NOTE: Watch the Governor’s press conference live from 10 a.m. (CT) on the player above.
Governor JB Pritzker is scheduled to make an update to COVID-19 on Thursday morning, where he is expected to announce new mitigations for the state as metrics continue to rise.
The governor plans to issue a new indoor mask warrant for state residents, as well as new rules on vaccinations and COVID testing for all public school teachers, said Mary Ann Ahern of NBC 5, a source with knowledge of new mitigations.
The new indoor mask warrant, similar to warrants already issued in Cook and Chicago counties, will affect all residents of the state 2 years or older. These residents will be required to wear facial coatings indoors, regardless of the state of vaccination against COVID.
In addition, Pritzker will announce a new mandate requiring kindergarten teachers to college receive the coronavirus vaccine or undergo weekly COVID testing through an enhanced protocol program, the source told NBC 5 .
As of Wednesday, all 102 counties in Illinois are experiencing “high transmission” levels of COVID-19, meaning that counties see 100 or more new cases of COVID per 100,000 residents each week or have higher positivity rates. at 10% in all COVID tests.
Under these parameters, it is recommended that residents of these counties wear masks by the CDC, but Pritzker’s order will go a step further, requiring people to wear masks indoors, regardless of the state of vaccination.
The decision is also driven by a rapid increase in the number of patients in need of ICU beds while battling COVID. In Region 5, located in southern Illinois and made up of 20 counties, only six of the 86 ICU beds in the region are available, compared to only one available on Tuesday.
Officials say 22 of 171 beds are currently available in region 1 of northwest Illinois, while 21 are available in region 3, which includes Springfield.
On Tuesday, Pritzker had warned of “significantly greater mitigations” if COVID metrics did not begin to decline statewide.
“We’re constantly looking at the menu of options we might have to impose to reduce numbers,” Pritzker said during a news conference Tuesday. “I’ll remind you that if we’re not able to cut those numbers, if hospitals keep filling up, if hospital beds and ICUs fill up like they’re in Kentucky – that’s right next to Illinois.” if that happens, it will have to impose significantly greater mitigations. “