UPDATED: The following article is updated with new information from the office of Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker. Illinois has hit a new all-time high for covid numbers, as the seven-day positivity rate hit 12.4 statewide, cases reached 20,800 today, the seven-day daily average went over 16,000 for the first time, and Gov. JB Pritzker is calling on regions to implement their own restrictions as needed. To put the soaring numbers into perspective, previously, a region could be potentially placed under the most restrictive Tier 3 mitigations if it sees a test positivity rate over 12 percent for three... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: Iowa’s covid numbers for infection, deaths and hospitalizations remained in the danger zone again this week, with the omicron variant spreading to 10 Iowa counties, as shutdowns increase nationwide, including in neighboring Illinois. Omicron has now been identified in over three dozen patients in ten Iowa counties, including Black Hawk, Des Moines, Dubuque, Franklin, Jefferson, Johnson, Linn, Polk, Scott and Story counties. The more virulent variant is spiking along with new cases of previous variants, as Iowa Department of Public Health has reported 9,506 positive tests per... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: As Illinois covid numbers hit yet more record highs, Gov. JB Pritzker announced the state will beef up testing and booster vaccine availability, and reinforced new restrictions beginning in January. The governor will increase staffing at vaccination clinics by more than 100 people to administer more free booster shots and vaccinations, and the sites will begin operating six days a week, he said at a press conference today. “I’m announcing this surge staffing to support our local health departments to vaccinate and boost tens of thousands more Illinoisans,” Pritzker said in... Read More

Illinois once again saw its covid numbers skyrocket to a new record, as shutdowns of schools and businesses are starting to seep through the state, and vaccination mandates are coming to the northern part of the state, prompting speculation about another statewide shutdown. For the third time in a week, Illinois covid numbers set a new record high. Almost 19,000 more new cases of covid were confirmed over the last 24 hours, according to figures from the Illinois Department of Public Health, whose data showed 18,942 cases of the virus were diagnosed. The seven day average for the state covid infection... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: Illinois decimated the record for single-day cases of covid over the past 24 hours and the last week, as harsher covid restrictions were announced for Chicago and Northern Illinois counties, more schools and events were postponed, and officials hinted at harsher restrictions coming statewide. Illinois’ one-day covid infection record was shattered yesterday as 18,942 new cases were diagnosed in the last 24 hours, ripping past the old record of 16, 581 set all the way back on Wednesday. The statewide average on cases is 12,573 per day over the past seven days — also a new... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: Tough new covid restrictions in Illinois have been implemented as Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced that after Jan. 3, Chicago will impose a vaccine mandate for bars, restaurants, gyms, and other businesses, requiring anyone over the age of 5 to show proof of vaccination or negative covid test over the past 24 hours. Proof of vaccination or negative covid test will be required at restaurants and bars, entertainment venues where food and beverages are served, sports arenas, concert venues, bowling alleys, movie theaters, and indoor fitness centers. As of yet, other places of... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: Illinois school shutdowns have begun, along with shutdowns of various businesses and performances, and Chicago area businesses are beginning to require vaccination for entry, as covid continues to ravage the state and the omicron variant begins to spread rapidly. Yesterday set the record for the most covid cases in one day since Dec. 1, 2020 as 12,328 new cases of the virus were reported by the Illinois Department of Public Health. Today, Illinois public health officials reported 10,264 new cases and 63 covid-related deaths. The seven-day statewide test positivity rate is 7.6 percent.... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: Illinois covid numbers have ripped up another 20 percent over the past week, omicron is surging around Chicago, statewide healthcare officials are pleading people to be cautious as hospitals are overwhelmed, and events cancellations continue as the possibility of another statewide shutdown looms. Health officials in Cook County, which encompasses Chicago and the surrounding suburbs, are warning that “suspected cases of the omicron variant are rising… and are likely to escalate quickly,” the health department said in a press release. “CCDPH is issuing Increased... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: The omicron covid variant has begun ripping through Iowa, with the number of confirmed cases leaping across seven counties, as for the third week in a row covid numbers have soared across the state, prompting some to wonder if new restrictions including mask mandates and remote learning for schools may be on the way. Omicron has now infected people in Black Hawk, Jefferson, Johnson, Linn, Polk, Scott and Story counties, according to the latest numbers from the Iowa Department of Public Health. The total number of confirmed infections has gone from one to almost two dozen in a little... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: Shutdowns of performances, events and schools have begun to hit Illinois as covid numbers rage “out of control” and the omicron variant begins to make its spread across the state, as Gov. JB Pritzker hints at more restrictions and shutdowns to come. “This is setting up to be a very deadly COVID Christmas and New Years,” Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said Friday in a video press conference. “Hospital bed availability has reached a critically low level, demand on resources is high and the wait times in local emergency departments... Read More