Illinois Governor announced the re-introduction of mask mandate for students across the state irrespective of their vaccination status as the new COVID 19 cases surges. The announcement was made during a press briefing on Wednesday.
Illinois To Re-introduce Mask Mandate For Students As Covid Numbers Surge
The mandate also applies to all State-run long-care facilities, State-operated correction centers, developmental centers, and psychiatric hospitals.
This order goes in line with the mitigation measures State and local authorities have in place to prevent Coronavirus from spreading further.
Illinois Governor announced the re-introduction of a mask mandate for all students across the state irrespective of their vaccination status. The announcement was made during a press briefing on Wednesday. The order also requires face masks in all indoor settings, from pre-school to high school. The Governor observed that the mandate will affect the more than 1.8 million unvaccinated children below 12 in the State. The order also requires the use of masks in all the State-operated long-care facilities, developmental centers, State-run correction centers, and psychiatric hospitals. Curbing the spread of the virus will protect unvaccinated children from having to stay at home due to the virus-induced illness or due to quarantine guidelines.
The announcement comes in the wake of the new surge of new Coronavirus infections due to the Delta variant the State and the entire country are having at present. Last week, the State witnessed an increase of 46% in the number of new Coronavirus infections. A one-week average was more than 1,669.
The announcement can be seen as one of the mitigation measures the State and local authorities continue to introduce.
The State of California brought back the mask mandate in the backdrop of the new surge. This way, it elevated the advisory from a requirement of July to a mandate. On the same day, Illinois brought back its mask mandate. It now requires all residents to use a face mask in all public settings. Nevada followed suit on July 22nd. But it is required only in those Counties where the rate of transmission is high.
From Tuesday, a face mask is a mandate in New York City in almost all public settings. The order comes into effect in September and it applies to restaurants, bars, gyms, and entertainment centers. Authorities also said that the mask mandate will be there for all schools.
The change of recommendations may cause concern if you have been fully vaccinated. Here are CDC’s recommendations in this regard:
- If you are fully vaccinated, you are relatively safe.
- You can resume the activities you enjoyed during the pre-pandemic time.
- You may have to abide by the mitigation measures State and local authorities may have in place.
- Opt for a mask in the areas where the rate of transmission is high or substantial.
- If your immune system is compromised or if you are having medication, wearing a mask is the smart choice. This holds true even if you are fully vaccinated.
- If you are travelling inside the country, you don’t need to undergo any test or quarantine.
- When going abroad, be mindful of the situation in the destination you choose.
- You don’t need to get to be tested before leaving the US.
- International travelers require a negative COVID 19 report before boarding on a flight to the US.
- You will have to undergo a COVID 19 test after coming from abroad.
- You don’t need to quarantine yourself after coming to the US.
- If you happen to come in close proximity with someone infected with Coronavirus, you need to get tested five days after the exposure. It remains the same even if you don’t have any symptom.
Even with this, fully vaccinated persons stay safe from infection, hospitalization and death.
