Mask Mandate Issued In Illinois

ILLINOIS — Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced a statewide indoor mask mandate, among other measures, during a press conference Thursday morning.

Two days after warning of "significantly greater mitigations," multiple outlets reported that the governor was expected to issue an indoor mask mandate requiring all residents age 2 or older to wear masks indoors in public, regardless of vaccination status.

Similar measures are already in place in Cook County and Chicago. Starting Monday, the order from the Cook County Department of Public Health requires everyone aged 3 and up to wear a mask in all public places. That includes bars, restaurants, gyms, movie theaters, commercial buildings and retail stores. The statewide mandate is expected to impact the same places, ABC Chicago reported.

All teachers — kindergarten through college — will also be required to either get vaccinated or submit to weekly COVID-19 testing. Testing could be required more frequently in the case of a coronavirus outbreak in the community, Pritzker said.

Some colleges and universities in Illinois were already requiring vaccines for staff, and some are requiring students to be vaccinated to attend classes in person.

Related: Illinois Colleges Requiring COVID-19 Vaccine: See The List

As of Thursday, all Illinois counties are considered to be at "high transmission" levels for the coronavirus, and ICU bed capacity was at warning level in Chicago and 37 Illinois counties. Region 5 in southern Illinois, which had just one ICU bed available as of Wednesday, is now reporting six beds are available.

The CDC already recommends universal masking in areas with substantial COVID-19 transmission, but the mandate will make it a requirement statewide.

As of Thursday, 515 ICU beds were occupied by COVID-19 patients in Illinois, down from 525 just a day earlier. A total of 240 patients were on ventilators, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Nearly 3,000 new coronavirus cases and 15 deaths were reported in Illinois on Tuesday, and on Thursday, another 45 deaths were reported along with 4,451 cases.

Last Friday, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported 24,682 new confirmed and probable cases of the coronavirus for the week, along with 126 deaths since Aug. 13.