After Threat To Resume Restrictions, IL Mask Campaign Launched
ILLINOIS — Days after saying at least one Illinois county is moving in the "wrong direction" and could soon have coronavirus restrictions put back in place, Gov. J.B. Pritzker made a plea to residents: Wear a mask.
Pritzker and Illinois Department of Public Health Director Ngozi Ezike unveiled a new campaign to raise awareness and encourage the public to wear a mask in public. Titled "It Only Works If You Wear It," the campaign compares wearing a mask in public to other safety precautions residents routinely take, such as wearing a seat belt in the car, wearing a helmet for bicycling and sports such as football and wearing a life jacket while on the water.
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"Of course, the mask is just the same thing," Pritzker said. "It keeps us safe. The best way to safely get to the other side of this emergency is to follow the mitigations recommended by doctors. This is our moment to pull together as family, friends and neighbors."
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Pritzker also spoke about the possibility of citations and fines for those who refuse to wear a mask.
While he said people sometimes forget and have a mask in their pocket, those who are reminded and still refuse should face consequences.
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"People who refuse to wear a mask, people who are entering public premises … if they’re absolutely refusing in public, they’re putting other people at risk, so it’s worthy of considering a fine at a local level," Pritzker said, noting that in countries with a high rate of mask compliance, coronavirus cases have dropped to "near zero."
A state of Illinois mandate went into effect May 1 requiring anyone over the age of 2 — with exemptions for medical conditions — to wear a mask in public places when unable to maintain a safe distance from others.
"Bring the mask with you, make sure you’re wearing it, don’t wear it around your neck when you’re in public," Pritzker said.
Pritzker said the $5 million "It Only Works If You Wear It" campaign will be advertised on broadcast and cable television, radio, billboards and social media, as well as streaming audio and video services including Hulu and YouTube. The campaign costs are reimbursable by the federal government with funding allocated to coronavirus response.
The mask campaign launch came days after Pritzker noted that LaSalle County is heading in the "wrong direction" when it comes to coronavirus case numbers and is in the "warning" category for test positivity rate.
"If this region has four more days of people getting sicker and needing a hospital bed, that means bars will close again, a possible reduction of service at restaurants and smaller capacity limits at other activities," Pritzker said Thursday.
As of Friday, 11 other counties were also at warning level when it came to coronavirus case rates: Cass, Gallatin, Jackson, Jo Daviess, Johnson, Perry, Randolph, Saline, Sangamon, St. Clair and White.
Ezike said that over the last 30 days, every region in Illinois has seen significant increases in case numbers and hospitalizations. (See how your region is doing here.) She asked people to consider going back to ordering take-out only from restaurants, canceling family reunions and bachelor parties, or other taking other measures to slow the spread.
"We are still having to make sacrifices, because this pandemic is not over. And each of us is called to make that personal sacrifice now to avoid making a much larger one down the road," Ezike said. "The virus is not done with us, no matter how much we want to be done with it."
This article originally appeared on the Across Illinois Patch
