Coronavirus: Essential News

Ilana Diener holds her son, Hudson, 3, during an appointment for a Moderna COVID-19 vaccine trial in Commack, N.Y. on Nov. 30, 2021. Parents hoping to get their youngest children vaccinated against COVID-19 have some encouraging news. Pfizer said Monday, May 23, 2022, that three doses of its vaccines offers strong protection to those under 5.

Chicago gears up to vaccinate kids under 5 against COVID-19 following federal authorization

From how to prepare your kids to where to get vaccinated, the Sun-Times answers parents’ questions.

By Mary Norkol

La asistente médica Tyla Wilson lleva una mascarilla y sujeta un hisopo mientras le realiza una prueba de COVID-19 a Brianna Green, sentada y con mascarilla. | Ashlee Rezin/Archivos Sun-Times

Four more Illinois counties hit high level for COVID-19 transmission, but cases ‘begin to trend downward’

But hospitalizations are still about as high as they’ve been since February, with more than 1,200 beds occupied as of Thursday night.

By Mitchell Armentrout

Terrell Hallom, 15, gets a COVID-19 vaccine last year at an Englewood site. A new study suggests 255 lives could have been saved in Chicago if vaccine coverage had been more uniform across the city.

Coronavirus

Disparities in COVID-19 vaccinations cost 255 lives in Chicago last year

The Alpha and Delta variant waves left 342 Chicagoans dead in less vaccinated parts of the city. That toll could have been 75% lower if more people had been inoculated, University of Chicago Medicine researchers found.

By Mitchell Armentrout

Health care workers put on new personal protective equipment at Roseland Community Hospital in January. Cases are on the rise in Illinois once again.

Coronavirus

Eight Illinois counties hit high risk level for COVID-19 — and Cook County’s not far behind

Cases have been on the rise statewide since mid-March, or a few weeks after Gov. J.B. Pritzker lifted his indoor mask mandate.

By Mitchell Armentrout

Coronavirus

Heading to ‘high’ risk? City, county public health chiefs split in predictions for Chicago area’s COVID-19 future

Masks would be urged for all residents in indoor public spaces in counties that rise to the high risk level. One of Cook County’s top doctors says she doesn’t expect the county to hit that level anytime soon. But Chicago’s Dr. Allison Arwady has said it “could happen potentially even in the next few weeks.”

By Mitchell Armentrout

Daisy Murillo, 20, of North Riverside, receives a Moderna vaccine booster shot against COVID-19 at Cook County’s Forest Park Community Vaccination Site in January. Officials are urging residents to get up to date with COVID boosters as cases rise statewide.

Coronavirus

Bare your arm, cover your face: Officials push COVID-19 boosters, masking as cases hit 3-month high

With cases on the rise statewide, only about 41% of eligible Chicagoans have gotten their recommended COVID-19 booster shot. And almost a quarter of Illinois counties are now at the CDC risk level in which older people and the immunocompromised are urged to mask up indoors.

By Mitchell Armentrout

Preschool teacher Erin Berry helps a student with his face mask during class at Dawes Elementary School at 3810 W. 81st Pl. on the Southwest Side, Monday morning, Jan. 11, 2021.

Coronavirus

Mask up! No mandate, but ‘strongly’ urged for CPS and beyond as COVID-19 risk level rises to ‘medium’ across Chicago area

Two weeks ago, DuPage County became the first of Chicago’s collars to see its COVID-19 risk level move from low (green) to medium (yellow). Now, the entire Chicago area — from Will County north to Lake, all the way west to DeKalb — is seeing yellow.

By Nader Issa and Mitchell Armentrout

People line up for COVID-19 tests in December 2021 in the Humboldt Park neighborhood. Cases are back on the rise across Illinois.

Coronavirus

Mask ask? Some suburbanites advised to cover their faces as COVID-19 risk level rises in Cook, Lake, DuPage counties

Suburban Cook County’s case rate has jumped to 210 per 100,000 residents over the last week, meaning masks are advised indoors for the immunocompromised and people 50 or older.

By Mitchell Armentrout

Masked passengers board an “L” train last week. COVID-19 cases are on the rise across Illinois.

Coronavirus

Highest COVID-19 case count for Illinois in two months

The state public health department has noted that severe cases ending in hospitalization or death have remained very low — though hospital figures are now on the rise.

By Mitchell Armentrout

In 2020, Nurse Jeanette Averett comforts a 56-year-old woman suffering from COVID-19 who was struggling with anxiety because of her non-invasive ventilator at Roseland Community Hospital on the Far South Side. “COVID has taken a terrible toll on the health and well-being of our city’s residents particularly those who are Black and Latinx,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Monday in a statement.

