Illinois Executive Order 2021-20 (COVID-19 Executive Order NO. 87)

By: Melody Dizon

 

Iusually get asked about Illinois’ mandate on vaccination requirements especially in the workplace setting. Business owners alike have the same concern especially being in the healthcare workplace and dealing with patients themselves. The best way to answer those inquiries is to go through Illinois Department of Public Health website and get the directives. State mandates vary from state to state. What may be required of some may not be required by another.

Direct from Illinois.gov’s website: Executive Order 2021-20 (COVID-19 EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 87) (In consideration of allotted space in this column, I urge you to please check Illinois.gov’s guidance for your specific place of work. Healthcare workers and healthcare facilities are given precedence over the others, as this is where stricter mandates are ordered. Please visit website for full mandate order)

Section 1: Face covering requirements for individuals. Beginning on Monday, August 30, 2021, all individuals in Illinois who are age 2 or over and able to medically tolerate a face covering (a mask or cloth face covering) shall be required to cover their nose and mouth with a face covering when in an indoor public place. All individuals, including those who are fully vaccinated, shall continue to be required to wear a face covering (1) on planes, buses, trains, and other forms of public transportation and in transportation hubs such as airports and train and bus stations; (2) in congregate facilities such as correctional facilities and homeless shelters; and (3) in healthcare settings. Illinoisans should also consider wearing a mask in crowded outdoor settings and for activities that involve close contact with others who are not fully vaccinated. Face coverings may be removed temporarily while actively eating or drinking (including in bars or restaurants), and may be removed by workers at workplaces when they can consistently maintain six feet of distance (such as when workers are in their office or cubicle space).

Section 2: Vaccination Requirements for Health Care Workers.

a. Definitions i. “Health Care Worker” means any person who (1) is employed by, volunteers for, or is contracted to provide services for a Health Care Facility, or is employed by an entity that is contracted to provide services to a Health Care Facility, and (2) is in close contact (fewer than 6 feet) with other persons in the facility for more than 15 minutes at least once a week on a regular basis as determined by the Health Care Facility. ii. “Health Care Facility” means any institution, building, or agency, or portion of an institution, building or agency, whether public or private (for-profit or nonprofit), that is used, operated or designed to provide health services, medical treatment or nursing, or rehabilitative or preventive care to any person or persons. This includes, but is not limited to, ambulatory surgical treatment centers, hospices, hospitals, physician offices, dental offices, free-standing emergency centers, urgent care facilities, birth centers, post-surgical recovery care facilities, end-stage renal disease facilities, long-term care facilities (including skilled and intermediate long-term care facilities licensed under the Nursing Home Care Act, the ID/DD Community Care Act or the MC/DD Act), Specialized Mental Health Rehabilitation Facilities, assisted living facilities, supportive living facilities, medical assistance facilities, mental health centers, outpatient facilities, public health centers, rehabilitation facilities, residential treatment facilities, and adult day care centers. iii. An individual is “fully vaccinated against COVID-19” two weeks after receiving the second dose in a two-dose series of a COVID-19 vaccine authorized for emergency use, licensed, or otherwise approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), or two weeks after receiving a single-dose COVID-19 vaccine authorized for emergency use, licensed, or otherwise approved by the FDA.

b. All Health Care Workers must have, at a minimum, the first dose of a twodose COVID-19 vaccine series or a single-dose COVID-19 vaccine within 10 days after issuance of this Executive Order, and be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 within 30 days following administration of their first dose in a two-dose vaccination series. Any Health Care Workers who have not established that they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 must be tested consistent with the requirements of Subsection (d). To establish that they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, Health Care Workers must provide proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 to the Health Care Facility. Proof of COVID-19 vaccination may be met by providing one of the following: (1) a CDC COVID-19 vaccination record card or photograph of the card; (2) documentation of vaccination from a health care provider or electronic health record; or (3) state immunization records.

c. Health Care Facilities shall exclude Health Care Workers who are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 from the premises unless they comply with the testing requirements specified in Subsection (d).

d. Beginning 10 days after issuance of this Executive Order, to enter or work at or for a Health Care Facility, Health Care Workers who have not been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 must undergo testing for COVID-19, as described below, until they establish that they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19: i. Health Care Workers who are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 must be tested for COVID-19 weekly, at a minimum. The testing must be done using a test that either has Emergency Use Authorization by the FDA or is be operating per the Laboratory Developed Test requirements by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. ii. Such testing for Health Care Workers who are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 must be conducted on-site at the Health Care Facility or the Health Care Facility must obtain proof or confirmation from the Health Care Worker of a negative test result obtained elsewhere. iii. IDPH recommends that Health Care Workers be tested using a PCR test if available.

e. Individuals are exempt from the requirement to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 if (1) vaccination is medically contraindicated, including any individual who is entitled to an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act or any other law applicable to a disability-related reasonable accommodation, or (2) vaccination would require the individual to violate or forgo a sincerely held religious belief, practice, or observance. Individuals who demonstrate they are exempt from the vaccination requirement shall undergo, at a minimum, weekly testing as provided for in Subsection (d). f. State agencies, including but not limited to IDPH, the Illinois Department of Human Services, and the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, may promulgate emergency rules as necessary to effectuate this Executive Order.

Section 3: Vaccination Requirements for School Personnel.

Section 4: Vaccination Requirements for Higher Education. Section 5: Vaccination Requirements at State-Owned or Operated Congregate Facilities.

Section 6: Additional Vaccination and Testing Requirements. a. Nothing in this Executive Order prohibits any entity from implementing vaccination or testing requirements for personnel, contractors, students or other visitors that exceed the requirements of this Executive Order.

Section 7: Savings Clause.

Section 8: Prior Executive Orders. This Executive Order supersedes any contrary provision of any other prior Executive Order. Any provisions that are not contrary to those in this Executive Order shall remain in full force and effect.

THEREFORE, by the powers vested in me as the Governor of the State of Illinois, pursuant to the Illinois Constitution and the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act, 20 ILCS 3305, Sections 7(1), 7(2), 7(3), 7(8), 7(12), and Section 19 thereof, and consistent with the powers in public health laws, I hereby order the following effective immediately:

JB Pritzker, Governor
Issued by the Governor
August 26, 2021
Filed by the Secretary of State
August 26, 2021
My few cents:
Pls check with your human resources department for specific mandates in your place of work. They may have
their own requirements given they are not state healthcare facilities, but it does not stop them from making
their own policy. Pls. keep safe and be well.
Your healthcare advocate, Melody, Dizon, RN