Major changes to Illinois mask guidance are now in effect. Here’s what you need to know.

The Illinois mask mandate is no more in most settings today, including bars, restaurants, gyms — and schools. Governor JB Pritzker decided to lift the mask mandate in schools after the Illinois Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of a downstate judge’s decision against that mandate.

“Today, our hospitals are much better positioned to handle emergencies and more than half of all eligible adults have been boosted; this is the progress we needed to make to remove our state indoor masking requirements,” said Governor Pritzker in a recent press release.

Cook County Department of Public Health officials and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also announced changes to masking and other restrictions. Here’s what you need to know.

Illinois no longer requires masks indoors – but there are a few exceptions

While masks are no longer required in most settings, you should still keep those masks handy, especially as you enter places where they are still federally mandated (including public transit), doctor’s offices, churches, long-term care facilities, and daycare centers.

The move to end indoor mask mandates at the end of February was announced last month, while schools were the intended exception. Hundreds of parents in school districts statewide filed a lawsuit against the school indoor mask mandate, and a downstate judge ruled in their favor, making masks optional.

State officials filed an appeal, which was denied last week. The Illinois Supreme Court declined to hear the state’s request for an expedited review of the decision. Masking is now optional for Illinois state schools.

On Friday, state officials reported 13, 028 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases, and the state’s current statewide test positivity rate is 2.4%. As of February 27, there are 786 people hospitalized with COVID-19, according to data with the Illinois State Department of Public Health. Of those, 157 people are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and 82 people are on ventilators.

Cook County is no longer requiring proof of vaccination to enter bars, restaurants, and gyms

Effective today, businesses in Cook County no longer have to require proof of vaccination for patrons. However, private businesses can choose to implement mask and vaccination requirements, if owners would like.

The CCDPH still recommends mask-wearing for the immunocompromised or those at high-risk of contracting COVID-19 in indoor spaces or when in the presence of unvaccinated people.

As the highly contagious Omicron variant surged late last year, County officials worked to decrease the transmission of COVID-19. More testing opportunities were made available, and beginning in early January, businesses were required to check for proof of vaccination.

Based on the CDC’s new mask guidance, about 70% of Americans can ease mask-wearing

According to the CDC’s Community Levels, which were updated

Friday, most Americans live in a county where COVID-19 is creating a low strain on health and healthcare systems and can remove their masks.

The community levels use a combination of three metrics — new COVID-19 admissions per 100,000 population in the past 7 days, the percent of staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients, and total new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population in the past 7 days — to determine community level in a given county: low, medium, or high.

At the same time, there is still high transmission of COVID-19 across the nation. The CDC’s Integrated View Tracker, which measures the spread of COVID-19, shows that most counties in the United States are seeing high spread of COVID-19.

In Illinois, all counties with the exception of one — Putnam County — are currently seeing high transmission of COVID-19.

The CDC still recommends mask-wearing during quarantine and exposure to a person infected with COVID-19 to prevent the spread. That even includes workspaces and schools.