|
 Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is ignoring pressure to lessen
indoor mask and other COVID-19 restrictions: he reaffirmed his mandates will
remain in place until the number of new cases decline to a level he would not
quantify.
He did say it was “way too early” to remove the masks, but offered a glimmer
that masks could be off by the holidays.
“If you go look at the hospitalizations – the new hospitalizations, as well as
the ones that are, you know, existing in total – they are not dropping at the
rate that they were dropping even a couple of weeks ago,” Pritzker said Oct. 15.
In August, Pritzker instituted an indoor mask mandate because of rising case
numbers. He also cited rising cases in other Midwestern states such as Minnesota
and Michigan as justification.
Illinois was one of six states with COVID-19 transmission levels that dropped
from a “high” grade to “substantial.” That means Illinois through Oct. 15 had 95
cases per 100,000, which is below the 100-case threshold for a “high”
transmission designation.
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“We want to remove the mitigations as we approach
the holidays,” Pritzker said Oct. 19 at the James R. Thompson Center
during a COVID-19 briefing. He also announced a push for older
Illinoisans to get their booster shots.
“We want to make sure that these numbers keep going down,” he said.
He did not mention specific metrics that would be used to determine
when the mandates will end.
Illinois’ 7-day average for Oct. 12-18 was 3,023 COVID-19 cases,
down from 5,030 in mid-September. Mid-November 2020 saw the highest
7-day average at 12,345. |
