Chicago Reaches 'Sobering' Milestone: 1,000 Coronavirus Deaths

CHICAGO — Mayor Lori Lightfoot Monday announced Sunday that more than 1,000 people have died in the city from new coronavirus related conditions.

"These are not just numbers. They are parent, grandparents, cousins, friends, neighbors and loved ones," she said. "Deaths are touching many neighborhoods across our city, unfortunately some more than others."

The mayor continued, "We have to find hope in the fact that we haven't had the kind of outbreak as other cities. ... Nonetheless, crossing that 1,000 death threshold is a sobering milestone."

Lightfoot stressed the need to keep the stay-at-home order in place, saying that loosening restrictions too soon could lead to a spike in cases similar to what happened in Japan and Germany.

"If we don't stay the course, we're going to be in this longer, more people are going to get sick and unfortunately more people will die," the mayor said.