
Public health officials are now urging residents to mask up indoors in eight Illinois counties as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations keep trending upward statewide — and the Chicago area isn’t far behind.
Moving up to orange “high” on the color-coded coronavirus risk rating system set by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are Boone, Lee, Stephenson and Winnebago counties in the northwest portion of the state, along with Champaign, Ford, Peoria and Tazewell in the central region.