ILLINOIS (WAND) - State leaders are launching an awareness campaign with the goal of getting more Illinoisans to wear masks.
The $5 million campaign has the tagline "it only works if you wear it." Gov. JB Pritzker announced ads will be played over TV and radio and will be seen on social media and billboards, with spending focused on the counties that have "the most work to do."
One of the ads was played during the press conference. It compared not wearing a mask in public to not wearing a seat belt "because no one else is", not wearing a life jacket because it's uncomfortable or not wearing a helmet while playing football because "it's just one play."
Pritzker said nobody is asking people to wear masks forever, but masks must be worn while out in public at least until there is an effective treatment or vaccine. Masks are correctly worn when they are over a person's nose and mouth.
"We have made so much progress since the beginning of this pandemic," Pritzker said. "Let's protect that progress."
Pritzker said many Illinoisans have followed guidelines and worn masks, but those who refuse to do so are putting the health of others at risk. He pointed out that countries that have nearly everyone wearing masks saw their COVID-19 positivity rate go down to almost zero.
A total of 11 Illinois counties are currently under warning status for high COVID-19 statistics. Sangamon County is one of those counties.
A Monday COVID-19 update in Illinois showed the state had 1,298 new cases of COVID-19 and 10 additional deaths. At that time, the state had a rolling 7-day positivity rate of 4 percent.
Illinois has over 183,000 positive cases of COVID-19 and more than 7,500 deaths across 102 counties.
