Illinois faces post-holiday surge as COVID-19 continues to spread
Travelers are greeted at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, the United States, on Nov. 25, 2020. (Xinhua/Joel Lerner via Getty Images)
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Coronavirus illness claimed another 105 lives in Illinois Saturday among 7,873 newly confirmed infections.
Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart is among those ill with COVID-19, according to his office. He is recovering at home.
The daily death toll marked the eighth time in the past 12 days that fatalities topped 100. On Thursday, Illinois passed 12,000 in COVID-19-related deaths.
HEALTH OFFICIALS REPORT 7,873 NEW CORONAVIRUS CASES, 108 MORE DEATHS
It also topped 700,000 cases and now is just shy of 713,000.
Friday’s total of new cases is the next-to-lowest daily number in the past 12 days, a period that saw new cases jump as high as 14,612 on Nov. 19. But state officials are bracing for another surge after many people around the country traveled for Thanksgiving and celebrated with family and friends.
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The 58-year-old Dart, sheriff of the county that includes Chicago since 2006, was last at his office on Nov. 19, according to a statement. He said the next day, he started feeling symptoms of COVID-19, so stayed home and self-quarantined. He received a positive test result on Nnv. 24 and remains symptomatic and at home.