U.S. health officials on Friday dropped a controversial piece of coronavirus guidance and said anyone who has been in close contact with an infected person should get tested.

Chicago health officials will continue to recommend that anyone exposed to someone diagnosed with the coronavirus be tested for COVID-19, despite new guidance from the CDC that ignited a firestorm of controversy.

Eight Cook County residents were among the 24 deaths reported by Illinois health officials Thursday as the state nears 8,000 virus-related deaths and more than 227,000 cases of COVID-19.

As many as 215,000 more people than usual died in the U.S. during the first seven months of 2020. And half the dead were people of color — Blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans and, to a marked degree unrecognized until now, Asian Americans.

Racial disparities in the U.S. coronavirus epidemic extend to children, according to two sobering government reports released Friday. 

Nearly 400 people in 34 states, including 10 in Illinois, have become ill with a strain of the bacterial disease linked to red onions from a major California producer, according to a food safety alert from the CDC.

Through the use of aggressive strategies and widespread testing, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office was able to successfully mitigate the spread of COVID-19 inside the Cook County Jail, according to a new study.

Federal health officials won’t revise their coronavirus guidelines for reopening schools despite criticism from President Donald Trump, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. 

The nation’s top public health agency on Thursday revamped its list of which Americans are at higher risk for severe COVID-19 illness, adding pregnant women and removing age alone as a factor.

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.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted the guidelines Friday, along with a second set for organizing and attending big gatherings such as concerts, sporting events, protests and political rallies.

Cloth face coverings should be washed after each use. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shares tips on how to get yours squeaky clean. 

The Trump administration is reviewing proposed new guidelines for how restaurants, schools, churches and businesses can safely reopen as states look to gradually lift their coronavirus restrictions.

Concerns about the new coronavirus have unleashed a cleaning frenzy and, along with it, a rise in reports of exposure to household cleaning products.

Sharing a meal, attending a funeral and celebrating a birthday. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, these otherwise innocuous activities can result in the spread of the highly contagious virus, according to a new report.

No sewing machine? No problem. The surgeon general demonstrates how to make a no-sew cloth mask.