do your shopping for you and deliver the groceries to your home. As long as you have internet access, you may want to look here for on-line grocery shopping options. These are shopping & delivery services that use the local stores you direct them to. Of course, private services like this do charge a little extra for delivery.

View the Illinois Retail Merchants Association (IRMA) website for a complete list.

Medications/ Pharmaceutical Alternatives
The below vendors offer telephone ordering and delivery services (please verify w/ local vendor):
Osco
Credit Card over the phone
$7.99 - Next day deliveryWalgreens
Credit card over the phone
Before noon for same day delivery
No chargeCVS
Free delivery with care pass. Download app or fill out application in store

Senior Engagement Alternatives
Although our senor programming at the Civic Center has been temporarily suspended, our older adult activity coordinator (Mather) continues to offer conversational and engagement opportunities through:
Telephone Topics
With Telephone Topics, you simply call a toll-free number to listen to a wide range of interesting discussions and programs. Click here for a current list of topics and dial-in instructions.

Wellness programs
Participate in live, guided chair yoga or meditation sessions to stretch your body or mind.

Education programs
Learn about history, healthy habits, architecture, and more—it’s easy to learn something new!

Discussion topics
Share a piece of your mind when you join a lively discussion on sports, movies, and other topics.

Music reviews
Listen and learn about opera, early rock ’n’ roll, and other musical genres that get your toes tapping.

Live performances
Enjoy a live vocal performance or master storytelling session in the comfort of your own chair—with no cover charge!
Click here for current schedule.

Virtual Tours

Older adults staying at home may find the following virtual tours interesting:

Take a tour through a museum virtually: https://artsandculture.google.com/explore?hl=en and https://www.louvre.fr/en/visites-en-ligne

Explore other virtual tours:

The Village of Morton Grove continues to provide and prioritize the delivery of essential services during this challenging time.

We hope this, as well as our future community communications, will help.

The Village of Morton Grove also encourages residents to stay informed about COVID-19 through the following sources:
As of March 26, 2020, the Morton Grove Park District’s COVID-19 guidelines, in addition to the closure of all playgrounds, will now include the closure of all basketball courts and tennis courts to discourage large group gatherings. At this time, parks do remain open for walking or jogging as long as people refrain from gathering in groups and maintain the 6-foot social distancing guideline issued by the CDC.
The Morton Grove Public Library is offering expanded access to all the digital books, movies, music, TV shows, and music the Library has to offer from the comfort of your own home. See our Download & Stream page for more.
The Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) is reminding Illinois residents about the Illinois Helpline, a resource for residents who need emotional support or quick answers to questions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Illinoisans can text “TALK” to 55-2020 (or "HABLAR" for Spanish) for the Call4Calm service, or text their questions about services provided by IDHS in communities across the state.
The text line is free of charge and designed to support residents who have questions about services or who are experiencing stress. In addition to the Call4Calm service, the text number can help Illinoisans find help and guidance on other critical issues during the pandemic. Residents can text keywords like "UNEMPLOYMENT," "FOOD," or "SHELTER," to 55-2020 to receive additional information in response.
Once a resident texts “TALK” to the helpline, within 24 hours they will receive a call from a counselor employed by a local community mental health center to provide support. Calls are anonymous. Since Governor Pritzker announced Call4Calm on April 11, 2020, nearly 2,000 individuals have texted the helpline. There are 62 Community Mental Health Centers supporting the Call4Calm service.
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