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As COVID cases continue to rise in Illinois, what do you need to know if you test positive or were exposed to someone who has?

The rise in cases comes amid the start of summer vacations, with Chicago's travel advisory recently updated.

Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic across Illinois today:

COVID Isolation Guidance: What Steps to Take Once You Test Positive

COVID-19 cases have risen across Illinois within the past month, and most recently, the number of counties at a "high" risk level status increased for yet another week.

For those who contract COVID, there may be uncertainty and plenty of questions. For instance, how long you should isolate, and when will you know it's time to end your isolation period? Furthermore, is testing required to get out of isolation?

Here's the latest information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

COVID Quarantine Rules: How Long to Isolate, Symptoms to Watch for

As more Illinois counties reach a "high" community level for COVID, people are asking what to do if they've been exposed to or test positive for the virus.

If you were exposed, when could symptoms start, how long are you contagious, how long should you quarantine for and when is the best time test?

Chicago Travel Advisory Update: COVID Safety Measures Advised in 7% of US

Chicagoans who visit parts of the U.S. categorized as medium or high COVID-19 community levels by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention should take precautions to prevent the spread of COVID, according to the city's updated travel advisory.

The Chicago Department of Public Health on Friday said 7.4% of U.S. counties were listed at either a medium or high community level, citing the latest classifications from the CDC.

Read more here.

Paxlovid Antiviral COVID Pill: Eligibility, Side Effects and Effectiveness

With a rise in COVID-19 metrics, several Chicago-area counties have entered a "high" alert level under guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

And, according to the CDC, a new subvariant of omicron is the dominant strain of COVID in the U.S., with BA.2.12.1 responsible for nearly 59% of new cases over the last week.

As more cases are reported and the illness continues to spread, many are asking questions about Pfizer's new Paxlovid antiviral COVID-19 pill.

Read more here.

Coronavirus in Illinois: 32K New Cases, 47 Deaths in Last Week With 19 Counties at High Level

Illinois health officials reported 32,605 new COVID-19 cases over the past week, along with 47 additional deaths, marking slight declines in cases from seven days prior as 19 counties across the state reach a "high" community level of COVID.

The previous week, the state reported 36,843 new cases and 45 deaths. The week before that, the state reported 40,193 new cases and 56 deaths were reported.

Read more here.

19 Illinois Counties at 'High' Alert Level for COVID, Some in Chicago Area Drop to Medium

Nineteen Illinois counties, including several in the Chicago area, are now under a “high community level” for COVID, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The number of counties at the "high" level marks an increase from last week's 15, but some Chicago-area counties that were under a high alert level last week have since dropped down to medium.

See the full list here.

COVID Vaccines for Kids Under 5: When Could Shots Begin? The Latest Timing

With federal regulators set to decide whether or not they plan to authorize COVID vaccines for kids under the age 5 this month, when might parents expect shots to begin?

Families have been for a chance to protect the nation’s littlest kids as highly contagious omicron subvariants continue to spread.

The nation’s 18 million children under 5 are the only age group not yet eligible for vaccination.

Read more here.

How Long Are You Protected After Getting COVID and Can You Get COVID Twice?

If you recently contracted COVID, how long are you protected and are you at risk of getting the virus again?

The question has been asked since the start of the pandemic, but as the virus continues to mutate, the answers have changed.

Omicron, for example, led to a major shift in "natural immunity," with many who had previously been infected susceptible to reinfection with the new version of the virus.

Now, as omicron makes up nearly all U.S. COVID cases, it's a question of how protection from one version of omicron will work against newer subvariants.

Read more here.

How Long Do COVID Symptoms Last? Here's What We Know So Far

For those who test positive for COVID and experience symptoms, how long could they last?

With COVID cases rising in Illinois and parts of the U.S., local health officials have issued warnings to take precautions, particularly in areas where transmission risk is increasing.

But for those who experience symptoms, the length of time they could last remains unclear.

Read more here.

How Accurate Are At-Home COVID Tests? Here's What to Know

If you think you were exposed to COVID or might have it, how accurate are the results of an at-home test?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "positive results from self-tests are highly reliable."

Negative results, however, may not rule out infection, particularly in those with COVID-19 symptoms, the CDC states.

"If it's positive, it's positive, like we don't worry about false positives," Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said Thursday.

Read more here.

How Long Can You Test Positive for COVID Following Infection?

If you test positive for COVID, how long could that last?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, some people who contract COVID-19 can have detectable virus for up to three months, but that doesn't mean they are contagious.

When it comes to testing, however, the PCR tests are more likely to continue picking up the virus following infection.

Read more here.

While the Illinois Department of Corrections says an apartment building in Joliet housing several sex offenders is operating within the law, the city's mayor said he is working to find a solution after residents expressed concerns.

The building is located in the 1000 block of Cora Street in Joliet. There are now six convicted sex offenders living in the grey, brick building.

