Coronavirus
The latest news about the novel coronavirus COVID-19 with a focus on its impact on Chicago and Illinois.
The COVID-19 test positivity rate in Chicago for the week ending July 19 was 9.8%, up from 7.6% the previous week. Hospitalizations also have increased, but not quite at the same rate, officials say.
President experiencing ‘mild symptoms’ and is taking Paxlovid, White House says.
Also facing several criminal charges is Sameer Suhail, owner of a medical supply company, who’s accused of participating in the fraud along with ex-CFO Anosh Ahmed and Loretto’s then-chief transformation officer, Heather Bergdahl.
Those agencies are expected to see big declines in the number of cases federal prosecutors approve in the 2024 fiscal year that ends Sept. 30, according to a federal court tracking program affiliated with Syracuse University.
La compañía, que fue comprada por la firma de capital privado Variant Equity Advisors por $270 millones en 2019, dijo que las operaciones de autobuses continuarán mientras se enfrenta a una venta.
The company, which was purchased by private equity firm Variant Equity Advisors for $270 million in 2019, said bus operations will continue as it undergoes a court-supervised sale of its assets.
The Chicago Transit Authority recorded an average of 1 million weekday riders in May, the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic decimated ridership.
Syed Shaukat Ahmed’s companies were paid more than $30 million by the federal government to provide free COVID-19 test kits to Medicare recipients. He has been charged with health care fraud.
The suit, filed in 2020, claimed students were entitled to partial tuition refunds after the school switched to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Those who qualify will receive at least $25.
The risk to the public remains low, but farmworkers exposed to infected animals are at higher risk, health officials said. As of Wednesday, the virus had been confirmed in 51 dairy herds in nine states.
Dining areas could be set up in curb lanes on Clark from Grand to Kinzie, with vehicles still able to use the middle lanes. Ald. Brendan Reilly is not happy.
Heather Bergdahl, an ex-administrator, allegedly sent checks worth nearly $500,000 to another individual and received thousands in return. The charges derive from an ongoing federal grand jury investigation into the hospital’s COVID-19 vaccination program.
There have been eight cases of invasive meningococcal disease reported in Chicago so far this year, the Chicago Department of Public Health said.
In January, doctors successfully performed lung surgery on Arthur “Art” Gillespie. Doctors said it was the first double-lung transplant at Northwestern on a set of lungs that had been independently damaged by COVID-19 and cancer.
Bicycling grew more in Chicago than in any other major American city since 2019. But bike safety advocates say the city could be doing much more to protect cyclists and make biking even more attractive.
The city has until the end of the year to allocate hundreds of millions of federal dollars or risk losing them.
State senators tasked with clearing Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s appointments are raising concerns over his renomination of Illinois Emergency Management Agency Director Alicia Tate-Nadeau after the Sun-Times last year reported an executive assistant accounted for more than $240,000 in billings.
The transit agency says 29 bus routes will get more service as it tries to reach pre-pandemic service levels.
Dr. Emily Landon of the University of Chicago said tying isolation to symptoms makes sense, but she’s disappointed mask-wearing is not part of the proposed recommendation.
The sponsors, Ald. Bill Conway and Ald. Scott Waguespack, want to avoid a repeat of late 2023, when Mayor Brandon Johnson transferred $95 million in COVID-19 relief without getting the Council’s OK first.
An average of 34 city residents are hospitalized with the virus daily, and COVID-19-related hospitalizations are up nearly 14% over the last week, according to city data.