Three COVID deaths reported in Randolph County over past week
Late last week, on Aug. 26, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike announced vaccination requirements for individuals in high risk settings, as well as an indoor mask requirement for all residents.
All healthcare workers, including nursing home employees, all pre-k–12 teachers and staff, as well as higher education personnel and students will now be required to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
Workers and students in applicable settings must receive the first dose of a two-dose vaccination series or a single-dose vaccination by Sept. 5. Second doses of the vaccine must be received by 30 days after the first dose.
Employees in all of these settings and higher education students who are unable or unwilling to receive the vaccine will be required to get tested for COVID-19 at least once per week, and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) may require increased testing in certain situations.
For more information about the new requirements, please see this week’s print edition.