CHICAGO – If you were under the impression that the COVID pandemic is subsiding, and things are slowly returning to normal, you need to be made aware that Governor JB Pritzker signed yet another COVID-19 Executive Order last Friday. The order emphasizes that the state is without a statewide mask mandate, but that schools and health settings may still require masks.
Did you read about this anywhere else? See below:
Executive Order 2022-12
(COVID-19 EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 105)
April 29, 2022
WHEREAS, since early March 2020, Illinois has faced a pandemic that has caused extraordinary sickness and loss of life, infecting over 3,130,000, and taking the lives of more than 33,600 residents; and,
WHEREAS, as Illinois continues to respond to the public health disaster caused by Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel severe acute respiratory illness that spreads rapidly through respiratory transmissions, the burden on residents, healthcare providers, first responders, and governments throughout the State has been unprecedented; and,
WHEREAS, protecting the health and safety of Illinoisans is among the most important functions of State government; and,
WHEREAS, numerous variants have emerged over the course of the pandemic, each with different transmissibility and degrees of severity; and,
WHEREAS, predicting what will happen in the future in this pandemic is a difficult task, and proven pandemic mitigations such as social distancing, face coverings and other public health precautions have been proven to slow and stop the spread of COVID-19; and,
WHEREAS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued revised guidance on February 25, 2022 to lift its recommendation for universal indoor masking, including in K-12 settings; and,
WHEREAS, that guidance provided a framework for assessing community COVID-19 levels based on COVID-19 hospital admissions, inpatient bed availability, and number of COVID-19 cases; and,
WHEREAS, the CDC’s guidance now only recommends universal masking in communities with high community COVID-19 levels; and,
WHEREAS, the CDC continues to advise that some community settings, such as schools and high-risk congregate settings may require additional layers of prevention based on the characteristics of the setting and in the event of an outbreak; and,
WHEREAS, even without a State mandate, K-12 schools, childcare facilities, and other settings may choose to require individuals to wear face masks based on the community COVID-19 level and other characteristics of the setting; and,
WHEREAS, COVID-19 vaccines are effective at preventing COVID-19 disease, especially severe illness and death, but a proportion of the population remains unvaccinated and some residents, including younger children, cannot yet receive the vaccine; and,
WHEREAS, some employers have entered collective bargaining agreements that continue to require individuals to wear face masks in certain settings, in addition to other mitigation measures; and,
WHEREAS, the CDC continues to recommend that individuals who are immunocompromised or at high risk for severe disease consider wearing a well-fitting mask indoors in public when the community COVID-19 level is high; and,
WHEREAS, the CDC continues to recommend that people with symptoms, a positive test, or exposure to someone with COVID-19 wear a mask; and,
WHEREAS, individuals may choose to wear a mask at any time to protect themselves or those around them from spread of COVID-19; and,
WHEREAS, CDC guidance continues to recommend that individuals who are not up-to-date on COVID-19 vaccinations or within 90 days of COVID-19 infection stay at home and quarantine for at least 5 days after exposure to COVID-19 and wear a mask until day 10; and,
WHEREAS, CDC guidance continues to recommend that individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 stay at home and isolate for at least 5 days after testing positive and wear a mask until day 10; and,
WHEREAS, the CDC continues to recommend that students, teachers, and staff should stay home when they have signs of any infectious illness, including COVID-19; and,
WHEREAS, schools should continue to collaborate with their local health departments to determine, consistent with CDC guidance, which students, teachers, and staff with positive COVID-19 results or exposure should stay home for the health and safety of the school community; and,
WHEREAS, as COVID-19 has spread in Illinois over the course of the Gubernatorial Disaster Proclamations, the circumstances causing a disaster throughout the State have changed and continue to change, making definitive predictions of the course the virus will take over the coming months extremely difficult; and,
WHEREAS, in addition to causing the tragic loss of more than 33,300 Illinoisans and negatively impacting the physical health of tens of thousands more, COVID-19 has caused extensive economic loss and continues to threaten the financial welfare of a significant number of individuals and businesses across the nation and the State; and,
WHEREAS, many executive agencies in the State continue to focus their limited resources on the ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic; and,
WHEREAS, on April 29, 2022, considering the expected continuing spread of COVID-19 and the ongoing health and economic impacts that that will be felt over the coming month by people across the State, I declared all counties in the State of Illinois as a disaster area; and,
WHEREAS, in response to the epidemic emergency and public health emergency described above, I find it necessary to re-issue Executive Orders 2020-09, 2020-12, 2020-20, 2020-21, 2020-23, 2020-24, 2020-26, 2020-27, 2020-30, 2020-36, 2020-50, 2021-12, 2021-18, 2021-22, 2021-28, 2021-31, 2022-06, and 2022-11 and hereby incorporate the WHEREAS clauses of those Executive Orders;
THEREFORE, by the powers vested in me as the Governor of the State of Illinois, pursuant to the Illinois Constitution and Sections 7(1), 7(2), 7(3), 7(8), 7(9), and 7(12) of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act, 20 ILCS 3305, and consistent with the powers in public health laws, I hereby order the following, effective April 29, 2022:
Part 1: Re-Issue of Executive Orders.
