Anthony Frieson's sister Patricia Frieson was the first Illinois resident known to have died from COVID-19. Two weeks later, his sister Wanda Bailey died from the virus, too.
That was in March. Since then, more than 7,000 people in Illinois — and more than 133,000 across the U.S — have died from COVID-19.
Anthony, a developer for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, is spreading the word so other families don’t have the same experience as his. He recently joined other BCBSIL volunteers distributing free face coverings in 10 Chicago neighborhoods hit particularly hard by the virus.