Pritzker to review state masking guidance amid CDC reversal
By JERRY NOWICKI
Capitol News Illinois
jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com
SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker will reexamine the state’s guidance on face coverings after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidance Tuesday to reflect that even individuals vaccinated against COVID-19 should wear masks while indoors in areas of the country where the virus is surging.
CDC officials also recommended all teachers, staff, students and visitors in schools, regardless of vaccination status, should wear masks indoors as well, according to news reports covering an afternoon briefing by the federal agency. As of Tuesday afternoon, the full guidance had not been posted online.
“I’ll be reviewing all of it,” Pritzker said Tuesday at an unrelated event. “There’s no doubt that will weigh heavily on decisions that I’ll make about what we should do for the state of Illinois.”
As of Tuesday, Illinois was following CDC guidance of the past two months which said unvaccinated individuals should wear masks indoors, but those who were vaccinated needed them only in certain settings, such as doctor’s offices and public transportation.
The Illinois State Board of Education had recently fully adopted CDC guidance as well, which strongly encouraged but did not mandate masks in schools. It was unclear Tuesday how those requirements might change amid the CDC changes.
The change to federal guidance came as cases in Illinois and around the country continue to rise as the vaccination pace stagnates and mask mandates are relaxed.
There were 801 COVID-19-positive individuals hospitalized in Illinois as of Monday night, a number not seen since June 4. From Monday, July 19, to Sunday, July 25, there were 657 individuals hospitalized on average over the seven-day period, an increase of about 32 percent from the week prior.
The 169 intensive care unit beds in use by COVID-19 patients as of Monday night were the most since June 13. From Monday to Sunday, there were 136 ICU beds in use on average, an increase of about 36 percent from the week prior.
But Pritzker said Tuesday the vaccines have been widely effective in guarding against the most severe cases of COVID-19 for individuals who have had the shot. It remains the most effective way to combat the virus, he said, repeating a claim that 99 percent of those dying from COVID-19 in Illinois in recent weeks were unvaccinated.
“We know that if you’re vaccinated, you’re protected,” he said, noting that experiences for individuals may differ, but for the most part, if vaccinated and contracting the disease, “many people spend a few days in bed feeling bad, don’t need to go to the hospital and then are able to recover.”
While Pritzker said those numbers are encouraging now, further, more dangerous variants of the virus could emerge if the vaccine is not more widely adopted.
“It is not over,” Pritzker said of the pandemic. “We would like it to be over, but it is not yet over and we know that if people remain unvaccinated there is a greater and greater possibility that you’ll have a variant that ultimately will break through the vaccines that have already been developed.”
According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, just over half of the state’s population, or more than 6.4 million individuals, are fully vaccinated. Over the past seven days, 17,776 vaccines were administered each day on average, representing a declining vaccination pace.
The case positivity rate was also on the rise Tuesday, reaching 3.7 percent, a high since April 22 as testing numbers continued to taper off. There were 1,669 confirmed or probable cases of the virus reported Tuesday among 31,019 test results reported.
Still, state and Chicago officials said Tuesday the Lollapalooza music festival will go on as planned starting Thursday, and Pritzker said he will attend.
“I plan to go to Lollapalooza, but I also know I’m gonna watch every single day what it looks like in terms of cases rising and make decisions, smart decisions, for myself, for my family, for our friends, as we move forward,” he said. “And yeah, I may wear a mask when I’m at Lolla depending upon whether I can social distance or not.”
He said anyone feeling uncomfortable in a crowd is encouraged to wear a mask as well.
Positivity rates were higher in southern Illinois, with Region 4, which covers the Metro East area on the Missouri border near St. Louis, seeing a rate of 9.2 percent as of the latest data Tuesday, and southern Illinois’ Region 5 at 8.5 percent. All other regions were on an increasing pace as well.
