 “With the heroic efforts of our healthcare workers
and institutions, the perseverance and grit of the people of
Illinois, and with 26 million vaccine doses administered, I couldn’t
be happier to announce today that all national and state COVID-19
related emergency declarations have finally come to an end,” said
Governor JB Pritzker. “Although today marks the official end of our
state’s emergency declarations, we are taking this moment to ensure
that we learn lessons from the pandemic experience so we can prepare
for the future and save lives in the years ahead. And we are
especially grateful to our healthcare heroes who made this milestone
possible. We owe them our everlasting respect and gratitude, and so
many of us owe them our lives.”
“Our public health and health care workers are first in our hearts
for their dedication and the support that they provide to others
while doing their job day in and day out,” said Lt. Governor Juliana
Stratton. “Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, they sacrificed and
served to keep Illinois residents safe. Healthcare is core to all
our lives, and it is the people who provide it that work hard to
ensure we can live and be well. They are truly our heroes.”
Governor Pritzker aligned the conclusion of the state’s disaster
proclamation with the conclusion of the federal government’s
COVID-19 public health emergency, to ensure enhanced federal
benefits in SNAP and Medicaid remained in place for vulnerable
families for as long as possible.
Since March of 2020, state and local partners benefitted from a
disaster proclamation in the following ways:
• Federal reimbursement for state response costs.
• Illinois residents were able to collect additional SNAP benefits,
more than 1.4 million children received Pandemic EBT (nutrition)
support, and Medicaid expansion ensured access to telehealth options
and the resources Illinoisans needed to stay healthy.
• Use of State Disaster Relief Fund, covering direct state costs and
reimbursements to Illinois National Guard and mutual aid groups.
• Use of the state's mutual aid network, groups of public safety
response professionals — including hundreds of health care providers
and management professionals, law enforcement officers, fire
fighters, emergency medical technicians and disaster response
professionals — that are available to deploy to areas of shortage.
• Authorizing the Governor to activate Illinois National Guard
reservists, some of whom were doctors and nurses and served on the
front lines of the pandemic response.
• Allowing expedited procurement should it be necessary.
• Authorizing additional executive actions as needed to protect
public health and safety.
The Governor issued the initial emergency proclamation on March 9,
2020 as the state and nation were bracing for an unprecedented,
global public health emergency. The pandemic went on to last more
than three years, causing more than 4 million COVID-19 cases and
36,000 deaths in Illinois. With case rates remaining at low levels
in recent months, including last week’s announcement that no
Illinois counties are at an elevated community level for COVID-19,
the tools provided by the PHE are no longer necessary to fight the
virus.
“It is fitting today as we formally end the Public Health Emergency
that we pause to reflect on the truly heroic efforts of the
thousands of public health workers, including those at IDPH and in
our local health departments, as well as the healthcare workers in
our hospitals and clinics,” said Dr. Vohra. “Their bravery and
fortitude in the face of this overwhelming public health crisis is a
gift to cherish and appreciate. As we write the next chapters in the
story of public health in Illinois, we look forward to their
continued leadership and guidance to help address inequities and
promote health throughout our great State.”
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The proclamation, signed at the onset of the pandemic, leveraged
federal funding and formalized emergency procedures by activating
the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC), bringing together
decision-makers from every state agency and the state's highly
qualified mutual aid network to deploy critical resources for
healthcare staffing, testing, vaccinations, and therapeutics as
necessary during the public health threat.
Officials were able to mobilize resources to conduct
millions of COVID-19 tests throughout the state at community testing
sites as well as through Test to Stay programs in schools and
colleges, allowing children to remain safely in school. When
vaccines became widely available in late 2021, Illinois launched a
massive vaccination program that spanned across the state and has to
date delivered more than 26 million doses.
Maintaining the PHE allowed for federal mandates covering healthcare
costs to remain in place, supporting testing and other services that
were critical during the recent winter surge. Funding also allowed
for thousands of healthcare staff to be deployed to hospitals during
staffing crises through state contracts.
The end of the PHE means the federal government is expected to phase
out providing tests, vaccines, and treatment directly to states.
However, these efforts will not end immediately, but over the coming
months. The state of Illinois is continuing to offer at-home rapid
tests to households in economically disadvantaged communities
through June 30, through a partnership with the Rockefeller
Foundation’s Project ACT.
With the national and state Public Health Emergencies for COVID-19
expiring on May 11, there will also be changes to data collection
and reporting on the virus. After May 11, the CDC has announced it
will stop tracking and reporting COVID-19 cases at the community
level, as it has been doing since April 2022. Hospitals will no
longer be required to report the number of COVID-19 patients in
hospital beds or in the ICU or on ventilators. However, data on
COVID-19 and the flu in Illinois will continue to be reported via
the Illinois Wastewater Surveillance System dashboard.
IDPH will continue to report general COVID-19 data and will also
track a variety of other metrics to monitor disease spread and
severity including lab data, genomic sequencing, and wastewater
surveillance data.
Dr. Vohra stressed that even as the PHE is expiring, IDPH will
remain focused on prevention and treatment of COVID-19 and will use
lessons learned from the pandemic to address other public health
challenges including chronic diseases, the opioid epidemic, and
health disparities.
For those covered by the Medicaid program, the Illinois Department
of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) has launched the Ready to
Renew campaign to ensure that Illinoisans who are enrolled in
Medicaid do not lose coverage due to the expiration of the automatic
renewal provisions that were in place during the Public Health
Emergency.
In Illinois, there will not be a “coverage cliff,” where everyone
loses coverage at one time. Rather, redeterminations will happen on
a rolling basis through mid-2024. HFS is reminding Medicaid
customers to keep a close eye on their mailboxes for notices about
when they need to take action to renew their coverage. For more
information about Medicaid Renewals, click HERE.
The U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced it is
launching the HHS Bridge Access Program For COVID-19 Vaccines and
Treatments for those who are uninsured. The program will create a
$1.1 billion public-private partnership to help maintain uninsured
individuals’ access to COVID-19 care at their local pharmacies,
through existing public health infrastructure, and at their local
health centers.
Finally, services such as telemedicine through the Test to Treat
program offered through the SIU School of Medicine is expected to
continue into Spring of 2024 and address the Covid-19 treatment
needs for all Illinois residents during the next respiratory season.
IDPH is encouraging local health department partners around the
state to mark the end of the PHE by hosting events to thank their
employees and encourage local residents to show their appreciation
for public health and health care heroes.
For more information about IDPH resources and data, visit the
department’s COVID-19 dashboard.
[Office of the Governor JB Pritzker]
COVID-19
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