Chicago Officials Preparing for Peak in COVID-19 Cases

CHICAGO, IL- The next two weeks could determine whether Chicago moves forward with easing more coronavirus restrictions or suffers a setback.

That’s because the city’s decision to lift some restrictions coincided with massive protests against police brutality after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Coronavirus symptoms generally emerge within two weeks, and hospitals are bracing for a possible spike in cases within that time frame.

Dr. Allison Arwady, the city’s public health commissioner, told WBEZ that if a surge in cases begins to overwhelm hospitals, the city may need to reimpose restrictions that were just lifted. But she said there are alternative options. Check out this story to learn what those options are and how hospitals are preparing for the worst.

Today, Illinois officials announced 23 new deaths from COVID-19, bringing the total number of fatalities to 5,924. Officials also announced 658 new cases after 16,099 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours. Illinois has seen a total of 128,415 known cases since the beginning of the pandemic.

Worldwide, deaths from COVID-19 have surpassed 400,000.