Clusters of COVID-19 cases are becoming more common across the United States as the pandemic intensifies, and according to data compiled by the New York Times, a Chicago location has become the hardest-hit site in the entire country.
According to the report, the Cook County Jail has accounted for a total of 355 coronavirus cases since the pandemic began, the highest total of any single-site in the entire country.
“Though many of the first coronavirus cases in the United States were tied to overseas travel, localized outbreaks have become increasingly common,” the Times wrote.
Travel within the United States has been directly connected to 187 cases of the virus, while travel overseas has been connected to 178 cases, according to Times data.
The Life Care nursing facility in Washington state, where many of the first fatalities of the pandemic occurred, accounted for 129 total cases of the virus.
As of Sunday, more than 220 inmates at Cook County Jail had tested positive for the virus, and nearly 100 employees at the facility have been diagnosed with COVID-19. On Monday, an inmate died after contracting the virus, the first reported death at the facility as a result of coronavirus.
According to data from the state of Illinois, 5,506 people in Chicago alone have tested positive for the virus, with 135 deaths reported across the city. More than 13,000 people statewide have tested positive for COVID-19, with 380 deaths as of Tuesday.
