A call came across the scanner for a “respiratory incident,” with paramedics responding with caution after dispatchers screened for the person’s symptoms. This happened several times a night. It was never clear how many of them turned out to be an actual case of the coronavirus. The calls far outnumbered those for “person shot.” People were also calling 911 to warn police whenever a large group was gathering somewhere, or a bar was open when it wasn’t supposed to be.

Most of the crime calls were domestic-related. A woman saying her fiancé broke her finger. A man saying his girlfriend was hitting him after she went through his phone. A woman saying her boyfriend beat her with a 4-by-4. This had been expected since family members were now together longer than they were used to, with people out of work and out of school. The Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline has fielded more calls since the pandemic started.

There were calls of shots fired, but not many people were hit by gunfire. A 25-year-old man was shot in the leg in the Gresham neighborhood on the South Side. He went on his own to a hospital, where he was listed as in good condition.