Diocese of Joliet Catholic Schools Revises Mask Policy

JOLIET, IL —The Diocese of Joliet Catholic schools released a statement Wednesday afternoon saying that it has revised its mask policy to comply with Gov. J.B. Pritzker's mask mandate requiring all preschool through high school students and staff to wear a mask indoors, regardless of vaccination status.

"The safety of our students remains a top priority, along with providing academic excellence guided by Catholic values," the diocese said in the statement. "To comply with the mandate, we will require masks for all students, teachers, staff and visitors in our Catholic schools for the 2021-22 academic year. We pray for those affected by the coronavirus, and we pray for an end to this pandemic."

The diocese serves approximately 565,000 Catholics in 124 parishes and missions in DuPage, Ford, Grundy, Iroquois, Kankakee, Kendall and Will counties. Significantly, it also runs two early childhood education centers, 42 elementary schools and seven high schools, though four of the high schools are not under diocesan control, according to a spokesperson.

Pritzker announced the mask mandate at a Wednesday news conference, and said that student athletes also will be required to wear masks for indoor sports and recreation.

The announcement comes as Illinois attempts to stunt the delta variant of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, which health officials have said is far more contagious than the original virus.

Dr. Ngozi Ezike, the director of the state health department, said at the news conference that COVID cases and hospitalizations have increased significantly for younger people. Ezike said that in July, about 15 percent of COVID-19 cases were among those who are younger than 10, while the number was just 5.5 percent in January.

Meanwhile, approximately 23 percent of COVID cases in July were among those 10 to 19 years old, up from 13 percent in January. Hospitalizations for those 20 years old and younger have tripled — to 7.8 percent from 2.5 percent — in that time span.

Ezike said many cases of the virus spread at summer camps.

"And yes, while most children who get COVID have fewer symptoms than adults, they absolutely can still get COVID-19, and they can absolutely spread it to others," Ezike said.

On Sunday, the Diocese of Joliet Catholic schools had reiterated its mask policy, originally communicated on July 21 — and now revised — recommending masks, but not requiring them.

On the Diocese of Joliet Catholic schools office Twitter account, it said: "We evaluated the CDC's (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's) 7/27 recommendations adopted by IDPH (Illinois Department of Public Health). While we recommend masks be worn by all students, teachers, staff and visitors in diocesan schools, we are staying the course with our 7/21 guidance - parents will decide whether their children will wear a mask at school."

On Thursday morning, the previous policy was still listed on the Diocese of Joliet Catholic schools website.

In its Wednesday statement announcing that it would comply with the mask mandate, the diocese said that during the 2020-21 school year, it had followed the scientific mitigation guidelines offered by the CDC and Illinois Department of Public Health and recommended by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).

"These efforts allowed our schools to successfully conduct in-person learning with masks," the statement read.