“This amount of disease in our community, it’s hard to think you could go anywhere and not be exposed,” said Dr. Ngozi Ezike, the state’s top doctor.

“Local officials who are not doing the right thing are going to be the ones responsible for our rates of infection going through the roof,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Tuesday.

If you plan to vote in person on Election Day, state health officials have some requests. “Don’t forget to wear a mask and keep your distance,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Monday.

For three days in a row, state health officials reported record highs in the number of new COVID-19 cases in Illinois. That streak ended Sunday but the state’s positivity rate crept up to 8%.

State health officials reported 7,899 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, the third consecutive day in which Illinois saw its highest number of new infections within a 24-hour period since the coronavirus pandemic hit the state.

“It’s unfortunate,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Friday. “Look, this disease is unrelenting, it doesn’t care about what the location is and what we’re trying to do here is to limit the cases, the hospitalizations and the deaths.”

Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued a grave warning on Thursday as Illinois officials reported 6,363 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, telling residents that the pandemic has entered the most dangerous phase since the spring.

Nine of the state’s 11 regions have triggered the state’s fail-safe metrics designed to stop the spread of the coronavirus, with the addition of much of West-Central Illinois, including Springfield and Quincy, on Thursday.

By the end of the week, Chicago and the surrounding suburbs will be operating under tightened rules designed to stop the spread of the coronavirus, including a suspension of indoor services at bars and restaurants.

New restrictions for Chicago begin Friday. “For a time in late summer, Chicago seemed to have this more under control than other regions in Illinois, but that’s no longer the case,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said.

Starting Wednesday, indoor service at bars and restaurants will be suspended in suburban Cook County and the Metro East region of the state due to rising coronavirus positivity rates.

A day after reporting a record number of new COVID-19 cases over a 24-hour period in Illinois, state health officials said another 4,000-plus residents had become infected with the virus.

“The way we work, the way we live, the way we play have all changed,” Dr. Ngozi Ezike, the state’s top doctor, said Friday. “The harsh reality is that the sacrifices we’ve made and that we continue to make do not have a future expiration date.”

Speaking on a day when Illinois reported nearly 5,000 new COVID-19 cases, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the state will act to punish businesses and establishments that fail to abide by mandated coronavirus mitigation requirements.

State health officials on Wednesday reported 69 coronavirus-related deaths – the highest number in a single day since June, when Illinois was coming off its initial peak in COVID-19 infections.

Starting Friday, indoor service at bars and restaurants will halt in DuPage, Kane, Kankakee and Will counties due to rising coronavirus positivity rates. But Gov. J.B. Pritzker says he is ruling out another stay-at-home order at this time.