Stories by Kristen Thometz

“Be safe in all the ways that you can, protect yourself from the heat and protect yourself and all of Chicago from further spread of COVID-19,” Dr. Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, said Friday morning.

Health officials say a Cook County production facility is the “likely cause” of an outbreak of an intestinal illness linked to packaged salads that has sickened more than 200 people across the country.

An analysis of city data shows the majority of Chicago ZIP codes have positivity rates at or below those needed move into phase four, but one has a rate of 15.3%. We discuss metrics and reopening with Chicago’s top doctor.

More than 460 people across the country, including 16 in Illinois, have become ill after coming in contact with poultry in backyard flocks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Teachers, parents and students across Illinois finally have an answer to the question of whether or not classrooms will reopen in the fall — and the answer is yes. But it’s not going to be business as usual.

Testing for COVID-19 involves inserting a swab deep into the nasal cavity. But the virus can also be detected in saliva, and early research by University of Chicago scientists found those less invasive tests to be just as accurate.

CoronaConnects.org seeks to match people across the country with coronavirus-related volunteer opportunities based on interest, location, availability and time commitment.

Next month, the University of Illinois at Chicago will begin testing a vaccine to see if it will prevent people from getting the novel coronavirus or experiencing severe illness from it if they do get it.

As Illinois businesses and schools closed to slow the spread of the coronavirus, daily routines changed. How much of an impact will COVID-19 have on people’s future behaviors?

After six weeks on a ventilator and life-support machine, a 20-year-old woman whose lungs were damaged by COVID-19 received what is believed to be among the first double lung transplants performed on a survivor of the virus.

While schools and nonessential businesses temporarily closed in March, hundreds of child care centers stayed open to care for the children of essential workers. The state is now dedicating millions of dollars toward their financial health.