Cook County “edged back into” the “high transmission” category for COVID-19 because of a “slight increase in regional COVID-19 hospitalizations,” according to a Friday announcement from the Chicago Department of Public Health. Chicago is consistently recording lower case rates and hospitalizations than the county as a whole, and fewer than 4 percent of beds across Chicago’s hospitals are occupied with COVID-19-positive patients, officials said. “Other Chicago indicators, including Emergency Department encounters and wastewater monitoring, also continue to remain stable,” the announcement added.