State health officials are now recommending masks in public indoor spaces for Lake and McHenry counties after the CDC upgraded the two counties to “high community level” for COVID-19. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) rated 15 Illinois counties, including Lake and McHenry, as having a high COVID-19 community level on Thursday. The […]
Tag: coronavirus
Posted inLocal News
CDC recommends masks in Lake County for high-risk people due to medium ‘community level’ COVID-19
The CDC is recommending masks for the elderly and the immunocompromised after Lake County was upgraded to “medium community level” of COVID-19 on Friday. The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced on Friday that 24,646 new cases of COVID-19 and 46 deaths were reported since last Friday. As of Thursday night, 732 people were […]
Posted inState News
Attorney expects ‘inconsistent’ rulings in vaccine mandate challenges moving through the courts
(The Center Square) – With the latest lawsuit against vaccine and testing mandates coming from dozens of corrections employees, the attorney carrying the case worries elections could get in the way of bringing finality to the issue. Attorney Thomas DeVore has secured temporary restraining orders against COVID-19 vaccine or testing mandates in schools, including Chicago […]
Posted inState News
IDPH issues warning that COVID-19 cases are slowly rising in many areas of Illinois
The Illinois Department of Public Health issued a warning Thursday about COVID-19 case rates that are “slowly rising in many areas of the state.” The state health department said that Illinois residents should be “paying close attention to conditions in their local communities and staying up-to-date on their vaccination status.” “While hospitalizations and deaths tied […]
Posted inState News
Illinois to shut down all community-based COVID-19 testing sites due to sharp drop in demand
After over 1.5 million COVID-19 tests at ten community-based testing sites in Illinois, officials are shutting them down as demand sharply drops. The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced on Friday that operations at all ten community-based COVID-19 testing sites will end on March 31. The drive-thru sites were established in April 2020. Testing […]
Posted inLocal News
Health department closing McHenry County COVID-19 call center due to ‘steady decline’ in calls
The McHenry County Department of Health said they are shutting down their COVID-19 call center due to a decline in the demand for assistance. The call center was launched in February 2021 and helped McHenry County residents in scheduling COVID-19 vaccination and testing appointments for those with accessibility barriers. The call center, which will no […]
Posted inState News
Head of Illinois Department of Public Health stepping down, governor announces
Dr. Ngozi Ezike, the director of Illinois’ health department and face of regular COVID-19 updates, will be stepping down from her post this month, Gov. JB Pritzker announced. Pritzker made the announcement Tuesday afternoon during a COVID-19 press conference at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. “For over three years, Dr. Ngozi Ezike has served […]
Posted inState News
Pritzker lifting school mask mandate on Monday after Illinois Supreme Court declines to hear his appeal in lawsuit
Gov. JB Pritzker will remove Illinois’ school mask mandate effective Monday after the Illinois Supreme Court declined to take up his appeal in a lawsuit filed against the state’s school COVID-19 measures. Friday evening’s order by the Illinois Supreme Court canceled the Sangamon County Circuit Court’s restraining order against the governor’s mandates, but the attorney […]
Posted inState News
Lilly’s new COVID-19 antibody drug to begin being distributed in Illinois
A new monoclonal antibody treatment designed to keep people diagnosed with COVID-19 out of the hospital is beginning to be distributed in Illinois, health officials said. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an emergency use authorization on February 11 for a new monoclonal antibody called bebtelovimab. Bebtelovimab will join another monoclonal antibody treatment, […]