In late January 2020, a 60-year-old woman became the first person in Chicago confirmed to have contracted coronavirus. Since then, the COVID-19 pandemic has become a defining story for this age, both in the city and around the world. Below, find Sun-Times reporting from the last two years on the virus, government politics, vaccines, school closures and more.
Coronavirus in Chicago, Illinois
Sun-Times reporting on the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on Chicago’s present and future
749
Total Updates Since
October 16, 2005 06:00 AM
October 16, 2005 06:00 AM
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The turnaround has been especially pronounced in Chicago, where cases, hospitalizations and deaths are all down by more than 40% since last week.
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The surge is still being felt sharply in intensive care units across Illinois, which are still 88% full. And with four days left in the month, the state has suffered almost as many COVID deaths in January (2,651) as it did over the previous three months combined (2,941).
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While deaths “still are quite high” in Chicago at a rate of about 19 per day, other numbers suggest relief could be on the way, Chicago Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said.
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The state has averaged 107 deaths per day over the past week, a stretch that saw Cook County lose a total of 425 residents to the virus — the worst week since mid-November 2020.
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While cases and hospitalizations are falling, Illinois is still losing 109 lives on average each day. About 14 of every 109 live in the city, the vast majority unvaccinated. “Let me be very clear: There are still more than 200 Chicagoans being newly admitted [to hospitals] every day with COVID-19,” said Chicago Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady.
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“We are not out of the woods, and we need people to be very careful over these next few weeks,” Chicago Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said. Gov. J.B. Pritzker observed, “I am cautiously optimistic about this decline, but there are an awful lot of people still battling for their lives in hospitals across Illinois.”
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Even though Omicron generally seems to cause milder infections and doctors have gotten better at treating COVID, the sheer volume of cases means there is more agony on the way, experts say. “We’ve been on this ride before. We know how this works,” University of Chicago’s Dr. Emily Landon said.
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With coronavirus hospitalizations at an all-time high across Illinois, experts say it’s critical for residents to continue following basic precautions — and to stop dismissing the most infectious variant yet as “mild.”
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More Illinoisans are testing positive for COVID-19 each day than ever before — an average of 32,501 per day over the last week — and “unfortunately, right now, today, the hospitals are bearing the brunt,” Illinois Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said. The spike is also resulting in more deaths, with 144 on Wednesday alone, the worst daily toll in over a year.
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“I will continue to work from home while following the CDC guidelines for isolation,” the mayor said in a statement. “This is an urgent reminder for folks to get vaccinated and boosted as it’s the only way to beat this pandemic.”