Illinois covid numbers slid down heavily, but officials say restrictions will still remain and the mask mandate is staying in place, prompting some Illinois residents to wonder when the restrictions will finally be lifted. On the side of good news, the number of cases, hospitalizations, and fatalities is continuing to move downwards, although to put things into perspective, the numbers remain high overall. Illinois Department of Public Health reported 9,462 new COVID cases — down heavily from last week’s averages over 20,000 a day — and 81 related deaths Monday. The seven-day... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: Illinois covid numbers, while still high, are on the decline, prompting speculation as to whether the statewide mask mandate could be removed in the coming months if numbers continue to fall. According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, there were 20,483 new confirmed and probable cases of covid-19 reported in the last 24 hours statewide, with 36 new deaths. The state is averaging 27,795 new cases of covid per day, a 14.4 percent reduction from the high of 32,501 daily cases on Jan. 12, according to IDPH data. The state’s positivity rate on all tests currently stands... Read More

Illinois set a new record for covid hospitalizations, with 7,353 Illinois hospital patients infected with the virus and 1,152 in intensive care unit beds, according to the latest data from the Illinois Department of Public Health. In addition, the cases per day set a new record with 32,173 per day over the past week, and school closings continued to rise this week as districts around the state went to remote learning and Chicago’s teachers remained out of classrooms. The IDPH reported 28,110 new confirmed and probable cases of covid over the last 24 hours, an increase from the previous day.... Read More

The latest covid-19 numbers in Illinois remain overwhelmingly high, but have scaled down a bit from record highs last week. However, in response to the general rapid rise in cases, more schools statewide are continuing to go to remote learning. The new numbers released today by the Illinois Department of Public Health showed 19,237 cases on Monday, the lowest number since Jan. 2. The state is now averaging 31,647 new cases per day, the first time the number has gone down since Dec. 27. The IDPH also reported 34 deaths in the last 24 hours, a statewide positivity rate of 13.4 percent on all tests... Read More

Dozens of Illinois schools have moved to remote learning, and more are joining them this week, as covid infections, hospitalizations, and deaths reached skyrocketing new highs over the last week. Thousands of students and staff in the Chicagoland area are now in remote learning or going to remote this week, and a group of Quad-Cities area schools — those of the Prophetstown Lyndon Tampico school district — have moved to remote learning and canceled boys basketball due to the massive surge of covid cases in their district, and they might not be the last, as Moline High School... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: Illinois continues to storm into worse covid territory, setting new records again for covid infections and hospitalizations, as Chicago teachers vote to go to remote learning and other schools around the state begin to lean towards closing schools and going remote in the midst of the massive covid surge. Illinois set new records for covid cases and hospitalizations Wednesday, with 32,279 new cases of the virus, 79 covid-related deaths and 6,842 covid-positive individuals hospitalized across the state, according to the newest numbers from the Illinois Department of Public Health.... Read More

As Illinois smashes records for covid hospitalizations and pediatric hospitalizations, and the omicron variant crushes the state, calls are getting louder for Illinois schools to close and switch to remote learning. The Chicago Teachers Union is voting today on teachers possibly calling for a remote learning switch as soon as tomorrow. The call for a vote was made by several teachers concerned for their own health as well as the health of their loved ones, given they would be going back to teach amidst this massive surge in cases. If the CTU votes to go remote, they would do so until a later date... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: Illinois hit a new record with 6,294 hospitalized with Covid-related illness as of yesterday — the highest number of hospitalizations since the pandemic began — infections continued to soar, and new restrictions began today in and around Chicago, while some schools continued to announce they’ll start this new semester with remote learning. Illinois Department of Public Health officials reported 20,866 new covid cases and 30 related deaths Monday, with a daily average of 23,069 new Covid cases and an average 59 Covid-related deaths per day over the past week. The... Read More

As covid-19 variants slam the state with new records for infections, new covid restrictions begin around some areas of Illinois on Monday, Jan. 3, and some schools are planning on beginning their semesters this week on remote learning schedules. For the first time, Chicago as well as suburban Cook County — areas in regions 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 —  will require proof of vaccination for many indoor public spaces for anyone over the age of 5. The proof of full vaccination will be to dine inside or visit gyms or entertainment venues where food and drinks are being served. Anyone 5 and older must... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: Illinois has absolutely decimated the daily record for covid cases, with a stunning 30,386 cases over the last 24 hours, according to numbers just released by the Illinois Department of Public Health. Given that children’s cases and hospitalizations are likewise spiking, some are speculating about whether or not Illinois schools will return as scheduled to in-person learning next week, or if they’ll go to remote learning at least until the latest surge has passed. The whopping 30,386 cases over the past 24 hours obliterated the previous record of 21,131 in one day set... Read More