Chicago

Life expectancy gap widens among Black and white Chicagoans during first year of pandemic; Latinos suffer steepest drop

COVID-19 deaths drove much of the change but wasn’t the leading factor for it. The deadly virus was second to heart disease deaths — which increased with other chronic diseases like diabetes.

By Manny Ramos

A person submits a COVID-19 test sample earlier this year at Chicago’s federal courthouse. Cases are on the rise statewide.

Coronavirus

COVID-19 risk level increases to ‘medium’ in DuPage County as cases rise statewide

Three other Illinois counties have also seen their risk level elevated from “low” to “medium” under the latest CDC guidelines. The entire state was in the “low” category until about a month ago when coronavirus cases began to rebound.

By Mitchell Armentrout

Passengers walk off a train at the Clark and Lake CTA station on Tuesday, before Gov. J.B. Pritzker lifted the mask mandate. COVID-19 cases are on the rise across the state.

Coronavirus

Illinois COVID case rise ramps up — but ‘different than what we were seeing earlier,’ officials say

Illinois is now averaging 2,560 cases per day over the past week, a rate that has shot up 138% in the past month. Hospital admissions have also been creeping up. About 39 COVID-positive Illinoisans have checked into hospital beds each day over the past week, a 30% increase since April 1.

By Mitchell Armentrout

People line up for COVID-19 tests in December in the Humboldt Park neighborhood. Cases are on the rise in Illinois again.

Coronavirus

Rising COVID-19 cases prompt warnings for Illinoisans ‘to remain vigilant and remain up to date’ on vaccine shots

The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 3,340 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, the highest daily count in two months and the latest red flag in the state’s three-week upswing in infections.

By Mitchell Armentrout

Medical assistant Cassandra Munoz checks a patient’s vitals in the hallway, as no rooms were open that January day in the Emergency Department at Roseland Community Hospital on the Far South Side.

Coronavirus

State public health officials move away from ‘outdated’ COVID testing positivity rate in favor of hospital metrics

The change in coronavirus data reporting follows new guidelines set by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which place more emphasis on hospitalizations and case rates per 100,000 residents.

By Mitchell Armentrout

A person submits a COVID-19 test earlier this year at Chicago’s federal courthouse. Cases are on the rise again in Illinois.

Coronavirus

Illinois COVID-19 cases rising: ‘Critically important’ for immunocompromised to get vaccinated, boosted

Coronavirus cases have increased in Chicago by 27% since last week. And for the first time in about a month, four southern Illinois counties have hit the “high transmission” threshold set by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, meaning masks are recommended for people gathering indoors in those downstate areas.

By Mitchell Armentrout

Chicago Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady

Coronavirus

Chicago COVID-19 cases on the rise, but Arwady says city should ‘be able to evade a very large surge’

Cases have been on an incline since March 21, but it’s still “nothing alarming at this point,” Chicago Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said of the mini-spike that’s being driven by the BA.2 subvariant.

By Mitchell Armentrout

Chicago Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady speaks at a City Hall news conference March 22. Cases are up in the city, but nowhere near levels seen at the height of the Omicron surge.

Coronavirus

Chicago COVID-19 cases up 34% in a week, but city still ‘in good control,’ top doc says

Case counts have remained relatively flat across most of the state, but the average seven-day positivity rate is at the highest point seen in a month. COVID deaths across the state have continued to plummet. The city is averaging less than one viral death per day.

By Mitchell Armentrout

Nurse Alma Abad fixes an IV flow and attempts to make sure a patient, a 59-year-old woman with COVID-19, is comfortable in the Intensive Care Unit at Roseland Community Hospital on the Far South Side, Wednesday morning, Jan. 5, 2022.

Coronavirus

Statewide ICU admissions for COVID lowest since early days of pandemic, but cases creeping up in city

The low ICU total is just one facet of the state’s broad improvement in COVID-19 metrics over the past month.

By Mitchell Armentrout

Dr. Allison Arwady listens as Mayor Lori Lightfoot speaks to reporters, during a press conference at City Hall last month.

Coronavirus

Pandemic progress report: Chicago in ‘much better place’ now than ‘any other point’ — but don’t ditch those masks just yet

Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady advised Chicagoans to enjoy the sense of normalcy — but to be ready for mitigations to return in case of another surge. Arwady added any such move would just be “temporary,” and “hopefully, it’s not something we’ll need again.”

