COVID-19 cases surge statewide thanks to the omicron variant, prompting Illinois leaders to create new measures for residents to get vaccinated and tested.

Illinois State Governor J.B. Pritzker says COVID-19 cases are reaching levels not previously seen and the rate of hospitalizations follow closely behind. Now, there’s even more concern with New Years Eve less than a week away. To help deal with that, Governor Pritzker says he’s expanding testing and vaccination clinics, now operating six days a week instead of four in the new year.

Gov. JB Pritzker and other health officials from across Illinois on Monday identified unvaccinated people as the cause for healthcare systems stretched to their limits as the state experiences a fifth COVID wave driven by the virus’ extremely contagious Omicron variant.

Five-hundred new COVID patients were admitted to Illinois hospitals between Sunday and Monday — a number that represents a quadrupling of COVID patients hospitalized in Illinois since a late-October lull in the pandemic after the state’s battle with the Delta variant in late summer.

The legal age to leave your child home alone in Illinois could soon drop.

Lawmakers are introducing what they call the “babysitting bill” in an effort to help parents cope with the pandemic.