Gov. Pritzker to end COVID-19 public health emergency in Ill.
CHICAGO, Ill. (KFVS) - Illinois Governor JB Pritzker announced that the state-wide COVID-19 disaster emergency will end on May 11.
According to a release from the Office of Governor JB Pritzker, the end of the public health emergency will align the state with the federal government’s decision to end the national public health emergency.
President Joe Biden announced yesterday that he will end the national emergencies on May 11.
Gov. Pritzker spoke about the different ways the emergency proclamation aided Ill. citizens during the coronavirus pandemic since March 2020.
“Our state’s disaster proclamation and executive orders enabled us to use every resource at our disposal from building up testing capacity and expanding our healthcare workforce to supporting our vaccine rollout and mutual aid efforts,” Gov. Pritzker said.
Gov. Pritzker also said that the end to the public health emergency does not mean an end to the virus.
“Let me be clear: COVID-19 has not disappeared,” Gov. Pritzker said. “It is still a real and present danger to people with compromised immune systems--and I urge all Illinoisians to get vaccinated or get their booster shots if they have not done so already.”
The emergency proclamation activated the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) and brought together decision-makers from every state agency and the sate’s mutual aid network to deploy resources as necessary during the public health threat.
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