Nearly 2,000 new cases of coronavirus and 28-virus related deaths were reported Thursday by state health officials, as Gov. J.B. Pritzker said eight Illinois regions are making progress in slowing the spread of the virus.

With the race for a vaccine underway and President Donald Trump claiming one could be available before the November election, Gov. J.B. Pritzker reiterated Wednesday that safety would guide the state’s reopening.

With people spending more time outdoors to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the state’s top doctor is urging people to protect themselves from the mosquito-borne West Nile virus.

The Chicago City Council voted 46-4 Wednesday to ban the sale of most flavored liquid nicotine products in Chicago, after an effort to prohibit the sale of all flavored tobacco products failed to advance.

More than 1,650 organizations throughout the state have received grants through the fund, which distributed $7.5 million in its final round of funding to organizations primarily serving Black and Latino communities.

Starting Friday, Chicago’s quarantine order will apply to 21 states, but visitors from California and Puerto Rico will no longer be required to quarantine for two weeks, officials announced Tuesday. 

Some college campuses are seeing alarming spikes in the number of COVID-19 cases. Many schools have launched widespread testing efforts, but reports of student parties and gatherings have led to increased restrictions.

More than 2,800 new cases of the coronavirus and 23 deaths were reported Saturday by state health officials, bringing totals to 248,177 cases and 8,166 deaths since the first confirmed infection was reported in the state in late January.

The fear is that backyard parties, crowded bars and other gatherings will cause the coronavirus to come surging back. “I look upon the Labor Day weekend really as a critical point,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious-disease expert.

The Illinois Department of Public Health reported thousands of new cases of the coronavirus after fixing an issue that affected the reporting of tests and created a backlog, which has now been cleared.

The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted both the importance of access to health care and disparities in access to it, which is why residents who live near Mercy Hospital and Medical Center say they’re furious about its plans to close next year.

A letter from federal health officials instructing states to be ready to begin distributing a vaccine by Nov. 1 — two days before the election — has met, not with exhilaration, but with suspicion among some public health experts.

Spurred by a surge in vaping by teens, the measure set for a vote by the City Council’s Committee on Health and Human Relations would ban the sale of all flavored nicotine products — except those that taste and smell like tobacco, according to the proposal.

The federal Bureau of Prisons announced it will resume visits for inmates at its 122 facilities beginning Oct. 3, though these meetings will include several safety precautions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Illinois health officials are stressing the need to wear masks properly, covering the mouth and nose, and social distance during gatherings this weekend as positivity rates continue to rise throughout the state.

Antibodies that people make to fight the new coronavirus last for at least four months after diagnosis and do not fade quickly, as some earlier reports suggested, scientists have found.