Illinois law says sex offenders cannot live at the same address, but last year, a federal judge ruled the law was unconstitutional, saying it violated the rights of the offender who had served their time.

In an emailed statement, NewDay Apartments told NBC 5 it provides safe and stable housing for registrants, within the bounds of the law and under the supervision of the Illinois Department of Corrections.

The Illinois Department of Corrections said it is aware several sex offenders were living in the apartment building. But in a statement to NBC 5, the department noted "these individuals, and their place of residence, are subject to a federal court order in ongoing litigation."

Some people who live on Cora Street said the apartment building has changed their quiet and quaint community.

“The other day, the kids asked if they could go out and play and I told them no and I felt horrible,” said Julie Williams. "They do need a safe place to live – but so does everybody else. Four houses across the street have now put up cameras -what else can we do to protect ourselves?"

Mykel Spights lives across the street from the building and has five young children.

“Considering the acts were mostly against children, I’m just not with it,” said Spights. “I’d prefer them to live somewhere else."

Joliet Mayor Bob Mayor O'Dekirk said the city is looking for solutions.

“There should have been more communication with school districts and with local officials and law enforcement,” said O'Dekirk. “It is unacceptable to put six sex offenders in one building in a community full of children – a school is three blocks away – a learning center a block away.”

Adele Nicholas with Illinois Voice for Reform, however, said there have historically been few alternatives for those released from prison.

"For a long time, the Illinois Department of Corrections kept people in prison because they didn't have a place to live and their time was over," Nicholas said.

She added that studies have shown having people who are on supervision living at the same address can be benefit for public safety.

"They are visited more frequently by parole officers," she said. "They keep each other on the right track because everyone is trying to preserve their freedom."

O'Dekirk said he has contacted Gov. J.B. Pritzker on the matter. Still, the issue may have to play out in federal court.

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Chicago and Illinois public health officials have confirmed the first probable case of monkeypox in the state in an adult male Chicago resident who recently traveled to Europe.

An initial test at an IDPH laboratory yielded a positive orthopoxvirus result, and confirmatory testing is pending at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

"Chicago being a very large international hub for travel," said Dr. Irfan Hafiz, chief medical officer for Northwestern Medicine Northwest Region. "It was inevitable that we would see a case or two, possibly more, in Chicago."

Unlike COVID-19, which is a new virus, monkeypox has been around since the 1950s and the majority of cases come from central and west Africa.

RELATED: US in process of releasing monkeypox vaccine from national stockpile for 'high-risk' people: CDC

But since the start of the year, the CDC has identified 22 cases of monkeypox in 19 states in this country. And while this is a first in Illinois, doctors say they do not expect a widespread outbreak.

"Even though it's not likely to be transmitted to a large number of people like COVID, the people that get it can be pretty sick," said Dr. John Segreti, an epidemiologist at Rush University Medical Center.

Symptoms include rashes, sores and lesions that often look severe, as well as fever and muscle aches. In a joint statement the state and city health departments say "The person did not require hospitalization and is isolating at home in good condition."

Doctors say monkeypox is generally spread by skin-to-skin contact, though it can also be passed through contaminated clothing or bedding. And while it can make patients very sick, it is not usually fatal.

Doctors say the smallpox vaccine generally works to protect from monkey pox, and there are also anti-viral drugs on the market to treat the virus once a patient has it.

"You're not gonna get if from walking past someone or seeing them on a bus," Segreti said. "You have to have very close contact with someone."

Public health officials say there is very little to no risk to those who have not been in close physical contact with the Illinois monkeypox patient. They are in the process of doing contact tracing to identify those who may have been close to the patient.

"I don't think we'll see a lot of cases, but maybe a few dozen cases," Segreti said.

Most monkeypox patients experience only fever, body aches, chills and fatigue. People with more serious illness may develop a rash and lesions on the face and hands that can spread to other parts of the body. No deaths have been reported in the current outbreak beyond Africa.

Unlike with COVID-19, the chance of asymptomatic spread of monkeypox is considered low. With this Illinois case, officials say they're conducting contact tracing. But for now, there's no indication of significant spread.

Chicago has detected the first probable case of monkeypox in Illinois as recent cases have been reported in the U.S. and several other countries, health officials announced Thursday.

The Chicago case was reported in a man who recently traveled to Europe, according to both the city's and Illinois' health departments. The man was not hospitalized and is in isolation at home in "good condition," officials said.

Tests were first conducted Wednesday at an Illinois Department of Public Health lab, but the results are still pending at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, officials said.

"Based on initial epidemiologic characteristics and the positive orthopoxvirus result at IDPH, health officials consider this a probable monkeypox infection," the health agencies stated.

Health officials said they are working to identify anyone who may have been exposed while the Chicago resident was contagious, though they said the "case remains isolated and at this time there is no indication there is a great risk of extensive local spread of the virus." They added the virus does not spread as easily as COVID-19.

