Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker is ready to announce at this time a brand new statewide, indoor masks mandate for all people, 2 years previous and older. That’s proper, expensive denizens of the Land of Lincoln, get able to masks again up.
Oh, and all Ok-12 and better training workers can be mandated to get vaccinated, as effectively.
The facial masking requirement would apply throughout Illinois to everybody aged two and over, no matter vaccination standing. Chicago and suburban Cook County are already below comparable masking mandates. Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle opted to return to them final week.
New vaccine mandates and a return to masking are scorching matters as COVID-19 circumstances rise throughout Illinois, fueled largely by the extra extremely contagious Delta variant. All of the state’s 102 counties now fall below the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s excessive transmission class, portray the state’s public well being map a troubling coat of pink.
A troubling coat of pink, you say? (Ironic, no?)
It’s okay, although; the lecturers unions are all on board:
The Illinois Federation of Teachers and the Illinois Education Association, the 2 statewide lecturers unions, welcomed the vaccine mandate to assist “provide the greatest possible level of safety” for in-person faculty.
“The surge of COVID-19 cases in our state reminds us that this vaccine mandate is a public health imperative,” the unions mentioned in a joint assertion. “To implement it properly, widespread education and access to vaccines will be essential. For members who cannot, or will not, get vaccinated, we are glad to see the governor has implemented twice weekly COVID testing.”
So, what’s occurring in Illinois to immediate these measures? Here’s a peek on the present Daily New Cases knowledge, courtesy of Worldometers:
Illinois Daily New Cases – 7-day transferring common (Credit: Worldometers)
So, sure, they’re seeing an uptick in new circumstances. And what of COVID-related deaths?
Illinois Daily Deaths – 7-day transferring common
I think about Pritzker’s rationale right here is to “do something” (or seem like doing one thing) to get forward of the curve. That, in fact, presupposes {that a} masks mandate will mitigate this newest surge. (Keep in thoughts, Illinois had a masks mandate in impact from April 23, 2020, till June 11, 2021 — with an exemption for totally vaccinated people efficient May 17, 2021, so….)
But it’s all good, people — the unions are blissful.
Sorry, Illinoisans — I’m fairly positive Eric Schmitt has no jurisdiction in your aspect of the Mississippi, and I wouldn’t maintain my breath ready in your personal Attorney General, Kwame Raoul, to problem the most recent decree — significantly whereas sporting your re-required face masking.
