Illinois Department of Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike.
Illinois Department of Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike.
Illinois Department of Health (IDH) Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike is advocating for Illinoisans to wear masks everywhere, including their own homes.
The state’s top doctor made the comment in a press conference today.
“We should wear masks in our homes,” she told reporters.
Ezike has faced criticism over her handling of the state’s Covid pandemic. Last month the IDH was found to have miscalculated Covid hospitalizations in the Metro East that were responsible for the area being subjected to another lockdown.
This summer Ezike said the Covid tallying process was without uniform standards.
The state was also questioned over alleged miscalculated death rates where the cause of death was not related to Covid but the deceased happened to have the disease. In contrast, HSHS St. John’s Hospital pulmonologist Dr. Manjeshwar Prabhu said there is no way to know if a person died from Covid or not.
When Ezike was assessing whether the state would shut down Region 6, which includes 11 counties, for an increased number of cases in Champaign County, she said if there were a spike in rates in one county, a blanket “lockdown” would be in effect
Sen. Dave Syverson (R-Rockford) said Ezike’s rationale was an example of “Dr. Ezike: 'We should wear masks in our homes'.”
The CDC released a report in May revealing that masks failed an aerosol test simulating coughing or sneezing. Another recent study found masks are largely ineffective.
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