85 Confirmed Cases Of Coronavirus In Frankfort Area

FRANKFORT, IL — The new coronavirus outbreak in Illinois and across the country is having vast impacts in Frankfort, including the closure of several local businesses, the library, park district and schools.

As of Friday, the number of cases in Illinois is 56,055 and 2,457 people have died from the coronavirus. A total of 284,688 tests have been performed in Illinois. According to the Will County Department of Health, there are 2,510 confirmed cases in the county, and 153 county residents have died.

As of May 1, the Illinois Department of Public Health is also reporting there have been 508 tests performed with a total of 85 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in ZIP code 60423. In nearby Lincoln-Way ZIP codes confirmed case numbers include: 76 cases in 60448 (Mokena), 55 cases in 60451 (New Lenox) and 23 cases in 60442 (Manhattan).

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Gov. J.B. Pritzker has also extended the stay-at-home order until May 30. Essential businesses will operate as they have been, but there are some changes with the order as of May 1, including: some state parks will reopen; greenhouses, plant nurseries and garden center can reopen as essential businesses; pet grooming services can reopen; and nonessential retail businesses can reopen to fulfill telephone or online orders via delivery or curbside pick-up.

Here are the latest local updates from Frankfort:

In response to low ridership due to the coronavirus crisis, Metra will temporarily further reduce the schedules on its three least busy lines, the Heritage Corridor, SouthWest Service and North Central Service, starting Monday, May 4. MORE.

>>>See statewide updates and news here

SCHOOLS

Schools across Illinois, and in Frankfort, will be closed for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year. MORE.

Lincoln-Way District 210 shared on its Facebook page that graduation has been postponed until the weekend of July 17-19. The last day of remote learning for the seniors will be May 15, while the rest of the school will continue remote learning until May 21. MORE.

Summit Hill District 161 has postponed eighth grade graduation and canceled all May extracurricular and co-curricular activities, including the eighth grade banquet and eighth grade trip to Great America. MORE.

At Lincoln-Way East High School in Frankfort, graduation has been postponed, but the district has canceled prom for junior and seniors. The decision left the senior class devastated, senior Caellin Flaherty told Patch. Flaherty and four of his classmates — Carolyn Whalen, David Vargas, Sophia Martello and Annie Brtis — have now taken the planning of prom into their own hands. MORE.

Frankfort Patch has created a compilation of the class of 2020 high school graduates. Many proms and graduations have been postponed, and we know many high school seniors are feeling sadness about missing these milestone high school events. We hope that this will give the community a way to share their pride in our Class of 2020 high school graduates. MORE.

BUSINESSES

Frankfort Patch has created a local business directory by gathering information from local businesses. MORE.

Since NAWS Humane Society of Illinois in Mokena had to close to the public in March, it has been in danger of closing permanently. The society has now secured a loan that will get the society through mid-June. MORE.

Usually, a dance studio is rarely empty, filled with various dancers in classes or lessons. Now, with nonessential businesses closed due to the coronavirus, Street of Dreams Dance Studio in Mokena has had to change operations while still teaching its dancers. MORE.

HOSPITALS

The amount of coronavirus inpatients at Silver Cross Hospital has once again decreased slightly overall in the past week. As of noon Wednesday, the hospital said it has 52 inpatients who have tested positive for the coronavirus and 12 persons under investigation. MORE.

A Lemont woman was released from Silver Cross Hospital April 24 after five weeks of battling the coronavirus. Halina Zabinski, 59, was the first coronavirus inpatient at the hospital when she was admitted in mid-March. MORE.

CANCELLATIONS/CLOSURES

The Diocese of Joliet has suspended all normal religious services until further notice. The Islamic Foundation of the Southwest Suburbs has also suspended its Friday services. MORE.

The Frankfort Park District has announced that all its parks are now closed. Playgrounds, the Bark Park, basketball courts, tennis courts, athletic fields, open green space and hard play surfaces are all closed. The use of paths is now allowed and fishing is permitted in groups of two, the park district said May 1.

The Frankfort Public Library is closed until further notice. You should not return any checked out materials; all due dates have been extended through June 3.

The village has canceled several events, including the spring season of the Frankfort Country Market through May 31.