Illinois Department of Public Health

Dr. Ngozi Ezike, Illinois’ top public health official, urged residents to be part of the plan to decrease coronavirus infections and take proper precautions this Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving’s not here just yet. And if you’re planning to take part in a large gathering, it’s not too late to change your mind. That’s the message Illinois’ Department of Public Health Director, Dr. Ngozi Ezike, shared Monday as she and Gov. J.B. Pritzker voiced concerns about the possibility of an uptick in coronavirus cases, deaths and hospitalizations stemming...

According to the latest data from the Illinois Department of Public Health, nearly all Illinois regions have seen a drop in positivity rates for the coronavirus.

Health officials in Illinois reported 11,891 new cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours as the state set another single-day testing record on Saturday. According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, a total of 120,284 new tests were returned to state laboratories over the last 24 hours, breaking the single-day record for tests conducted during the pandemic. In…

With Illinois experiencing the second surge of the coronavirus pandemic, Dr. Ngozi Ezike, the director of the state’s department of public of health, encouraged residents to be kind and not take their frustrations out on one another.

Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike warned Thursday during a daily coronavirus briefing that a negative coronavirus test result does not give people a “free pass” to celebrate Thanksgiving in person.

The people in Illinois who are contracting coronavirus the most are not the ones who are dying from it, Illinois’ top health official says, detailing how the deadly virus is spreading across the state and again pleading with residents to change their behavior.

Illinois’ top health official says the state has been preparing a plan to vaccinate residents once a coronavirus vaccine is available but gave an impassioned plea once more to hold holiday celebrations virtually and to wear masks as she says health care workers are sounding the alarm and that the state is heading in the “wrong direction” with the pandemic.

Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike answers some questions on the COVID-19 vaccine progress, the case number surge in Illinois and how to have a safer Thanksgiving this year.

Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike revealed the latest coronavirus numbers Monday as she advised residents to “hang in there” during the pandemic.

Deaths related to COVID-19 in Illinois are up a startling 260% from the start of October, Gov. J.B. Pritzker revealed Monday, as the state continues to deal with increasingly alarming coronavirus rates.

Illinois’ top doctor said Friday that based on metrics from the health department, Chicago and Cook County have been hit the hardest in the second wave of coronavirus.

Illinois’ top doctor on Friday defended the use of rapid antigen tests to detect COVID-19 as reports of false negatives and false positives surfaced nationwide, leading to questions about accuracy. In one instance that garnered nationwide attention, tech entrepreneur Elon Musk tweeted he took four COVID-19 rapid antigen tests on Thursday, and received two negative and two positive results. Musk,…

Illinois health officials on Wednesday issued a call to all companies to allow employees to work from home unless necessary as coronavirus metrics continue to surge across the state. NBC 5’s Lexi Sutter has more details.

Citing coronavirus experts at the nation’s leading health care institutions, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Monday the coronavirus pandemic is only going to get worse as the weather gets cooler and more activity is driven aside. Experts at universities such as John Hopkins University, Northwester University and the University of Illinois, Pritzker said, have “challenged Americans to recognize we are...

The Illinois Department of Public Health created several more free mobile testing sites throughout the Chicago area, officials announced Sunday.

Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike suggested Wednesday that poll workers, voters and others who participated in the election throughout the state be tested for the coronavirus.

Nov. 4: IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike gives coronavirus update for Illinois.

As Illinois battles a second surge in coronavirus cases, Dr. Ngozi Ezike, the state’s top doctor, on Monday encouraged people to get tested for COVID-19 and issued a few important reminders with Thanksgiving and Christmas later this season.

NBC 5 Investigates and Telemundo Chicago Investiga have found thousands of little-known outbreaks of coronavirus in Illinois — in restaurants, bars, retail stores, preschools, workplaces, gyms, clubs, churches and parties — all kinds of parties — across the state. Yet for months the state has concealed these outbreaks from the public, despite the fact that these are the very cases…