Limited indoor dining and drinking is set to resume in Chicago and suburban Cook County on Saturday under Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s revised plan to slow the spread of COVID-19, according to data released Friday by the Illinois Department of Public Health.

The state of Illinois is expanding vaccine eligibility beginning Monday, meaning school-based staff and other front-line employees will be able to start getting inoculated

The Southwest Side community is home to many essential workers and has been a hot spot for the coronavirus throughout the pandemic.

Metrics. Warnings. Phases. Tiers. What does it all mean? We break it all down.

Limited indoor dining and drinking is set to resume in Chicago under Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s revised plan to slow the spread of COVID-19, according to data released Thursday by the Illinois Department of Public Health.

The COVID-19 vaccines rolling out in the United States, the United Kingdom and other parts of the world so far require two shots given a few weeks apart. 

The 10 orders signed by Biden are aimed at jump starting his national COVID-19 strategy to increase vaccinations and testing, lay the groundwork for reopening schools and businesses, and immediately increase the use of masks — including a requirement that Americans mask up for travel. 

Since March, city inspectors have conducted more than 8,000 investigations and cited 416 businesses for violating COVID-19 regulations, officials said.

“My word for you is patience,” Dr. Allison Arwady, the commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, said Thursday. “I know a lot of you will be frustrated.”

The advisory, which has now been extended by the mayor three times, is scheduled to be in effect until two days before Chicago Public Schools elementary school students are scheduled to go back to in-person class.

The new sites will provide vaccinations to health care workers this week and will begin vaccinating residents ages 65 and older as well as front-line essential workers starting Monday.

The city of Chicago’s tentative vaccine distribution plan estimates that there will not be enough COVID-19 vaccine available for all Chicagoans ages 16 and older until May 31, the city’s top doctor announced Monday.

The coronavirus is becoming more genetically diverse, and health officials say the high rate of new cases is the main reason. Each new infection gives the virus a chance to mutate as it makes copies of itself, threatening to undo the progress made so far to control the pandemic.

Back in March, a lot of people faced their first weekend of coronavirus lockdown with no idea of how they would fill the hours. How one local family put a creative spin on stay-at-home entertainment.

Poverty is not just an urban issue. We speak with Lake County resident Gary Ladehoff, who is featured in WTTW’s new documentary series “Firsthand: Living in Poverty,” and Maggie Morales of the Lake County Community Foundation.

Illinois will soon begin the next phase of its COVID-19 vaccination effort, extending doses to residents ages 65 and older as well as essential front-line workers. The rollout is again prompting officials to urge residents get the vaccine once it becomes available to them.