By Mitchell Armentrout

With the Washington Monument in the background, people look at white flags that were part of artist Suzanne Brennan Firstenberg’s temporary art installation, “In America: Remember,” in remembrance of Americans who have died of COVID-19, on the National Mall in Washington last September.

Coronavirus: Essential News

How families of COVID-19 victims can get federal funeral assistance from FEMA

The federal government has provided over $2 billion to help cover funeral costs for more than 300,000 families of people and is trying to reach more who are eligible for the aid.

By Zeke Miller | AP

Gov. J.B. Pritzker adjusts his face mask as he speaks during a news conference last summer. COVID-19 metrics remained low in Illinois during the first week since Pritzker lifted his indoor mask mandate.

Coronavirus

Illinois COVID-19 free fall still on as masks come off

Average daily cases fell 20% statewide in the days after Gov. J.B. Pritzker lifted the indoor mask mandate.

By Mitchell Armentrout

A congregant receives the imposition of ashes from Father Tom Hurley at Old St. Patrick’s Catholic Church on the Near West Side on Ash Wednesday last year.

Chicago

Church leaders to hit the streets for Ash Wednesday ‘to meet people’ where they are

A coalition of Christian churches will also observe Ash Wednesday by launching a “40 Days of Peace” campaign in Pilsen.

By Manny Ramos

Commissioner Ken Meyer and Dr. Jennifer Seo sit down for lunch Monday with the owners of The Dearborn restaurant, sisters Clodagh and Amy Lawless.

Coronavirus

Shoppers, diners celebrate lifting of mask mandates

Customers at grocery stores and restaurants rejoice; “People are feeling liberated,” said one restaurant manager.

By Manny Ramos, Josephine Stratman, and 1 more

Gov. J.B. Pritzker discusses the lifting of the mask mandate during a visit to at Navy Pier on Monday.

Coronavirus

Summer in the city? COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations — and masking — looking more like July than February

“Things seem to be pretty good. Hospitalizations are way down. Cases are way down, and we hope we can sustain that through the spring and the summer and frankly, forevermore,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said at Navy Pier.

By Taylor Avery

A runner runs along the Lakefront path near North Avenue Beach last month. Starting next week, residents won’t need to go outdoors to take off their masks.

Coronavirus

March mildness? COVID-19 cases down 94% from Omicron peak as masks in Illinois come off next week

Under new CDC guidelines, masks are still recommended in 21 counties across southern and central Illinois, but not in any part of the Chicago area.

By Mitchell Armentrout

A man wearing a mask enters a public building.

Coronavirus

With city COVID mandates going away, here’s what some businesses plan to do starting Monday

“We are going to go with the city guidelines because we’ve trusted the experts, and if they say it is OK, we just have to trust that,” said a restaurant owner who’s planning to drop all restrictions this week.

By Manny Ramos

Republicans file out of the House chamber on Thursday after a vote to remove them for ignoring a rule requiring them to wear masks.

Springfield

Bare-faced battle: Nine Republicans ousted from Illinois House for not wearing masks after heated debate

Democrats accused the nine maskless GOP lawmakers of wasting time on political theatrics, but the Republicans blasted the Democrats as hypocrites knuckling under the “tyrannical rule” of Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

By Taylor Avery

Chicago Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady, pictured at a Jan. 4 news conference.

Politics

City’s top doctor ‘very optimistic’ — but not committed — to lifting Chicago’s mask mandate along with state on Feb. 28

Chicago Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said city officials are following the same metrics they have been throughout the pandemic, but they might ease up a bit to avoid creating confusion when Illinois’ mask mandate ends Feb. 28.

By Mitchell Armentrout

Gov. J.B. Pritzker gives a COVID-19 update to reporters in the Blue Room at the Thompson Center in February,

Coronavirus

Maskless March: Pritzker to lift Illinois’ indoor mask mandate for most public areas Feb. 28 — but not yet for schools

Masks won’t be required in grocery stores, restaurants and other gathering points, but they’ll still be required in hospitals, on mass transit and some other settings, including schools. The Chicago and Cook County public health departments indicated the city and suburbs would follow the state’s lead.

By Mitchell Armentrout and Taylor Avery

Gov. J.B. Pritzker gives an update on COVID-19 at the Thompson Center in October.

Coronavirus

Face off? Pritzker slams judge for masks-in-schools ruling — but GOP rivals accuse governor of hiding from truth

“The judge has created a tremendous amount of confusion, even in the way she wrote her decision,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said. But Republican challenger Gary Rabine argued, “This chaos is the sole responsibility of failed Governor, J.B. Pritzker.”

By Taylor Avery and David Struett