UPDATED 3:12 p.m.
CHICAGO, Ill. – Governor JB Pritzker says he’s lifting the state’s indoor mask mandate everywhere but schools by the end of the month, if COVID-19 metrics continue moving in the right direction.
And Pritzker says he has you to thank.
“We have done such a good job — you have done such a good job — of keeping each other safe.”
Better, Pritzker says, than even other states in the Midwest. He says that especially applies to people who have helped protect the more vulnerable in the population, including even those with underlying conditions they might not have known they had.
“As we’ve seen these numbers peak at about 7,400 hospitalizations, and heading downward significantly — we’re now, I think, under 2,500 hospitalizations. So, that’s almost a third of where we were at the peak, and heading even further downward,” said Pritzker, saying the mandate being lifted is contingent on numbers continuing to decline.
That was at one unrelated news conference Wednesday in Chicago. At a separate COVID-19 briefing, the Governor said he understands the frustrations of those who’ve always wanted to do the right thing — especially in the last five months since the Delta and Omicron waves started.
“The people of Illinois have demonstrated a willingness to look out for one another, and to rise above the loud minority of voices who have used this emergency to naysay, bicker, polarize, and divide,” said Pritzker.
Just because the mandate is being lifted, doesn’t mean the virus is over, said Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director, Illinois Department of Public Health, who also said now is a good time to further discuss how to mitigate the virus.
“Improving indoor air quality — schools, work places, businesses, any indoor location should look at what upgrades can be made their ventilation systems to reduce the infectious particles in the air,” said Ezike.”
Ezike suggests perhaps homeowners should consider buying an air purifier with a HEPA filter.
She says those who’ve already done that have most definitely saved lives.
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