The State of Illinois decided to lift mask mandates. Due to the number of COVID cases going down in the state as well as guidance from the CDC, the State of Illinois decided on February 28 to lift the mask mandate.

“You may choose to wear a mask or respirator that offers greater protection in certain situations, such as when you are with people at higher risk for severe illness, or if you are at higher risk for severe illness,” according to the cdc.gov website.

Here at North, cases have decreased to little to no cases over the past month officially, despite masks being optional since the start of the month.

“The COVID cases have gone down. We actually don’t have a positive case right now. In January, when we came back, it was pretty bad, A lot of kids were out with COVID and also quarantined because of close contact, but it’s just seemingly disappeared, “ said nurse Annie Swiatek.

Since January, when the omicron variant was peaking, Illinois has seen a steady decline in cases leading to Governor J.B Pritzker’s decision to remove the mask mandate, bringing everything closer to normalcy.

“Most definitely [we are close to normalcy]. We’ll see after spring break how that goes. It might go up a little bit, and there’s a new variant coming out right now [B.A.2.2]. There hasn’t been much about it here yet, but it’s something to be aware of,“ Swiatek said.

All states with the exception of Hawaii have lifted their mask mandate. However, the CDC is still recommending people to be cautious while traveling as there are still risks while traveling domestically.

“Check your destination’s COVID-19 situation before traveling. State, tribal, local, and territorial governments may have travel restrictions in place. Wearing a mask over your nose and mouth is required in indoor areas of public transportation (including airplanes) and indoors in U.S. transportation hubs (including airports),“ according to the cdc.gov website.

As a result of these mandates being lifted, students along with staff can now choose to be maskless. This is also due in part to the numbers of COVID cases are going down. Currently, numbers are at around one case per week. This change followed the Illinois mask mandate lift that happened on February 28.

“I think with the number of students and staff that we have that are vaccinated, it was time,” said associate principal for student services Megan Licht.

Some teachers say that removing the masks causes more engagement, and it seems that students are happier to be at school.

“There has been a marked difference in my classes. I took my mask off, and immediately classes were more engaged and happy to be here,” said Joseph Rogalski, science teacher.

Some students found the change to be different, but once they got used to it, they became fine with it.

“At first I didn’t really like the change because I was going to Disney and didn’t want to get sick. And I felt like it was kind of rushed, but now I’m fine with it,”said senior Anthony Morris.
“It was further decided to change in our school because our numbers are just so low. If numbers were to rise again, we could potentially see a new mask mandate. I think that it was time with just our metrics and looking at the numbers of where we are at with COVID,” Licht said

Students still have the choice to wear a mask or not. There is no rule against them wearing or not wearing a mask.

“At this point, it should be your choice to wear a mask or not,” Licht said.

Some people choose to wear masks still, but that can change when more people see the numbers are going down.

“I think as numbers go down more people will go maskless,” Morris said.