Gov. Pritzker announced Feb. 9 that his Administration’s statewide indoor mask mandate will be lifted Feb. 28, but he intends to continue his masking requirements in P-12 schools, subject to pending litigation which impacts several schools. The end of the indoor mask mandate will also not apply to healthcare settings like nursing homes, long-term-care settings, hospitals, and doctors’ offices.
His announcement came five days after a Circuit Court judge from Sangamon County issued a ruling that essentially nullified Gov. Pritzker’s mask, vaccine, and testing mandates for schools. The Pritzker Administration is appealing that Feb. 4 decision, but for now, decisions regarding COVID-19 mitigations for schools are being made at the school level.
The Governor’s Executive Order mandating masks in schools is one of nearly 100 Executive Orders he has handed down since the start of the pandemic.
Senator Rezin said this latest order adds to the confusion and frustration Illinoisans have. Illinois is about to enter a third year of Gov. Pritzker ruling unilaterally through Executive Orders and statewide mandates.