Illinois governor issues mandates on COVID vaccines, masks indoors

CHICAGO — Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker doubled down Thursday on his efforts to deal with a resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic’s delta variant as schools reopen by requiring all educators from kindergarten through college to be vaccinated along with higher education students and all health care workers in the state.

Additionally, Pritzker imposed a statewide mandate requiring the masking of people age 2 and above in indoor locations as the variant has led to increasing hospitalizations among younger people and the unvaccinated, along with increasing reports of “breakthrough cases” among those who are vaccinated.

“Let’s be clear, vaccination is the most effective tool we have for keeping people out of the hospital and preventing deaths. Nearly all Illinoisans who are hospitalized with COVID are the Illinoisans who are not vaccinated. And those hospitalizations are only increasing,” Pritzker said.

Citing an increase of intensive care unit usage that has multiplied by seven and data showing that from January through July 98% of positive cases, 96% of hospitalizations and 95% of deaths are among unvaccinated people, Pritzker said, “You don’t need to be an epidemiologist to understand what’s going on here. This is a pandemic of the unvaccinated.”

Read more: https://www.bakersfield.com/ap/national/illinois-governor-issues-mandates-on-covid-vaccines-masks-indoors/article_9c7c42b5-1a77-58f2-afe4-7dc91265ffb5.html