CHICAGO, Ill. – Don’t get your hopes up about the lifting of the state’s latest indoor mask mandate, even though many places aren’t even enforcing the mandate, and even though cases, hospitalizations, and vaccination rates are all improving, including the Peoria area.
“I want to remind you that if you go look at the hospitalizations — the new hospitalizations — as well as the ones that are existing in total, that they are not dropping at the rate they were dropping even a couple weeks ago. So, I’m concerned about that,” said Governor JB Pritzker.
Speaking at an unrelated event earlier in the week, Governor JB Pritzker did say things right now in Illinois are better than even a couple weeks ago.
The fact many of the numbers are starting to decline isn’t the only thing Pritzker says he looks at.
“Test positivity rate is not the only thing we look at,” said Pritzker. “We look at the hospitalizations, we look at the number of people who are getting sick upon any given day on average, and we also look at the surrounding communities, surrounding states.”
Pritzker cites recent surges in states like Michigan and Minnesota. So, Pritzker says masking up is still needed, but he’s hopeful Illinois has turned the corner.
