“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.

“We are taking these measures to avoid potential catastrophic impacts later,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Thursday announcing new restrictions in the wake of an increase coronavirus cases.

As officials scramble to cope with a significant increase in the number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus, Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot are at odds over the role that bars and restaurants are playing in fueling the spread.

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.

With confirmed coronavirus cases, positivity rates, hospitalizations and deaths rising statewide, Gov. J.B. Pritzker pleaded with residents to wear a mask. “It takes care of most transmission issues that we have,” he said. 

Mayor Lori Lightfoot warned Chicagoans that the city is experiencing another wave of the coronavirus pandemic, with confirmed cases rising sharply across the city to levels last seen in late May.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker responds to criticism from the president Sunday as state health officials report more than 4,200 new cases of the coronavirus and a slight increase in the statewide test positivity rate to 5.3%.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker warned Illinois residents Friday that the entire state is seeing a surge in confirmed cases of the coronavirus, as the state set a single-day record for new infections and reported 38 deaths linked to the virus.

“This has not been a good week in Chicago,” said Dr. Allison Arwady, urging people to avoid gatherings, wear masks and keep 6 feet of distance from others. 

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle plans to consolidate two clinics into Provident Hospital and change its full-service emergency room to a stand-by emergency department. “We are strengthening Provident Hospital. It is here to stay. Period,” she said.

Thursday’s report from the Labor Department coincides with other recent data that have signaled a slowdown in hiring. The economy is still roughly 10.7 million jobs short of recovering all the 22 million jobs that were lost when the pandemic struck.

With the holidays fast approaching and positivity rates rising throughout the state, health officials released guidelines to help families celebrate safely amid the coronavirus pandemic.  

As temperatures drop and the statewide positivity rate climbs, we discuss the coronavirus pandemic with top public health officials Dr. Ngozi Ezike and Dr. Allison Arwady.

Health officials on Tuesday reported 29 new coronavirus-related deaths in Illinois, bringing the statewide death toll to 9,026 since the first virus-related death was reported on March 17.