Pritzker announces end date of IL public health emergency

ILLINOIS (WIFR) - Governor JB Pritzker announced Tuesday that the state’s public health emergency will end on May 11, 2023, aligning with the federal government’s decision announced Monday.

“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,” Pritzker said in the announcement.

Illinois joined 12 other states and the Department of Health and Human Services in declaring a public health emergency on March 9, 2020, the start of COVID-19 mitigations in the U.S.

“Let me be clear: COVID-19 has not disappeared. It is still a real and present danger to people with compromised immune systems,” the governor said Monday. “I urge all Illinoisans to get vaccinated or get their booster shots if they have not done so already.”

The proclamation shaped emergency procedures to deploy necessary resources during the pandemic. It also ensured that Illinois’ and the federal government’s health emergencies were linked, bringing federal funding and expanded healthcare access for Illinois residents.

“Since COVID-19 first emerged nearly three years ago, my administration has worked diligently alongside the federal government to battle this once-in-a-generation pandemic by following scientific and medical guidance to support frontline workers and save lives,” said Pritzker.