Gov. Pritzker Mask Order Urges Residents To Follow CDC Guidelines

ILLINOIS — As COVID-19 cases have dropped around Illinois for the past several months, any guidance surrounding mask recommendations except for those who have compromised health conditions has been kept to a minimum.

But on Friday, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced that he is recommending that residents follow current guidance from the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention regardless of their vaccination status.

Pritzker issued an executive order on Friday suggesting that residents follow CDC guidance for masks. The order is expected to run through Nov. 12. The executive order cites the reasoning for the order as the “expected continued spread of COVID-19 and the ongoing health and economic impacts that will be felt over the coming month by people across the state.”

The order said that based on the “epidemic emergency and public health” described in the order, Pritzker felt it necessary to reissue the mask recommendation. State health officials lifted a statewide mask mandate on Feb. 28 when Pritzker also lifted the mask requirements in Illinois’ public schools.

The order cites certain workplaces that have collective bargaining agreement conditions in place that require masks in certain situations, as well as healthcare facilities and medical offices continuing to require masks for patients.

The Illinois Department of Health said on Friday that elderly or immunocompromised residents who live in counties where the COVID-19 community level is at medium are recommended to wear masks in indoor settings. Since the start of the pandemic, Illinois has registered 3.7 million positive cases of COVID-19 and 35,100 people have died from COVID-19 or related illnesses, health officials said.

The recommendation is not a requirement, officials said, but marks the first time in several months since Pritzker has issued an executive order having to do with face coverings.