- The CDC says we are not there yet.
You say you're following the science,
so what do you know that the CDC director does not?
- The CDC, which we have been adherent to from the get go,
and we think they're doing a terrific job,
they've just got a much more complex reality,
that the science and the data
and the facts on the ground in New Jersey
have allowed us to take this step.
- Well, the CDC still says
you're at a high transmission level.
- Given the declining cases,
given declining hospitalizations,
that is why we feel comfortable to lift this in effect tomorrow.
- We've made a decision that the mask mandate
that we put in place after the initial January surge
is not necessary going forward.
- On Monday, February 28th,
we will lift the indoor mask requirement
for the state of Illinois.
- When you put the mask mandate in place,
hospitalizations were at 1,700.
We're not at 1,700.
- No, we're not. - So why pick February 28th?
- Because we're seeing a trajectory
of those hospitalizations.
We've come from 7,300, more than that,
down to under 2,500 just in the last four weeks.
- Is it still higher now than it was at the peak before?
- It's still above what we'd like it to be,
which is -- what is the term we're using?
Substantial?