Mask mandates end Monday in Illinois and St. Louis County
Published Date: 2/27/2022
Source: KSDK News
Mask mandates come to an end Monday in the state of Illinois and St. Louis County. It comes at a time when CDC officials say more than 70% of the U.S. population lives in counties where the coronavirus is posing a low or medium threat to hospitals. In St. Louis County, instead of a mask mandate, public health officials will issue an advisory that only encourages mask use. In a grocery store parking lot in Maplewood, St. Louis resident Lisa White said, “I’m going to still wear my mask when I’m around others just to be on the safe side, and I feel that if you want to wear your mask, that’s your decision. If you don’t to wear a mask, that’s up to you.” Kenneth Randolph, of St. Louis County, said, “I think everybody can make their own decision. If you want to wear a mask, wear them. If you don’t want to wear them, don’t. Nobody’s making you do this; you’ve got your own freedom.” In Illinois last month, a judge issued a temporary restraining order blocking the state from enforcing the mandate in schools. Gov. J.B. Pritzker appealed to the state supreme court, but that was denied, so the governor said he’s ending the mandate. Pritzker had already announced the state’s indoor mask mandate will end on Monday. In Swansea, Sunday, Pam Pettijohn said, “I believed in the masks, but I think it’s time to let them go.” Does that mean she will stop wearing a mask, Monday? “It depends on how crowded the place is where I’m going,” said Pettijohn. “I’m 67 and I feel like I still have to protect myself and others.” Illinois resident Linda Andrews said, “I don’t know what to make of it. I don’t think we really know. It keeps going back and forth. I’m just trying to keep my mask to protect myself and my family.” At a briefing, last week, St. Louis County Executive Dr. Sam Page discussed the possibility of having to put tighter mask restrictions back in place. “We would need to see an extraordinary rise in cases, again,” said Page. “We would need to hear the pandemic task force, the CDC and our public health department sounding the alarm. Right now, we don’t see anything like that in the future, but we’ll listen. We’ll watch. I believe and our health department believes we are past the worst of this.”