Prairie State Wire

On April 16, WGN 9 reported on a finding that the state of Illinois had spent millions on KN95 masks from China that may not be usable. The station said the masks are being recalled by other states after departments of health found that these masks don’t meet standards required to protect individuals from the novel coronavirus. 

Part of that report showed a news conference with Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who spoke about the masks.

Kirk Allen noted in Edgar County Watchdogs that it appeared Pritzker was violating his own executive order, issued March 20, which limited the number of attendees of any gathering to 10, and prohibited gatherings of individuals outside a single household. It also ordered that individuals practice social distancing in shared or outdoor spaces outside their homes.

However, video of Pritzker’s news conference showed more than 10 people in the room, and few, if any, were 6 feet away from others, Allen writes on the Edgar County Watchdogs site on April 17.

“We found no exemptions for the governor to hold press conferences with more than 10 people in the room nor an exemption for the 6-foot social distancing order," Allen wrote. "While we understand many of the people are media and exempt from the executive order, the governor is not exempt from his own order and all indications point to him failing to enforce social distancing and his 10-person gathering rule."

Looking at video from the TV station’s reporting, Allen said social distancing is not maintained.

“While we understand many of the people are media and exempt from the [executive order], the governor is not exempt from his own order and all indications point to him failing to enforce social distancing and his 10-person gathering rule. We count 24 people, assuming the hand on the lower left is attached to an actual person,” Allen wrote.

The executive order notes that travel and activities not deemed essential are prohibited, although leaving the home for essential activities is permitted. This includes certain types of work, such as providing essential products and services at essential businesses or operations. Members of the news media are considered essential, as outlined in section 12d of the governor’s executive order.

Also, individuals who perform essential government functions and have been identified as essential workers are exempt from the stay-at-home order.

That does not create an exemption from the social distancing discussed in the order – something that concerns Allen.

“While public bodies across the state are denying people access to meetings because of the 10-person rule, one can only wonder why [it is] OK for the governor to violate the very rules being imposed on everyone else in this state.”

As for the masks in question, the Illinois Department of Public Health issued an alert saying that counterfeit masks are flooding the marketplace, recommending that agencies remove KN95 masks that they have already received.

“You know things come in shipments of a million – you can’t go through one mask at a time and so you try to take samples from the shipments that come in, make sure you got what you are paying for,” said Pritzker in the April 16 news conference.