No To Mask Mandate, Yes To Masks In Schools: IL Patch Survey

ILLINOIS — More than 11,000 Illinois readers responded to Patch's survey last week asking residents how they feel about masks in light of increasing COVID-19 cases and new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — and their answers were a study in contradictions.

While around 46 percent of those who responded to Patch's non-scientific survey said they "never" wear a mask indoors in public, even more — almost 50 percent — said they will wear a mask if cases surge in their area.

But that's already happening. In fact, every county in the Chicago area except one is seeing "substantial" transmission of coronavirus, meaning they fall under new CDC guidelines urging everyone — vaccinated or not — to wear masks indoors. In the Chicago area, only Kankakee County currently falls under the "moderate" transmission category.

Meanwhile, just under 30 percent of readers who responded said they "always or nearly always" wear a mask indoors in public, while around 12 percent said they do so less than half the time, 7 percent said they do so more than half the time, and a little under 5 percent say they wear one about half the time.

The numbers are down from June 2020, when more than 72 percent of those who responded to another Patch survey on masks said they always or nearly always mask up.

When Patch surveyed readers in April, most of them, or around 62 percent, said a resounding "no" to vaccine passports. But this time around, half of readers said they now support a vaccine passport to attend events or dine indoors. Another 43.1 percent of those who responded said no, and a little under 7 percent weren't sure where they stand.

An overwhelming number of those who responded, more than 75 percent, said they are vaccinated against the coronavirus, while just 13.2 percent said they are not, and a little over 11 percent preferred not to say.

As some school districts begin to reverse or reconsider a masks-optional stance, a plurality of Illinois Patch readers who responded — around 48 percent — said they think students and staff should wear masks at school. Slightly less — 46 percent — were against masks in schools, and just more than 5 percent weren't sure. That lines up with the June 2020 survey, in which most Patch readers who responded also felt masks in schools were a good idea.

Related: Survey Shows Majority Of College Students Plan To Wear Masks This Fall

But readers were largely against a new mask mandate, with more than 51 percent of those who responded saying no.

In good news for most readers, Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday urged Illinois residents to wear masks whether they're vaccinated or not, but did not say he'll issue a new mask mandate.

Nearly 50 percent of those who responded were also against businesses requiring patrons to wear masks, while another 44.3 percent said businesses should require masks and around 6 percent of Patch readers who responded weren't sure how they feel.

The survey also asked Illinois Patch readers space to share any additional thoughts on masks and the COVID-19 pandemic in general. Here's a sampling of responses:

• "Get vaccinated!"
• "No masks"
• "Private schools should be mandated also. They are asking for no proof of covid19 vaccination yet make us prove our child has other vaccinations to attend. Should be the same for Covid19. Then make us sign a waiver stating we won’t hold them liable if our child catches covid. They are also using the honor system regarding wearing masks, not making them show proof of vaccination to be mask free. If that worked, we wouldn’t have the problem we are facing with the Delta variant."
• "Personal choice is each Americans right. It’s time government STOP politicizing mine and my families health care."
• "Unmask our children."
• "Vaccines and masks are the only options we have to keep us and our communities a little bit safer. PLEASE PEOPLE DO IT!"
• "The problem is, all the stores and restaurants say, if you are vaccinated you don’t need a mask. But you know half the people in there probably are not vaccinated and they are not wearing a mask. I see nothing wrong with proving you’re vaccinated and not wearing a mask. If you’re not vaccinated then you should wear a mask."
• "Follow the science."
• "Our unvaccinated children need to be protected. I think if you choose to not vaccinate, you should have to stay home. If you work in a school or hospital you should be required to be vaccinated and wear a mask."
• "They needed to keep the mask mandated until more people were vaccinated. This should not be a political choice, COVID does see Democratic or Republicans."
• "Let people make their own health decisions!!!!"
• "Vaccinated people did the right thing, the government shouldn’t penalize us, NO MASK!"
• "I would like to add, just because we are getting vaccinated does NOT mean we can’t get it and we can be a carrier of it and give it to someone else. People should at the very least be wearing a mask. No one wants to wear a mask but it is still essential for everyone’s health and protection."
• "There has never been a good time to require a healthy person to wear a facemask. Why would now be any different?"
• "Until the vast majority of adults are vaccinated wearing masks is the safest alternative."
• "Why didn’t they cancel lollapalloza but schools are getting a thousand rules? Bs!!!"