Governor Requires Masks in Schools, Care Facilities
Published on August 4 2021 4:24 pm
Last Updated on August 5 2021 6:06 am
Written by Greg Sapp
Pointing to rising cases and hospitalization of people with COVID-19, Gov. J.B. Pritzker is requiring everyone to wear masks inside schools with pre-kindergarten through 12th grade students. The governor also is requiring everyone to wear masks inside long-term care facilities. The requirement applies regardless of an individual’s vaccine status.
“People are dying who don’t have to die,” the governor said.
“I had hoped a state mandate (requiring masks) would not be necessary, but it is,” Pritzker said. Too few school districts in the state were following the Centers for Disease Control guidelines about wearing masks indoors, he added.
Masks, likewise, will be required during indoor PreK-12 school extracurricular activities and sports, but not for outdoor ones.
“Masks are a critical tool to interrupt transmission of the virus,” said Dr. Ngozi Ezike, Illinois Department of Public Health director. “Vaccinations are our best tool,” but are not available for children younger than 12.
Pritzker said the state will supply free COVID testing to all pre-K-12 schools in the state outside of Chicago, which received separate federal funds for testing. The state has distributed 2.5 million free face masks to schools and will continue doing so when schools request assistance.
Pritzker and Ezike noted COVID hospitalizations and intensive care unit admissions have more than doubled in a month. COVID patients requiring ventilators multiplied nearly 2.5 times since July 16. The Delta variant is spreading rapidly among people who aren’t vaccinated.
The governor also is requiring masks in public long-term care facilities and “strongly encourages” the same in private facilities. He also is requiring all state employees working at prisons, veterans’ facilities and juvenile justice facilities to be vaccinated by Oct. 4. He is encouraging private long-term care facilities to require their employees to be vaccinated.
Asked about schools’ options, Pritzker responded they may add social distancing, plexiglass shields and other mitigation options, but he is not requiring that.
Districts that don’t follow the new mask mandate face potential liability issues for not adhering to a state mandate and the Illinois State Board of Education has the ability to remove the school’s recognition status, the governor said.
Pritzker and Ezike urged people to get vaccinated and parents to ensure their teens 12 and older are vaccinated. Those who are still undecided should “talk to your own doctor about your concerns,” the governor said.
Asked what requirements might be ahead, Pritzker warned, “We’re evaluating every day.”
Effingham Unit 40 Superintendent Mark Doan Wednesday afternoon released the following statement regarding the Governor's action...
"Today, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker announced masks will be required for students, teachers and staff at pre-kindergarten-12th grade schools. The new measure is part of the state’s ongoing effort to combat a new surge as the Delta variant rapidly spreads.
The mask requirement is inclusive of youth sports and activities, with masks now required for all indoor extracurriculars and sports. In line with CDC guidance, masks are not required for activities outdoors where transmission risks and rates are lower.
At this time, the District has not finalized a determination on masking for the 2021-22 school year. The Board of Education will be meeting soon to review the new rules and make a determination on all aspects of the Unit #40 reopening plan. Those decisions will be communicated as soon as possible.
Thank you for your support of our students, and I look forward to a new school year!"
Local legislators are taking issue with the governor's action.
State Senator Darren Bailey of Xenia was quick to criticize the action...
“The Governor has once again overstepped his authority by mandating masks on our children in school. Local school boards should be making the decisions made in their own districts.
“For 17 months now, the Governor has continued to unilaterally make decisions that impact the entire state. Calls from lawmakers and local officials for a collaborative approach have fallen on deaf ears, to the point that they are hearing about these ‘mandates’ and executives orders through media reports. This is just wrong.
“Masking is a personal choice and I call on parents to let their voices be heard on this despicable tyranny.”
Meanwhile, State Senator Jason Plummer of Edwardsville has also criticized the decision...
“I find it troubling that the Governor has clearly not learned from his costly past mistakes and has decided to double down on his refusal to allow lawmakers and other local officials the opportunity to give a voice to the people they represent. This mandate is just a continuation of the same go-it-alone approach that has driven our state’s response to this pandemic, making Illinois an outlier and leaving millions of Illinoisans voiceless. Our hyper-political governor needs to put our children before his politics. Enough is enough.
“This isn’t leadership, this is an unabashed power trip. The arrogance and irony that this mandate is coming just days after the Governor was publically plugging his intended attendance to a four-day long mass music festival attended by tens-of-thousands of people in Chicago does little to restore the public’s confidence that our state’s policy response to this tragic pandemic is rooted in hard data and common sense. There should not be two sets of rules, one for the Governor and like-minded autocrats and another for the people they are supposed to serve.
“Governor Pritzker’s continued go-in-alone approach has all too often put the very most vulnerable in Illinois at risk and has left our state facing one of the worst economic recoveries in our nation. It’s time he recognizes his continued unilateral mandates and executive orders don’t represent the will of the people that he supposedly represents.”
St. Rep. Blaine Wilhour of Beecher City has also leveled criticism at the governor for his action...
(BLAINE WILHOUR)
“This decision is not based on new science, data, or what’s best for kids. It’s based on furthering a narrative for political purposes.
The science and data have clearly shown us that school age kids are not statistically vulnerable to critical illness or death from Covid-19.
The Governor has not produced any new evidence to contradict this.
Data from all over the world has also shown us that schools are not the drivers of community outbreaks.
Local school boards have already enacted policies that align with CDC guidance and those policies should stand.”
St. Rep. Adam Niemerg has also criticized the governor's decision...
(ADAM NIEMERG)
"This mandate is not guided by science or logic, rather the politicization of our youth. How do we explain to our children, who have lived free over the past several months, that they will now be required to wear masks in schools? This is the last straw for many parents in Illinois including myself. Our children being used for the Governor's political agenda is unacceptable!"
