The rolling COVID-19 positivity rate for the past seven days was 4.1% as of Monday. It’s the fifth straight day of a rolling positivity rate of 4% or higher after it was below that number for nearly two months.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Wednesday announced the release of grant funding for small businesses affected by the pandemic and warned of potential further shutdowns if case counts continue to rise.

Illinois reported its highest single-day number of new COVID-19 infections in more than two months Friday as the state continued to experience a resurgence of the novel coronavirus disease.

Bars and restaurants in the Metro East now have a curfew and stricter table seating limits to be imposed beginning Tuesday. Data on Sunday showed 8.5% of coronavirus tests were positive in the state's Region 4, which includes Randolph County.

As the state’s rolling COVID-19 test positivity rate increased again Wednesday, Gov. Pritzker and representatives of University of Illinois announced a testing breakthrough they say could eventually allow for greater suppression of new cases.

The unemployment rate in Illinois fell to 11.3% in July as the coronavirus pandemic’s grip on the state’s economy showed signs of easing.

The number of COVID-19-related deaths and the single-day test positivity rate spiked Tuesday as the Illinois Department of Public Health announced an abnormally small number of test results over the previous 24 hours.

Illinois surpassed another grim milestone Thursday as the total number of COVID-19 cases passed the 240,000 mark.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker and his sister Penny Pritzker announced Tuesday that a private fund that was formed to provide relief to communities hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic will wind down its operations after making its fifth and final round of grants.

The statewide COVID-19 test positivity rate hit its lowest point since July 26 on Wednesday as the Illinois Department of Public Health reported 1,337 new cases of the virus among 48,029 test results reported over the previous 24 hours.

Illinois reported another 2,145 cases of COVID-19 on Friday as 56,661 tests were completed over the previous 24 hours, increasing the seven-day average positivity rate to 3.9%.

Pritzker once again stood by a decision not to allow for fall contact sports such as football despite other states’ decisions to let sports proceed. 

While Illinois’ rolling average COVID-19 positivity rates remain lower than surrounding states, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said once again Wednesday it is still too high to resume a level of normalcy beyond mitigations currently in place.

Illinois reported another 2,257 confirmed cases of the virus Thursday among 62,071 test results reported, making for a one-day positivity rate of 3.6%. That kept the rolling seven-day average rate at 3.5% for the sixth day in a row.

Illinois' Region 1 saw a second straight day with a COVID-19 test positivity rate exceeding 8% Tuesday, and the governor’s office announced the region would see increased mitigations starting Saturday, Oct. 3, due to the rising rate of spread.

Illinois' statewide test positivity rate inched above 4% for the first time since early September.

Region 5 of the state's coronavirus plan, which includes Southern Illinois, reached 8% for its COVID-19 positivity rate as of Oct. 10, the latest day for which data were available. Two more days above that number and the region would be due for greater bar and restaurant restrictions.

As statewide COVID-19 case counts and hospitalizations continue to increase, officials on Wednesday warned Illinoisans to take precautions ahead of upcoming holiday seasons.

The Illinois Department of Public Health reported another 69 COVID-19 related deaths Wednesday, a new single-day high since June 17, when there were 84.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker warned Thursday that “we are now headed into a peak that is beyond, potentially, where we were in March and April.”

Through tears, Illinois Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike once again called for widespread use of face coverings Friday after warning of increasing COVID-19 hospitalization numbers that could surpass the peaks of April and May.

Starting Friday, Chicago will be the seventh of 11 regions of the state’s COVID-19 mitigation plan due for increased economic restrictions, including the closure of bars and restaurants for indoor service.

According to the governor, the past week was one of the worst single-week increases in regional positivity across Illinois since the spring, with none of the regions experiencing a decrease in their positivity rates.

As state leaders continue to face pushback from the restaurant industry and even some county and municipal governments regarding COVID-19 mitigation measures, Gov. Pritzker on Tuesday put pressure squarely on the shoulders of local elected officials.

The Illinois Department of Public Health announced another 68 COVID-19-related deaths Tuesday, the highest one-day total since June 17 as hospitalizations once again pushed second-wave highs.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker warned Thursday that additional social and economic restrictions may need to be imposed statewide in the near future if the surge in new COVID-19 cases continues on its current path.

Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration unveiled a new central location for COVID-19 contact tracing data on the Illinois Department of Public Health’s website Friday.

With no signs of slowing, key metrics measuring the spread of COVID-19 — including hospitalizations — continue to push numbers not seen in Illinois since April and May.

IDPH reported Wednesday that 145 people in the state had died of COVID-19 over the previous 24 hours, the highest single-day death toll since the peak of the first wave of the pandemic in May.

Illinoisans should stay home as much as possible, wear face coverings and rethink their Thanksgiving plans as hospitalizations for COVID-19 continue to rise, state officials reiterated Monday.

“Tier 3 boils down to this: if you don’t need to do it, don’t,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said of leaving the home as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to soar.

The statewide COVID-19 case positivity rate dipped to 10.9% Monday on a seven-day rolling average, marking three straight days of decreases which put it at 2.3 percentage points below a Nov. 13 second-wave high.

Despite some slight improvement in key public health metrics over the past week, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said he has no immediate plans to roll back COVID-19 mitigation efforts as he warned of a possible post-Thanksgiving surge.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker said at his daily briefing Tuesday that COVID-19 cases reported today could have come from transmissions that occurred as many as two weeks ago, and potential Thanksgiving exposures will take longer to show up in testing results.

Health officials gave an update on Illinois' COVID-19 vaccine plan Friday with potential federal approval anticipated as early as next week.

While Illinois' COVID-19 infection rates continued to decrease Wednesday, the number of people hospitalized for the disease increased to its highest mark since last Friday.

When the St. Clair County Health Department shut down Reifschneider's Grill & Grape in Freeburg last week for violating a statewide ban on…

More than 100,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in Illinois since the first vaccine was approved for emergency use this month, more than any other state in the nation.

Illinois reported 9,277 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 on Friday, including 126 additional deaths.

Southern Illinois' Region 5 on Monday moved back to COVID-19 guidelines outlined under Phase 4 of the Restore Illinois plan, the third time since Friday that mitigation measures have been loosened in Southern Illinois.