COVID-19 Megathread 6: Return of the Omicron

[JGibson]

Illinois: Later this morning, Gov. Pritzker is supposed to announce that he will expand vaccine eligibility to anyone over 16 effective April 12 and add at least one bridge phase before Phase 5.

Capitol Fax.

[JGibson]

Illinois: Later this morning, Gov. Pritzker is supposed to announce that he will expand vaccine eligibility to anyone over 16 effective April 12 and add at least one bridge phase before Phase 5.

Capitol Fax.

Here's the Bridge Phase that was announced by Gov. Pritzker last Thursday.

https://twitter.com/GovPritzker/status/1372605401540202499
https://twitter.com/hannahmeisel/status/1372588528404676612

[JGibson]

As of Friday, May 14th, Illinois will move to the Bridge Phase, meaning that capacity limits will further increase.

June 11th could be the earliest date of Illinois being in Phase 5 (all capacity limits gone, but mask mandate stays in order) if everything goes right.

[JGibson]

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) announced that the state will update its mask guidance rules to match those of the CDC's.

NPR Illinois:

Illinoisans who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 no longer need to wear face masks in most circumstances, Gov. JB Pritzker said Monday.

Pritzker’s announcement follows updated guidelines released last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention .

The updated executive order allows vaccinated people to ditch their masks, both outdoors and indoors, if they can safely social distance by at least six feet.

But masks are still required while using public transportation, while in crowds, congregate care facilities, other healthcare settings and schools. Businesses can also still require customers and employees to wear masks, and many businesses are still called to provide face coverings for their employees. But other big retail chains have announced they will also allow vaccinated people to enter stores without masks.

[JGibson]

Two more weeks until Phase 5 comes to Illinois.

[JGibson]

The whole state of Illinois heads to Phase 5 today, meaning that all capacity limits are removed at the statewide level; however, local cities and establishments may still reduce capacity limits on their own volition.

[JGibson]

Tomorrow, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is set to announce that the indoor state mask mandate is coming back, irrespective of vaccination status.

Also, Pritzker will announce that all public school PreK-12 and college teachers in the state be ordered to either get vaccinated or be subjected to regular testing.

NBC Chicago:

The new indoor mask mandate, similar to mandates already handed down in Cook County and Chicago, will impact all state residents 2 years of age and older. Those residents will be required to wear facial coverings in indoor settings, regardless of COVID vaccination status.

In addition, Pritzker will announce a new mandate requiring teachers in kindergarten through college to either receive the coronavirus vaccine, or to submit to weekly COVID testing through an enhanced protocols program, the source tells NBC 5.

[JGibson]

Just curious…

Any vaccinated people starting wearing masks again when going out?  Any choosing not to mask up?

I personally have worn a mask in all public settings, even after being fully vaxxed and the CDC temporarily relaxed the rules for the vaccinated. With the Delta Variant lurking and my state mandating masks indoors again, I still wear mine indoors.

[JGibson]

Got Moderna boosted today.

[JGibson]

Come on people, get a grip here. I am likely to be the biggest supporter of NPI's on this forum and I'm telling you it will be a cold day in hell before any state governor imposes another shelter-in-place or shuts down all nonessential businesses. The most we will get is some mask mandates, which falls far, far short of a "lockdown". If Twitter and Facebook become flooded with people begging for oxygen containers and people are falling over dead in the street, then maybe we will get some social distancing restrictions on businesses. Maybe.

By the way, if private businesses and institutions decide to restrict themselves, that is not a "lockdown". That is not the fault of any government, nor of Democrats or Joe Biden.

100% spot on. There is ZERO political will to do even the early 2021-era strategies of combatting COVID, such as capacity restrictions.

[JGibson]

Thoughts on NY's mask mandate being ruled unconstitutional?

We spent the 2010s fighting against the school-to-prison pipeline.

But the 2020s have been spent turning schools into prisons.

Masks in schools must go, and there must be accountability for those who enforced it.

I agree, but probably not for another 2 or 3 months, as a lot of children are still at risk for COVID. In 2 or 3 months, more children should be vaccinated, so school mask mandates should ideally end then.

What about high schools? HS students have been eligible for vaccination since last May

High schoolers have been eligible for the COVID vaccine since May of last year; however, in many states, parental consent is required if you're under 18 in many states. Thus, we have scenarios where the student wants to be vaccinated, but is blocked from doing so by their parent(s) for whatever reason (especially ones motivated by QAnon propaganda).

[JGibson]

Illinois Gov. Pritzker set to announce the end of the indoor mask mandate for non-school settings tomorrow. Such an order is set to take effect before March 1st.

https://twitter.com/MaryAnnAhernNBC/status/1491227463338311681

[JGibson]

Thanks to the 9-0-2 vote in JCAR today, all schools in Illinois are mask-optional. This is pending a ruling in the 4th Appellate Court regarding the TRO by Sangamon County Judge Raylene Grischow.


https://twitter.com/FOX2now/status/1493763788746670080

[JGibson]

Illinois school mask mandate updates:
- Illinois Supreme Court denies Gov. JB Pritzker's appeal against the TRO issued by Sangamon County Justice Raylene Grischow.
- Grischow's TRO is vacated, and the case is remanded back to Sangamon County Circuit Court.
- Gov. Pritzker announced the end of the indoor mask mandate for schools (though a majority of the districts already went mask-optional over the last few weeks), effective on Monday in conjunction with the lifting of the general indoor mask mandate and CDC's guidance changes.
 
WGN:

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — As the Illinois Supreme Court declined to hear Gov. JB Pritzker’s appeal of a restraining order against his school mask mandate — the governor announced it is being lifted on Monday.

[JGibson]

Beginning Sunday, the requirement for a negative COVID test to enter the USA via airline travel will be dropped.

URL:

The Biden administration is planning to drop the requirement for air travelers coming to the United States to test negative for COVID-19 before departure, starting on Sunday, according to a senior administration official.

The official said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had determined the requirement was no longer needed. The requirement will lift effective Sunday, June 12th at 12:01 a.m. ET.

The CDC will reassess the decision in 90 days and could reinstate it if there were a new COVID variant of concern, the official said.

[JGibson]

President Biden told CBS News's Scott Pelley on 60 Minutes tonight that the COVID pandemic is "over", just over two and a half years after the WHO declared it a pandemic. 

Ted Johnson at Deadline:

President Joe Biden said in a 60 Minutes interview on Sunday that the Covid pandemic “is over,” one of a series of newsworthy items he said during a sit down with Scott Pelley.

“The pandemic is over,” Biden said in a portion of the segment at the Detroit Auto Show last week. “We still have a problem with COVID. We’re still doing a lotta work on it …but the pandemic is over. If you notice, no one’s wearing masks. Everybody seems to be in pretty good shape. And so I think it’s changing. And I think this is a perfect example of it.”

Public health agencies still treat Covid as health emergencies, but the head of the World Health Organization was optimistic in his remarks last week. He said that “we’re not there yet, but the end is in sight.”

[JGibson]

There is nothing wrong with the phrase "pregnant people." It does NOT erase womanhood at all.

The reason for this phrase is that it's not just cisgender women that get pregnant, but also trans men, intersex, and gender-nonconforming people.