Pritzker toughens his COVID-19 restrictions

COVID-19 cases are on the decline in Illinois, but Gov. J.B. Pritzker is resisting calls to remove his mask mandate and other restrictions.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is ignoring pressure to lessen indoor mask and other COVID-19 restrictions: he reaffirmed his mandates will remain in place until the number of new cases decline to a level he would not quantify.

He did say it was “way too early” to remove the masks, but offered a glimmer that masks could be off by the holidays.

“If you go look at the hospitalizations – the new hospitalizations, as well as the ones that are, you know, existing in total – they are not dropping at the rate that they were dropping even a couple of weeks ago,” Pritzker said Oct. 15.

In August, Pritzker instituted an indoor mask mandate because of rising case numbers. He also cited rising cases in other Midwestern states such as Minnesota and Michigan as justification.

Illinois was one of six states with COVID-19 transmission levels that dropped from a “high” grade to “substantial.” That means Illinois through Oct. 15 had 95 cases per 100,000, which is below the 100-case threshold for a “high” transmission designation.

“We want to remove the mitigations as we approach the holidays,” Pritzker said Oct. 19 at the James R. Thompson Center during a COVID-19 briefing. He also announced a push for older Illinoisans to get their booster shots.

“We want to make sure that these numbers keep going down,” he said.

He did not mention specific metrics that would be used to determine when the mandates will end.

Illinois’ 7-day average for Oct. 12-18 was 3,023 COVID-19 cases, down from 5,030 in mid-September. Mid-November 2020 saw the highest 7-day average at 12,345.