Pritzker Issues COVID-19 Disaster Proclamation Through End Of May
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
ILLINOIS — With new confirmed COVID-19 cases on the rise across Illinois, Gov. J.B. Pritzker recently extended the state's public health disaster proclamation through the end of May, although none of the past mandates requiring masks will go back into effect.
Pritzker issued the new proclamation Friday and ordered that it remain in place for 30 days. Pritzker cited increased COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations around the state in recent weeks for his decision to issue the order.
The proclamation stresses the importance of wearing masks, although the state’s mask mandate was lifted in late February, when the city of Chicago also lifted the requirement for patrons of bars, restaurants, gyms and other businesses to provide proof of vaccination.
As of Friday, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported the state’s seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases as being 200 per 100,000 residents. The state also said that 699 people across Illinois were hospitalized with COVID-19, including 72 that were listed in intensive care and 21 who were on ventilators.
The caseload was an increase from the previous week, when state health officials reported 172 cases per 100,000 residents and that 688 people were hospitalized.
“Even without a state mandate, K-12 schools, childcare facilities, and other settings may choose to require individuals to wear face masks based on the community COVID-19 level and other characteristics of the setting,” Pritzker wrote in the proclamation.
The Chicago Transit Authority, Metra, and other public transportation companies lifted mask mandates for public transit and air travel last month a day after a federal judge ruled that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention overstepped its bounds in extending the federal mandate on masks in airports and on planes. The Justice Department has appealed the ruling.
Masks remain required in medical offices, hospitals and long-term care facilities, although state and local officials suggested that those guidelines could be going away soon as well.
Pritzker Issues COVID-19 Disaster Proclamation Through End Of May originally appeared on the Across Illinois Patch
