SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WREX) â€� Illinois continues to trend the right direction when it comes to its COVID-19 metrics.Â
On Monday, new data from the Illinois Department of Public Health showed the state is now under 2,000 hospitalizations (1,811 as of Feb. 13) for the first time since Nov. 25, 2021 (1,987).Â
The state is also seeing a decrease in new COVID-19-like-illnesses in the hospital over the past month. As of Feb. 11, the state had 145 new hospitalizations. On Jan. 15, the state reported 585 new COVID-19-like-illnesses in the hospital.Â
The state has seen a steady decline in hospitalizations over the past month or so. For instance, on Jan. 17, there 6,685 people in the hospital with the virus, according to IDPH data.Â
The decline in hospitalizations over the past month led to Governor JB Pritzker announcing last week the state will be ending its indoor mask mandate in most locations in two weeks (Feb. 28). Â
Gov. Pritzker says there are still "sensitive locations," such as K-12 schools. The governor says because of that, changes for schools may come later on.
The governor says keeping schools open is critical.Â
"Schools are open and should remain open. Protecting everyone in a community, their education and their health, is my highest priority," Gov. Pritzker said during a news conference last week.Â
There's no word on when the mask mandate for schools could come to an end.Â
