Cook County marked a grim milestone Tuesday as the medical examiner’s office announced that COVID-19 deaths surpassed 3,000.
Officials said an additional 79 people died from the coronavirus, pushing the county’s death toll to 3,055, according to a statement from Cook County spokeswoman Natalia Derevyanny.
Statewide, there have been 4,234 coronavirus deaths since the pandemic began, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. The state is reporting 96,485 total positive cases of the disease.
Cook County accounts for 72% of the state’s coronavirus deaths, even though the county comprises 40% of the Illinois’ population.
Last week, Cook County has surpassed Queens County in New York as the U.S. county with the most coronavirus cases based on Sun-Times analysis of public data. As of Monday, Cook County has 63,690 cases while Queens has 59,324 cases.
On May 14, Cook County reported that a 12-year-old boy died from COVID-19, marking its youngest victim yet.
