Governor J.B. Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced plans to remove the mask mandate throughout the state beginning on February 28th with the exception of schoolchildren.
According to Rep. David Friess, “Despite the courts striking down a mask mandate in our schools, the governor is still pushing his mask mandate for our schoolchildren. I am disappointed Governor Pritzker is not ending the mask mandate for everyone. His announcement to end the mask mandate is about time and should have been lifted a long time ago. The governor cited science for his reasoning for lifting the mask mandate for everyone except our schools. I call upon Governor Pritzker to follow the science and eliminate the mask mandate for our children.”
IDPH held a video conference on Wednesday, February 9 with Illinois lawmakers to provide an update on COVID and the future transition from the governor’s current mask mandates to the governor’s future mask policy. The governor was kind enough to lift the indoor mask mandate, unless you enter a hospital, nursing home, or take public transportation.
Rep. David Friess added, “Now, one of the most frustrating things about the conference I attended was that not a single person affiliated with IDPH showed up with any data to support the governor’s decision to keep our children masked at school. When the governor first initiated the mask mandate for children, I specifically asked IDPH what were the metrics to get the children out of masks, and I was advised there are none. Well, nothing has changed. At this point, two years into this disaster, there is no data to support the governor’s decision. It appears the governor’s decision was based on “political science” not “science” given the fact there is an election this year. The residents of Illinois have lost all confidence in Governor Pritzker and IDPH.”