The use of facial coverings is changing in Illinois
Governor J.B. Pritzker along with the Illinois Department of Public Health announced this afternoon, Illinois will align state executive orders with the latest CDC guidance and rescind IDPH emergency rules enforcing masking and distance.
Pritzker says the CDC guidelines are good, however unvaccinated adults will still be required to wear masks.
“One of the reasons the CDC issued the rules as they did was the recognition that studies have now been done showing that if you’re vaccinated you’re protected. If you’re unvaccinated you are not protected. So I encourage people who are unvaccinated to still wear their masks but to go get vaccinated.
Because I think we want to get past this we all would like to take off our masks. But we do need those who are unvaccinated to go get vaccinated and they can do that right now today. It is available. You don’t need to sign up for an appointment if you don’t want to. You can show up at a number of sites and just get vaccinated.”
Pritzker says that vaccine ID card requirements and rules will be up to private businesses. He says the state will simply provide the documentation.
“The state will provide the data and information for private solutions for that if people want to use something like that. There’s no requirement however we are relying on people to do the right thing.
We are relying on people to recognize that they don’t want to infect other unvaccinated people, and they don’t themselves want to get sick. So it’s important for people to protect themselves, and I think there’s a real motivation for people to go get vaccinated as a result.”
The Governor is issuing an updated executive order to remove the mask requirement for fully vaccinated people in most settings, and the Illinois Department of Public Health is rescinding emergency rules in the Control of Communicable Disease Code that enforces masking and distancing for vaccinated people in business settings.
In line with CDC guidance, individuals who are unvaccinated should continue wearing masks in most settings and both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals should continue to wear masks on public transportation, in congregate facilities, and in healthcare settings.
Pritzker says that unvaccinated people won’t be stopped and asked for a vaccine ID as a part of a state mandate.