CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Governor Pritzker warned about it the other day. Now, he is taking even tougher steps in the fight against the increase in COVID-19 infections in the State of Illinois.
Governor Pritzker announced Thursday a new, statewide indoor mask mandate for everyone 2 and older, as well as a vaccine requirement for all PreK-12 and higher education employees.
The new, indoor mask mandate goes into effect statewide Monday, Aug. 30.
"Illinois will join several other states who have reinstituted statewide indoor mask requirements, regardless of vaccination status effective on Monday," Pritzker said.
"Masks work. Period."
While face coverings are not required outdoors, masks are strongly encouraged in crowded outdoor settings, like festivals and concerts, as well as for activities that require close contact with people who are not vaccinated.
The City of Chicago and suburban Cook County already have an indoor mask mandate in place.
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Additionally, in Illinois, vaccinations will be required for all P-12 teachers and staff, all higher education personnel, all higher education students; and healthcare workers in a variety of settings, such as hospitals, nursing homes, urgent care facilities, and physicians' offices, Pritzker said Thursday as a news conference.
"Effective Sept. 5, individuals working in these settings who are unable or unwilling to receive their first dose of vaccine will be required to get tested for COVID-19 at least once a week. And DPH and ISBE may require more frequent testing in certain situations, like in an outbreak."
Healthcare, school workers, and higher education personnel and students attending in-person classes who do not provide proof of vaccination will be prevented from entering healthcare and educational facilities unless they follow the required testing protocol.
Driven by the Delta variant's rapid spread in communities with low vaccination rates, there is an increasing concern for hospital capacity in communities across Illinois, Pritzker said.
"Unfortunately, our current vaccination levels are not enough to blunt the ferocity of the Delta variant hospitalization surges in some regions..."
"Let's be clear: Vaccination is the most effective tool we have for keeping people out of the hospital and preventing deaths," Pritzker said.
Nearly all Illinoisans hospitalized with COVID-19 are Illinoisans who are not vaccinated, Pritzker said, and the state's ICU usage has multiplied by a factor of seven this summer alone.
From January through July, 97 percent of COVID-1 9 cases in Illinois are among unvaccinated, and 96 percent of hospitalizations among unvaccinated people. Additionally, 95 percent of COVD-19 deaths among unvaccinated people.
"You don't need to be an epidemiologist to understand what is going on here: This is a pandemic of the unvaccinated. These are preventable deaths, and beyond the tragedy of losing lives for no reason, this also means inflicting serious damage on communities. That's because the regions with the lowest vaccination rates, are the regions where there are fewer hospitals and lower hospital capacity; and those hospitals are sometimes the least well-equipped to handle cases as they become more acute," Pritzker said.
In southern and east central Illinois, fewer than half of residents are fully vaccinated, compared with over 70 percent in suburban Cook County.
On Thursday, the seven-day rolling average for ICU bed availability in southern Illinois is three percent.
"During spring surge, the lowest ICU bed availability anywhere in the state never dropped below 15 percent," Pritzker said.
"The best way to manage this is situation is for people and communities to prevent sickness by slowing transmission with masks and vaccinations."
Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike, "As of last night, 2,184 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19; and of those, 489 were in the ICU, and 241 were on ventilators...
"I was hoping we'd never have to be here again. But right now, we're seeing 220 individuals being admitted to the hospital every day with COVID. The last time we saw this high a number was in May. Cases reported today are more than 40 times higher than the low that we appreciated earlier this summer. We are facing ICU hospital shortages. The ICU beds have run out, particularly in southern Illinois and parts of central Illinois, where the vaccination rates are the lowest."
She said in Region 5, Southern Illinois, is least-vaccinated, there was only one ICU bed available on Tuesday.
"That's not just one ICU bed for a COVID patient. That's one ICU bed in the entire region for the 20 counties that it serves for anyone — whether it's appendicitis, a car crash, any kind of injury that would need a bed," Dr. Ezike said.
Most hospitals in different areas of the state are reaching capacity, as well, she said.
"At the rate we are going, Region 5 will not have any ICU beds as soon as tomorrow. And potentially next week for Region 4. Regions 3 and 6 could run out of ICU beds in mid-September, if the number of people being admitted to the hospital everyday continues at its current rate," Dr. Ezike said.
Vaccination is our tool, she said. On Monday, the FDA approved the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for everyone 16 years and up.
"For people who are hesitant because the vaccine had 'not yet been approved' or was 'experimental', that excuse is gone. I urge you now to go and get vaccinated," Dr. Ezike said. "FDA's full approval of the COVID-19 vaccine, after tens of thousands of clinical trial participants and months of real-world data, should help reassure everyone who has concerns about getting vaccinated."
But let's not forget the other effective tool, Dr. Ezike said, that we had before we had vaccines: masks.
"Wearing a mask continues to be one of the simplest, cheapest ways to reduce the spread of COVID-19," she said. "And there is robust, scientific evidence that widespread use of masks, including non-medical masks, do in fact prevent the spread of COVID-19.
"The bottom line is masks are effective. Vaccines are effective," Dr. Ezike said. "But until more people are vaccinated, we need to take the steps to protect our health care workers, protect our hospital resources, and protect our most vulnerable."
Governor Pritzker had warned Tuesday he may need to look at the "menu" of COVID mitigation options if conditions worsened, including a move back into mitigation phases.
“I will remind you that if we are not able to bring these numbers down, if hospitals continue to fill, if the hospital beds and ICUs get full like they are in Kentucky — that’s just next door to Illinois — if that happens, we’re going to have to impose significantly greater mitigations,” Pritzker said Tuesday.
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The Governor added that those who shout at school board meetings, because they don’t like mask mandates for schools are in the minority.
Chicago Public Schools has already put a vaccination requirement in place for all employees. Additionally, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Wednesday a vaccine requirement for all city employees.
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