COVID-19 cases and deaths have begun to rise in Illinois as the newly dominant BA2 variant of the coronavirus moves through the population. It's hard to say just yet whether it will be a mountain of cases or a speed bump, according to the McLean County Health Department.

The McLean County Health Department (MCHD) has reported seven COVID-related deaths since the beginning of March. That includes the recent death of a man in his 20s and a man in his 30s earlier last month.

COVID testing has become big business as more biomedical companies try to cash in on the high demand.

McLean County has been considered at low risk for COVID-19 spread ever since the CDC put more emphasis on hospitalizations and less on new cases.

Coronavirus testing has made Reditus Laboratories one of the fastest-growing employers in central Illinois, and the man behind the company's success says it's about more than good timing.

Founded in mid-March of 2020, the "We're in this together, Bloomington-Normal!" Facebook group was envisioned as a short-term effort to connect people in the early days of the pandemic. Its founder, Michele Schulz, who has since passed on administrative responsibilities to others, said at the time the community was "living in a world we've never known before."

Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday evening announced an end to the state’s school mask mandate shortly after the Illinois Supreme Court denied his appeal seeking the justices overturn a Sangamon County judge’s decision earlier this month that sought to halt the governor’s executive orders requiring masking in school settings.

McLean County health officials are reporting six more COVID related deaths this week.

Illinois State University officials have announced some locations on campus will no longer require masks, starting next week.

A state appellate court ruling is upending Gov. JB Pritzker’s COVID-19 school rules.

The McLean County Health Department reported the county's 18th COVID-related death since Feb. 1.

A state appellate court says it won’t be reversing the decision of a Springfield judge that essentially ended Illinois’ school mask mandate.