At this writing, there are 5 states and a couple of territories that continue to observe a mask mandate.

Based on comments made by Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike, it seems certain that Illinois will be keeping our mask mandate up to and possibly even beyond Thanksgiving.

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The IDPH Says A Spike In COVID-19 Infections Would Make Lifting The Mandate "Inappropriate"

Illinois had been trending toward lower numbers up until about 2 weeks ago when things began to change. According to WGEM.com,

There were over 17,000 new confirmed and probable cases reported last week. The 7-day average for cases is now 2,671. IDPH reported 2,060 new confirmed and probable cases Monday. The state also said over 1,300 people are hospitalized for complications with COVID-19.

Running the numbers, the state is averaging 2,651 new cases of coronavirus each day over the last seven days. That is an increase of 19.7% over where the state was on November 2nd, when 2,215 new cases per day were being averaged.

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We're Not The Only State That Requires A Mask To Go Over The River And Through The Woods To Grandmother's House

Although to be fair, we are one of the few. Other than Illinois, mask mandates remain in place for the people living in Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, Guam, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia.

California, Connecticut, and New York also have mask mandates, but only for the un-vaccinated.

I guess the bottom line here is that you'll have the same choices you did at Thanksgiving last year:

  • Wear a mask to Thanksgiving dinner
  • Don't wear a mask to Thanksgiving dinner
  • Wear a mask to Thanksgiving dinner and complain loudly and frequently
  • Skip it

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