Gov. J.B. Pritzker announces that the state’s indoor mask mandate will be lifted on Feb. 28 during a press conference on Feb. 9, 2022. (WTTW News)
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Masks will still be required in most Illinois schools as state officials ask an appellate court to reverse a decision by a Sangamon County judge who ended the mask mandate in some Illinois schools, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said.

(WTTW News)
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The rate of COVID-19 vaccinations began growing faster among Chicagoans 18 and older as compared with any other age group, according to city data. 

Students at Chicago Public Schools walk along a hallway in this file photo. (WTTW News)
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Under a new statewide compromise, public school and higher ed employees across Illinois won’t have to expend their sick time if they are forced to miss work due to COVID-19 — as long as they’re fully vaccinated.

(WTTW News)
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The state law, which applies in Chicago as well as the rest of the state, took effect Jan. 1. 

(WTTW News)
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More than 14,000 students and staff within Chicago Public Schools are currently either quarantining or in isolation due to COVID-19, but the district will soon be shortening the amount of time those people need to stay home from school.

Dr. Allison Arwady, the commissioner of the Department of Public Health, addresses the news media on Wednesday Jan. 19, 2021. (Chicago's Mayor's Office)
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Chicago's COVID-19 test positivity peaked at 19.6% on Jan. 1, Arwady said, and hit 12.6% on Tuesday, the lowest rate since Dec. 28, according to city data. 

Students at Chicago Public Schools walk along a hallway in this file photo. (WTTW News)
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Rank-and-file CTU members on Wednesday signed off on the deal, two days after the union’s elected delegates voted to suspend a labor action that saw the vast majority of teachers refusing to work in person amid a spike in COVID-19 cases.

(WTTW News)
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Efforts to use COVID-19 testing to ensure outbreaks could be stamped out before they catch fire was at the heart of the dispute between school officials and union leaders.

(WTTW News)
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“COVID is very real, it’s merciless, and unless you are fully vaccinated, your defenses against it are pretty low,” said Dr. Allison Arwady, the commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health. 

(WTTW News)
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The Chicago Teachers Union announced late Tuesday that its rank-and-file members voted in favor of a measure to halt in-person work and transition to remote work Wednesday as it continues negotiating a deal with the city and school district over additional health and safety measures.

(WTTW News)

Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said it’s rare for children to contract COVID-19 and hospitalizations are similar to that of the flu. “We don’t upend school, we don’t stop for influenza,” she said.

Students at Chicago Public Schools walk along a hallway in this file photo. (WTTW News)
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The Chicago Teachers Union is set to vote Tuesday evening on a labor action that would see its 25,000 members work fully remotely beginning Wednesday. If that measure is approved, CPS CEO Pedro Martinez said he’ll have no choice but to cancel classes.

(WTTW News)
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“I am so pissed off that we have to continuously fight for the basic necessities, the basic mitigations … this makes no sense,” CTU Vice President Stacy Davis Gates said Monday.

Officials are urging the public to get vaccinated and get tested — but many people are reporting challenges in finding tests. (WTTW News)

Officials are urging the public to get vaccinated and get tested — but many people are reporting challenges in finding tests.

Students at Chicago Public Schools walk along a hallway in this file photo. (WTTW News)
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“We’re gonna have to see what happens with omicron, but I do not expect that we will be making plans to move entirely remotely and certainly not for extended periods, even if that were a thing,” Dr. Allison Arwady said Thursday.

(WTTW News)
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Chicago's updated travel advisory includes 42 states, announced Dr. Allison Arwady, the commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health.