Sudden Rise of COVID Cases in Illinois – Some with Weird Symptoms

Hard to believe that it's now been almost 4 years since the start of the pandemic. While you don't see much in the headlines lately about COVID, there has been a sudden rise of cases and especially hospitalizations in Illinois with some saying they're experiencing odd symptoms that have not been seen before.

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It was only a few days ago that CBS Chicago reported about a warning from public health officials in Illinois about the resurgence of COVID cases. They reported that Chicago alone had "a 14 percent spike in COVID hospitalizations in a period of just a week".

COVID Act Now shows that the entire state of Illinois has had a surge of almost 13% more hospitalizations in the past 7 days.

Why the big uptick in COVID infections at the start of 2024?

There are two main reasons likely to blame. First, many spent the past few weeks doing holiday shopping and visiting family and friends. Second, there's a new JN.1 variant. That second villain has brought with it a new twist: reportedly new symptoms.

Those that have been slammed by the JN.1 variant are saying that they had the usual COVID symptoms like fever and sluggishness, but with two new experiences:

• Sleeplessness
• Unusual anxiety

No matter what the cause, the reality that Illinois had 888 new COVID hospital admissions in 2024 is disturbing. This surge in Illinois isn't altogether unexpected as we were told that the virus would likely become more prominent again during the winter months. Yet another reason many wish that the warmer Spring months would get here sooner.