According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cases started to rise the week ending May 18 and have seen a steady incline since. With the start of the new school year right around the corner — just what is the latest COVID-19 guidance?
Public Health
More Than Half of Migrants Forced to Leave City Shelters Immediately Returned, Chicago Officials Say
The acknowledgement that approximately 500 people returned to city shelters after living there for at least two months raises new questions about plans by officials to start evicting families with school-age children from city shelters on Monday.
During the more than hourlong confirmation hearing, Marlene Hopkins was not asked about what she did as the top official from the city’s Buildings Department charged with overseeing the implosion of the smokestack at the former Crawford Power Plant in Little Village.
The measure set for a final vote by the full City Council on April 17 would require officials to detail how many people are evicted from city shelters every week. In addition, officials must report on the type and number of complaints filed by shelter residents twice per month, according to the proposal.
In all, 31 Chicagoans have been diagnosed with measles since March 4.
Edith Tovar, of the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization, said her organization helped approximately 130,000 people submit a claim for damages.
Mayor Brandon Johnson nominated Marlene Hopkins to permanently replace former Buildings Commissioner Matthew Beaudet, whom Johnson fired last month. Hopkins’ nomination must be confirmed by the Chicago City Council.
City health officials did not immediately identify whether the latest people to contract measles are children or adults, nor did they disclose their condition, as they have with all other cases of measles.
Since the first confirmed case of measles was diagnosed in a shelter resident on Friday, approximately 900 residents have been vaccinated, officials said.
A team from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is on its way to Chicago to assist the Chicago Department of Public Health respond to the apparent measles outbreak, Chicago health officials said.
Case of Measles Confirmed in Pilsen Shelter; City Health Officials Ask Residents to Shelter in Place
The child diagnosed with measles “has recovered and is no longer infectious,” according to the Chicago Department of Public Health.
Health officials said they are working to identify and notify people who may have been exposed to measles, including at the facilities where the resident sought medical care.
Ninety percent of the opioid overdose deaths involved fentanyl, according to Cook County’s Medical Examiner’s Office.
COVID-19 hospitalizations up in recent weeks, masks recommended in certain settings
Hospitalizations for COVID-19 were up 22% statewide last week compared to the week before.
Forty-four counties in the state were at an elevated level for COVID-19 hospitalizations, according to CDC data for the week ending Nov. 25. Cook County remains at a low level for COVID-19 hospitalizations.
A new state health report pinpoints racism as a public health crisis while also noting Illinois needs to improve in the areas of maternal and infant health, mental health and substance use disorders.