Executive Order 2022-11

WHEREAS, since early March 2020, Illinois has faced a pandemic that has caused extraordinary sickness and loss of life, infecting over 3,102,000, and taking the lives of more than 33,500 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 that are critical to slowing and stopping the spread of COVID-19 may be required again; and,

WHEREAS, the State of Illinois has seen vast improvement in recent weeks of hospitalizations and transmission; 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, 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, on April 1, 2022, I reissued Executive Order 2022-06 which required, among other things, all individuals, regardless of vaccination status, to wear a face covering on planes, buses, trains, and other forms of public transportation and in transportation hubs such as airports and train and bus stations; and,

WHEREAS, On January 29, 2021, the CDC issued an order requiring the wearing of masks by people on public transportation conveyances or on the premises of transportation hubs to prevent spread of the virus that causes COVID-19; and,

WHEREAS, as a result of a court order, effective as of April 18, 2022, the CDC’s January 29, 2021 Order requiring masks on public transportation conveyances and at transportation hubs is no longer in effect; and,

WHEREAS,  the CDC continues to recommend that people wear masks in indoor public transportation settings at this time, but has announced it will not enforce the January 29, 2021 Order; and,

WHEREAS, I no longer find such a state-wide requirement to be necessary in Illinois, but continue to recommend that all individuals consider wearing a face covering while on public transportation and in transportation hubs; and,

WHEREAS, businesses, entities, and local municipalities may continue to adopt face covering requirements based on the circumstances of their local community; and,

WHEREAS, on April 1, 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,

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 1, 2022:

Section 1. Amendments to Section 2 of Executive Order 2022-06 (Face covering requirements).  

Executive Order 2022-06 is amended and revised as follows:

Section 2: Face Covering Requirements.

b. All individuals, regardless of vaccination status, shall continue to be required to wear a face covering (1) where federally required; (2) on planes, buses, trains and other forms of public transportation and in transportation hubs such as airports and train and bus stations; (32) in congregate facilities such as correctional facilities and homeless shelters; and (43) in healthcare settings. This provision does not apply to buses or vans operated by public or private school systems, including buses or vans operated by early care and education/child care programs.

Section 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 20, 2022

Filed by the Secretary of State April 20, 2022