COVID-19 pandemic in Illinois

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic began in the U.S. state of Illinois on January 24, 2020, when a woman in Chicago, who had just returned from the pandemic's place of origin in Wuhan, Hubei, China. This was the second case of COVID-19 in the United States during the pandemic. The woman's husband was diagnosed with the disease a few days later, the first known case of human-to-human transmission in the United States.
In mid-March, as the number of known cases rose into the double digits, Governor J. B. Pritzker issued a state of emergency. The state closed all schools and colleges, ordering a stop to eviction enforcements, ordering all bars and restaurants closed to sit-in diners, and otherwise restricting large gatherings of people. At first declared between the dates of March 21 and April 7, the order was later extended until April 30, then May 29.
During December 2020, Illinois experienced the second highest number of deaths per week. As of January 2021, Illinois has the fifth highest number of confirmed cases in the United States.