Monkeypox is a rare, but potentially serious viral illness, which often begins with flu-like symptoms and swelling of the lymph nodes, and progresses to a rash on the face and body, health experts said. It was first observed in Africa in 1970, and is usually found in western and central portions of the continent.

The CDC is on alert after cases of the virus were reported in several countries that typically do not report monkeypox cases, including the U.S.

As of Thursday, the CDC has reported 19 confirmed cases across multiple states including California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, New York, Utah, Virginia, and Washington.

"Usually, in a normal year, we will see a few cases mostly in Western Africa that are related to animals," Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said. "There are animals that can carry it and we'll see, you know, a few dozen cases that people can get infected just from just from being in contact with animals. The reason there's been more attention is that at this point, there's been somewhere between 100 cases that have been identified that are not connected to the typical way that we see monkeypox."

The virus comes from the same family as smallpox, and the World Health Organization has also been urging individuals to be on the look out after nearly 200 confirmed or suspected cases were reported in at least 12 western countries. According to officials, the majority of those cases have occurred in Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom.

“What makes this a little different is the number of cases, and the countries that are affected by this,” Dr. Irfan Hafiz of Northwestern Medicine’s McHenry and Huntley Hospitals, said.

The CDC said that “cases include people who self-identify as men who have had sex with men,” but emphasized that anyone can contract the illness through prolonged contact.

Hafiz, an infectious disease specialist, said the virus causes symptoms that are similar to several maladies, including chickenpox or smallpox.

“It can, to the layperson, look like chickenpox or warts,” he said. “But these (sores) tend to be in exposed areas.”

Health experts also said the illness can be confused with a sexually transmitted infection like syphilis or herpes, or with varicella zoster virus.

Federal health officials are urging doctors in the U.S. to "consider a diagnosis of monkeypox in people who present with a consistent rash, especially if they meet any of the following criteria:

The virus is rarely lethal, with symptoms ranging from fever, aches and rashes all over the body.

"Suspected cases may present with early flu-like symptoms and progress to lesions that may begin on one site on the body and spread to other parts," the Chicago Department of Public Health stated.

CDPH said person-to-person transmission is possible through "close physical contact with monkeypox sores, items that have been contaminated with fluids or sores (clothing, bedding, etc.), or through respiratory droplets following prolonged face-to-face contact."

“It’s not just your casual handshake,” Hafiz said. “(Contact must be) longer, more pronounced. It is not technically a sexually transmitted disease, but it involves close contact.”

“It takes prolonged (contact), not minutes,” NBC News Medical Contributor Dr. Kavita Patel added. “(It can also involve) body fluids or lesions.”

Infections typically last between two and four weeks, CDPH said.

Health officials said anyone with a "new or unexplained rash, sores, or symptoms, or have a confirmed exposure" should visit their healthcare provider and "avoid sex or being intimate with anyone until they have been seen."

Woodridge, Ill. – (June 8, 2022) – Illinois American Water is encouraging customers to view the company's 2021 water quality reports to learn more about the source and quality of their drinking water. The report is issued for each service area, and highlights the company's commitment to providing drinking water that meets or surpasses standards required by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The water quality report, also known as consumer confidence report, describes local drinking water source information and test results. Commonly asked questions and answers concerning drinking water are included in the report. Customers can search for their local report by zip code at www.illinoisamwater.com under Water Quality.

Rachel Bretz, Director of Water Quality and Environmental Compliance, said, "Water service is essential to the health and safety of the communities we serve. Our team of experts work around the clock to deliver a quality product at a good value. We take our responsibility to our customers personally, and our annual water quality reports are a representation of our team's dedication to our customers."

Customers can view a short video on Illinois American Water's YouTube channel to learn more about Illinois American Water's commitment to water quality.

Bretz said, "Our team of experts know how important it is to deliver safe, reliable service to our customers. Drinking water is a key ingredient in our customers daily lives. Delivering quality water service is as important to us as it is to our customers, and I am proud that we do it very well."

Illinois American Water customers can view their water quality report on the company's website. If a customer desires a printed copy or needs translation services, they can call 800-422-2782.

About Illinois American Water – Illinois American Water, a subsidiary of American Water (NYSE: AWK), is the largest investor-owned water utility in the state, providing high-quality and reliable water and wastewater services to approximately 1.3 million people. American Water also operates a quality control and research laboratory in Belleville. With a history dating back to 1886, American Water is the largest and most geographically diverse U.S. publicly traded water and wastewater utility company. The company employs more than 6,400 dedicated professionals who provide regulated and regulated-like drinking water and wastewater services to more than 14 million people in 24 states. American Water provides safe, clean, affordable and reliable water services to our customers to help keep their lives flowing. For more information, visit amwater.com and diversityataw.com. Follow American Water on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Media Contact: Rosemaria DiBenedetto, External Communications Consultant, [email protected]