(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday said he is not considering a return of the state's COVID-19 indoor mask mandate at this time.
The public health commissioner in Philadelphia made news this week when she reinstated that city's mask mandate effective next week because of a spike in cases.
At an unrelated event on Chicago's South Side, the governor told reporters that he's watching Illinois' numbers closely, but they're staying at a manageable level.
"People are less sick as a result of the fact that we have many more people who are vaccinated and who are taking care of themselves," he said. "But also, we have therapeutics that are helping people who do get sick to recover more easily.”
The latest numbers from the Illinois Department of Public Health show about 522 people admitted to Illinois hospitals for COVID-19 treatment.
That compares with nearly 7,400 at the height of the "Omicron" subvariant surge in January.
Although he’s not interested in reviving a statewide indoor mask mandate, Pritzker noted that local governments and individual businesses have leeway in establishing their own rules.
"I think that towns and cities across Illinois -- not to mention across the country -- should do what they feel is necessary in their communities to keep people safe," he said. "But I feel like right now, in listening to IDPH and our experts who are outside of IDPH, that we're in a pretty good place.”
The state's latest numbers show the entire Chicago area is classified as "low" risk for COVID-19 transmission.
Only four counties in far southern Illinois are rated at "high risk."
Pritzker’s remarks come a day after his interim state health director, Dr. Amaal Tokars, said there’s no movement to impose another mask mandate. She said, however, that monitoring the metrics was key to future decisions.
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