Over the past three days, the pandemic claimed another 10 lives, bringing the confirmed death toll to 23,414 along with 2,472 probable deaths.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government and distributed to more than 400 newspapers statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
Local News
Sorry, we couldn't find any posts. Please try a different search.
Neighbors
Boys Volleyball | Stagg ends Marist Invite with win over Riverside-Brookfield
Spread the loveBy Jason Maholy Sports Editor Stagg outlasted Riverside-Brookfield in a marathon first set, winning 36-34, then followed that with a 25-20 clincher on March 23 to finish seventh in the Silver divison at the 20th Marist RedHawks Invitational. The Chargers went 2-3 in the tournament. They opened pool play on March 22 at…
Boys Volleyball | Shepard finishes 4th in Bronze at Marist Invite
Spread the loveShepard served as one of three host sites for the 20th Marist RedHawks Invitational, and kicked off play in Palos Heights by facing Lincoln-Way East on March 22. The Griffins defeated the Astros, 25-10, 25-15. Marian Catholic beat Shepard, 25-23, 25-9, in the Astros’ second match of the day. The Astros fell to…
Obbie’s Pizza to stay ‘unique and delicious’
Spread the love. New owner vows to serve same popular menu . By Tim Hadac Archer Avenue’s long-time king of pizzerias will continue to rule. Same recipes at Obbie’s Pizza, 6654 W. Archer. Same pizza and ingredients. Same pasta, broasted chicken, shrimp, perch, Italian beef/sausage/meatball sandwiches, sides and pop. Same seasoned, Middleby Marshall pizza oven…
Countryside City Council tackles long list of items
Spread the loveBy Steve Metsch Water leaks, a new truck and abandoned vehicles were among a laundry list of items tackled by the Countryside City Council at its latest meeting. They were all from the infrastructure committee chaired by Ald. Mark Benson (3rd). All of the following were approved by a unanimous 6-0 vote on…
Argo High School holds Iftar Dinner for community
Spread the loveBy Carol McGowan More than 100 people gathered at Argo Community High School last week for a now annual Ramadan Iftar dinner organized by Argo teacher Nadia Elkhatib. Elkhatib was happy with the turnout for those coming Thursday night to break bread with the school’s Muslim students and their families. “I will continue…
Pool improvements advance in Palos Heights
Spread the loveBy Nuha Abdessalam Palos Heights aldermen last week approved contracts advancing improvements at the municipal pool. Alderman Jefry Key motioned for approval of a letter of agreement with the American Institute of Architects between Williams Architect and the City of Palos Heights for the pool improvement project. Since first proposing pool improvements in…
Teens enjoy Green Hills karaoke party
Spread the loveBy Nuha Abdessalam Palos Hills tweens and teens sang their hearts out for karaoke night at a neighborhood coffee house. Green Hills Library invited all tweens and teens for a karaoke night at Strange Brew Cafe on West 103rd Street and 87th Street on Feb. 22. Organized by Green Hill Library Youth Program…
Cervantinos Authentic Mexican Restaurant opens in Palos Heights
Spread the loveBy Kelly White When choosing a location for his second business location, Luis Garcia knew he wanted it to be Palos Heights. “I absolutely love it here,” Luis Garcia, of Oak Forest and the owner and chef of Cervantinos Authentic Mexican Restaurant #2, said. “It’s a great area, nice clientele and I’m happy…
Worth Polar Plunge raises record amount
Spread the loveBy Joe Boyle The FOP Worth Polar Plunge has been deemed a major success and local officials said the amount raised has set a new record. The annual event, sponsored by the Worth Police Department, took place in a large swimming pool that was put up in the parking lot of the Marrs-Meyer…
Green Hills Public Library hosts Eid Clothing Drive
Spread the loveBy Kelly White The Islamic calendar has two major holidays each year: Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan and celebrates an entire month of fasting, and Eid al-Adha, the festival of the sacrifice that occurs during the culmination of the Hajj pilgrimage season. It takes place two lunar months after Ramadan.…