SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced Tuesday that they are fully aligning with new recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regarding masks.
In a news release, IDPH officials said, “CDC recommends that everyone, including fully vaccinated individuals, wear a mask in public indoor setting in areas with substantial and high transmission.” They also recommended indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students and visitors at K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status.
“While data continues to show the effectiveness of the three COVID-19 vaccines currently authorized in the U.S., including against the Delta variant, we are still seeing the virus rapidly spread among the unvaccinated,” said Dr. Ngozi Ezike, IDPH director. “Cases and hospitalizations due to COVID-19 both continue to increase, overwhelmingly among the unvaccinated, but the risk is greater for everyone if we do not stop the ongoing spread of the virus and the Delta variant. We know masking can help prevent transmission of COVID-19 and its variants.” They continued to say that until more people are vaccinated, they are joining the CDC in the mask recommendation.
IDPH officials said areas of substantial transmission are–considered by the CDC–to be those with 50-99 cases per 100,000 people over a 7-day period. Those areas with high transmission are those with more than 100 cases per 100,000 people over a 7-day period. Transmission levels can be found on the CDC’s website.