COVID-19 pandemic in Illinois

COVID-19 pandemic in Illinois
DiseaseCOVID-19
Virus strainSARS-CoV-2
LocationIllinois, United States
First outbreakWuhan, Hubei, China
Index caseChicago
Arrival dateJanuary 24, 2020
(5 years, 6 months, 1 week and 6 days)
Confirmed cases4,139,537 [1]
Recovered98% (recovery rate)
Deaths
36,870
Government website
Illinois Department of Public Health: Coronavirus Disease 2019

The COVID-19 pandemic began in the U.S. state of Illinois on January 24, 2020, when a woman in Chicago, who had just returned from the pandemic's place of origin in Wuhan, Hubei, China, tested positive for the virus.[2] This was the second case of COVID-19 in the United States during the pandemic. The woman's husband was diagnosed with the disease a few days later, the first known case of human-to-human transmission in the United States. Community transmission was not suspected until March 8, when a case with no connection to other cases or recent travel was confirmed.[3]

In mid-March, as the number of known cases rose into the double digits, Governor J. B. Pritzker issued a disaster proclamation, the state's equivalent of a state of emergency, to respond to the crisis. The state took measures to halt the spread of the disease by closing all schools and colleges, ordering a stop to eviction enforcements, ordering all bars and restaurants closed to sit-in diners, and otherwise restricting large gatherings of people. As the virus spread further, the state enacted an even stronger shelter in place order, affecting schools and businesses across the state.[4] At first declared between March 21 and April 7, the order was later extended until April 30, then May 29.[5][6][7]

During December 2020, Illinois experienced the second highest number of deaths per week, ranking fifth per capita, which spurred calls for Governor Pritzker to respond to the pandemic more aggressively.[8][9] In January 2021, Illinois had the fifth highest number of confirmed cases in the United States.[8]

As of May 26, 2021, Illinois had administered 11,049,665 COVID-19 vaccine doses, and 49% of the population was fully vaccinated.[10]

  1. ^ "COVID-19 Statistics". www.dph.illinois.gov. Archived from the original on July 25, 2023. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  2. ^ "Chicago woman infects husband with coronavirus, US issues travel warning". WGN9 TV. Chicago. January 30, 2020. Archived from the original on March 12, 2020. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  3. ^ Antinori, Shannon (March 8, 2020). "Illinois Coronavirus: 7th Case May Be From Community Transmission". Patch. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  4. ^ "Executive Order to Expand Telehealth Services and Protect Health Care Providers in Response to COVID-19 (COVID-19 Executive Order No. 8)". Official State of Illinois Website. Archived from the original on June 4, 2020. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  5. ^ Sfondeles, Tina (March 31, 2020). "26 more coronavirus deaths in Illinois with Pritzker set to extend stay-at-home order through April". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference trib20200423 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference execorder2020-33 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ a b "Coronavirus in the U.S.: Latest Map and Case Count". The New York Times. March 3, 2020. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  9. ^ "Column: Gov. Pritzker, don't go soft in the fight against COVID-19". Chicago Tribune. December 10, 2020.
  10. ^ "More than 11 million COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in Illinois". WSIL. May 26, 2021. Retrieved May 28, 2021.