BREAKING NEWS: Illinois students preschool through 12 will be required to wear masks during school and indoor sports and activities, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker just announced.

As previously reported on QuadCities.com, during an online press conference this afternoon, the governor announced that due to spiking

Rock Island District 41 students wearing masks during a recent school activity. Today, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker announced all students and faculty will be required to wear masks during school activities.

covid rates, especially among unvaccinated people, there would be a return to some covid mitigations in Illinois.

Pritzker announced the following mitigations will take place:

• Masks will be required in all preschool through grade 12 schools, daycares, and indoor sports. There will be no mask requirement for outdoor sports, due to evidence showing infection rates for outdoor sports are low. Pritzker also said free masks and tests would be provided statewide to all schools as needed.
• Illinois will require all state employees at congregate facilities to be vaccinated. All employees at veterans homes, senior facilities, long-term care facilities, etc. will be required to be vaccinated.
• There will be a universal mask mandate in all long-term care facilities, whether private or public, whether or not the person is vaccinated or not. “While the Delta variant rages on, I want to leave no room for non-compliance,” Pritzker said.

Covid cases have leapt in Illinois over 10 times higher than they were in July, Pritzker said, particularly downstate, where numbers have run rampant and larger numbers of residents are unvaccinated.

Ninety-six (96) percent of those hospitalized in the state are unvaccinated individuals, Pritzker said.

“The largest group of those who are hit the hardest are those unvaccinated,” Pritzker said. “People are dying who don’t have to die. It’s heartbreaking and it has to end. We have to take action now, and that’s what we’re doing.”

QuadCities.com is continuing to cover this story.

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Sean Leary Director of Digital Media

Sean Leary is an author, director, artist, musician, producer and entrepreneur who has been writing professionally since debuting at age 11 in the pages of the Comics Buyers Guide. An honors graduate of the University of Southern California masters program, he has written over 50 books including the best-sellers The Arimathean, Every Number is Lucky to Someone and We Are All Characters.