State officials announced Wednesday there had been 77 additional fatalities related to COVID-19 confirmed, for a statewide death toll of 6,095.
Officials also reported 625 new known cases, pushing the statewide total to 129,837.
Earlier Wednesday, Cook County officials confirmed that the death of a 9-month-old who died in March was caused in part by two types of coronavirus, including COVID-19.
Joseph Myles, the youngest known victim so far to die of the virus in Cook County, was pronounced dead March 23 at Mercy Hospital in Chicago.
Here’s what’s happening Thursday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
10:29 a.m.: Musicians, local sports stars fill lineup for Chicago’s citywide virtual graduation
As Chicago prepares to honors its high school graduates with a virtual ceremony, DJ Khaled, Common and a host of other celebrities and sports figures have joined the lineup, with Oprah Winfrey headlining.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced the additional participants Thursday, ahead of the hourlong citywide commencement airing at 1 p.m. Sunday, to be followed by a party with an array of musical performances. Read more here. —Ariel Cheung
9:48 a.m.: Food prices jump in May, led by 40% surge in meat costs, as US wholesale prices rise
U.S. wholesale prices rose 0.4% in May, led by gains in the cost of food and energy.
The Labor Department said Thursday that its Producer Price Index, which measures inflation pressures before they reach the consumer, showed an increase after three straight months of declines. Those declines had reflected in part the steep drop in demand caused by government-ordered shutdowns to deal with the coronavirus.
The cost of food rose a sharp 6%. Food costs have been rising due to high demand from Americans cooking more at home, but also because of lost production following virus outbreaks at food processing facilities. Energy prices, which had fallen for three straight months, increased 4.5%. Read more here. —Associated Press
7:49 a.m.: 1.5 million new unemployment claims — a high number of layoffs, but 10th straight weekly decline
About 1.5 million laid-off workers applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week, evidence that many Americans are still losing their jobs even as the economy appears to be slowly recovering with more businesses partially reopening.
The latest figure from the Labor Department marked the 10th straight weekly decline in applications for jobless aid since they peaked in mid-March when the coronavirus hit hard. Still, the pace of layoffs remains historically high.
In Illinois, 44,814 people filed initial claims for jobless benefits in the week ended June 6, a slight decline from the 46,385 claims filed the previous week.
Nationally, the total number of people who are receiving unemployment aid fell slightly, a sign that some people who were laid off when restaurants, retail chains and small businesses suddenly shut down have been recalled to work. Read more here. —Associated Press
7:02 a.m.: Coronavirus survivor in Chicago receives double lung transplant
Surgeons in Chicago have given a new set of lungs to a young woman with severe lung damage from the coronavirus.
Only a few other COVID-19 survivors, in China and Europe, have received lung transplants.
The patient, who is her 20s, was on a ventilator and heart-lung machine for almost two months before her operation last Friday at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Read more here. —Associated Press
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Here are five things that happened Wednesday in the Chicago area related to coronavirus:
