SE Illinois News

As more of the public gets the COVID-19 vaccine, officials are discussing how to continue taking steps back to some sense of normalcy. 

Many questions of how reopening nonessential industries such as entertainment and sports that have been shut down or in some way restricted for over a year have been directed toward the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH). State Rep. Adam Niemerg (R-Teutopolis) spoke with IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike about what the coming months could look like.

Niemerg asked Ezike what vaccinated individuals should expect when attending large public events, such as a Cubs game. 

"If you're able to show that you're vaccinated to go to a particular event, is that going to be [...] just a verbal thing?" Niemerg asked. "Or would I have to show some paperwork?"

The public health director said she didn't have specific answers but that many different solutions have been discussed, including events open only to vaccinated people or a digital pass for people who have gotten the vaccine so they don't have to carry around a vaccination card. 

Ezike said IDPH won't be making the decisions regarding mask and vaccine mandates in many businesses. Last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced that masks are no longer necessary outdoors, but an outdoor event held by a business could still require it.

"We want to have something that's less prone to forgery so that if an establishment has a rule of their own then you could have a way to demonstrate that," Ezike said. "We are working on the technology. Companies are working on whatever protocols they want to put in place. It's not IDPH mandated."

The transition out of mask-wearing has frustrated some. On April 28, Ted Cruz shared his exasperation with Dr. Anthony Fauci on Twitter, writing that "it's April 2021 and Dr. Fauci can't explain why an unvaccinated child has to wear a mask when walking outside and alone with her vaccinated mother."

Ezike's mask-wearing suggestions have been criticized before, too. In October, the IDPH director told reporters that people should be wearing masks all the time and even in their homes, according to Prairie State Wire. 

State Sen. Jason Plummer (R-Edwardsville) has not been shy about his exasperation with Ezike. In September, he called out the director for misconstruing COVID data, and again was agitated last month when Ezike suddenly left a Senate Health Committee meeting without answering questions posed by lawmakers. 

"She literally left shortly after her speech to avoid questions from committee members,” Plummer said. “So lawmakers’ questions and concerns continue to go unanswered. On top of that, the IDPH staff who did stick around long enough to answer some questions all left before the committee hearing was over. The IDPH staff didn’t stick around to answer their questions or to interact in order to provide more information for lawmakers or the public.”