The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office handled a record 16,049 deaths in 2020, with coronavirus-related deaths accounting for more than half of those cases, according to officials.

A cross section of aldermen — including some of Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s closest allies  — urged her on Sunday to rethink her plan to reopen the Chicago Public Schools for in-person learning, 24 hours before the first teachers must report to school buildings for work.

Noting over the weekend that the holidays may result in lower numbers related to the coronavirus, state health officials announced just under 4,500 new and probable cases of COVID-19 on Sunday.

The U.S. ramped up COVID-19 vaccinations in the past few days after a slower-than-expected start, bringing to 4 million the number of Americans who have received shots, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday.

The Illinois Department of Public Health on Thursday announced an additional 8,009 confirmed and probable coronavirus cases, the highest single-day total in two weeks.

Overworked, underfunded state public health departments are scrambling to patch together plans for administering vaccines. Counties and hospitals have taken different approaches, leading to long lines, confusion, frustration and jammed phone lines. 

The Sinopharm vaccine had already been given to groups such as health care professionals and essential workers under emergency-use guidelines as part of China’s program to inoculate 50 million people before the Lunar New Year holiday in February.

Ten months into quarantines and working from home because of the pandemic, household pets’ lives and relationships with humans have in many cases changed, and not always for the better.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the opioid crisis has worsened in Cook County, with more than 1,500 opiate-related deaths this year. To try and bring these numbers down, some groups see telehealth as an accessible way to bring treatment to people. 

California on Wednesday announced the nation’s second confirmed case of the new and apparently more contagious variant of the coronavirus, offering a strong indication that the infection is spreading more widely in the United States.

Britain became the first country to authorize AstraZeneca’s inexpensive, easy-to-handle COVID-19 vaccine Wednesday, gaining another weapon against the virus amid a resurgence.

More than a half dozen large parties have been shut down by city officials in the past month, even as Chicago remains under a stay-at-home advisory designed to prevent people from contracting COVID-19.

From the pandemic to protests to the power of nature, 2020 has been a year for the history books. We take a look back at the year that was — warts and all.

The first reported U.S. case of the COVID-19 variant that’s been seen in the United Kingdom has been discovered in Colorado, Gov. Jared Polis announced Tuesday, adding urgency to efforts to vaccinate Americans.

Disposable mask dispensers are being installed on 200 buses serving 20 routes, including the No. 56 Milwaukee, No. 91 Austin and No. 77 Belmont. If successful, the program will expand to all bus routes, as well as to rail stations, the CTA said.

Travelers from the Badger State can avoid the 10-day quarantine if they record a negative test for COVID-19 within 72 hours, according to the city’s COVID-19 travel order.