Executive Orders 2020-09, 2020-12, 2020-20, 2020-21, 2020-23, 2020-24, 2020-26, 2020-27, 2020-30, 2020-36, 2020-50, 2021-12, 2021-18, 2021-22, 2021-28, 2021-31, 2022-06, and 2022-11 are hereby re-issued as follows:
Executive Order 2020-09 (Telehealth):
Sections 9 and 10 of Executive Order 2020-09, as amended by Executive Order 2021-15, are re-issued and extended through May 28, 2022.
Executive Order 2020-12 (Health care worker background checks):
Section 1 of Executive Order 2020-12 is re-issued and extended through May 28, 2022.
Executive Order 2020-20 (Public assistance requirements):
Executive Order 2020-20 is re-issued in its entirety and extended through May 28, 2022, whereafter Executive Order 2020-20 shall be rescinded.
Executive Order 2020-21 (Furlough of Illinois Department of Corrections inmates):
Executive Order 2020-21 is re-issued in its entirety and extended through May 28, 2022.
Executive Order 2020-23 (Actions by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation for licensed professionals engaged in disaster response):
Executive Order 2020-23 is re-issued in its entirety and extended through May 28, 2022.
Executive Order 2020-24 (Illinois Department of Human Services Forensic Treatment Program):
Sections 1 and 3 of Executive Order 2020-24 are re-issued and extended through May 28, 2022.
Executive Order 2020-26 (Hospital capacity):
Sections 1, 2(a), (d), (f), and (g), 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 of Executive Order 2020-26, as amended by Executive Order 2022-04, are re-issued and extended through May 28, 2022, whereafter Sections 1, 2(a), (d), (f), and (g), 3, and 5 of Executive Order 2020-26 shall be rescinded.
Executive Order 2020-27 (Cadavers testing positive for COVID-19):
Executive Order 2020-27 is re-issued in its entirety and extended through May 28, 2022, whereafter Executive Order 2020-27 shall be rescinded.
Executive Order 2020-30 (Expired consular identification documents; electronic filings for the Illinois Human Rights Commission):
Sections, 1, 4, 5, and 6 of Executive Order 2020-30 are re-issued and extended through May 28, 2022.
Executive Order 2020-36 (Marriage licenses):
Executive Order 2020-36 is re-issued in its entirety and extended through May 28, 2022, whereafter Executive Order 2020-36 shall be rescinded.
Executive Order 2020-50 (Resuming transfers from county jails to Illinois Department of Corrections):
Executive Order 2020-50 is re-issued in its entirety and extended through May 28, 2022.
Executive Order 2021-12 (Phase 5 reopening):
Executive Order 2021-12 is re-issued in its entirety and extended through May 28, 2022.
Executive Order 2021-12 is further amended and revised as follows:
b. Face coverings. Any individual who is not fully vaccinated and who is over age two and able to medically tolerate a face covering (a mask or cloth face covering) should cover their nose and mouth with a face covering when in a public place and unable to maintain a six-foot social distance.
All individuals, including those who are fully vaccinated, shall be required to wear a face covering consistent with CDC guidance, including (1) where federally required on planes, buses, trains, and other forms of public transportation and in transportation hubs such as airports and train and bus stations; (2) in congregate facilities such as correctional facilities and homeless shelters; and (3) in healthcare settings. Individuals in schools, day care settings, and educational institutions should continue to follow separate guidance issued by the Illinois State Board of Education, Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, and the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Executive Order 2021-18 (Mitigation measures):
Executive Order 2021-18, as amended by Executive Order 2021-19, Executive Order 2022-06, and Executive Order 2022-10, is re-issued in its entirety and extended through May 28, 2022.
Executive Order 2021-22 (Vaccination and testing requirements):
Sections 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 of Executive Order 2021-22, as amended by Executive Order 2021-23, Executive Order 2021-27, Executive Order 2022-01, and Executive Order 2022-05 are re-issued and extended through May 28, 2022.
Executive Order 2021-28 (Day care vaccination and testing requirements):
Executive Order 2021-28, as amended by Executive Order 2021-30, is re-issued in its entirety and extended through May 28, 2022.
Executive Order 2021-31 (Suspending requirements for social workers):
Executive Order 2021-31 is re-issued in its entirety and extended through May 28, 2022.
Executive Order 2022-06 (Face covering requirements):
Executive Order 2022-06, as amended by Executive Order 2022-11, is re-issued in its entirety and extended through May 28, 2022.
Executive Order 2022-11 (Face covering requirements):
Executive Order 2022-11 is re-issued in its entirety and extended through May 28, 2022.
Part 2: Savings Clause. If any provision of this Executive Order or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction, this invalidity does not affect any other provision or application of this Executive Order, which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application. To achieve this purpose, the provisions of this Executive Order are declared to be severable.
JB Pritzker, Governor
Issued by the Governor April 29, 2022
Filed by the Secretary of State April 29, 2022
REMEMBER THIS, “IF” he comes up for re-election.