Here’s what else happened in Chicago and around Illinois.
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8:55 p.m. Positivity rate back down to Christmas levels as Illinois logs 6,652 new cases, 88 more deaths
Ashlee Rezin Garcia /Chicago Sun-Times
Illinois’ coronavirus testing positivity fell to its lowest point since Christmastime as public health officials on Thursday announced 6,652 new cases of COVID-19 and 88 more deaths attributed to the disease.
The latest infections were diagnosed among 118,036 tests submitted to the Illinois Department of Public Health, decreasing the seven-day average positivity rate to 6.8%.
That indicator of transmission has been on the decline for a full week after a steady post-holiday increase. It had topped 13% on Nov. 13 during the state’s record-breaking resurgence and fell to 6.8% by Dec. 26 and then edged back up to 8.6% as recently as Jan. 4.
As students disembarked yellow buses at socially distanced stops Monday morning outside Southside Occupational Academy High School, a staff member took their temperatures with a handheld scanner. Once cleared, each