Face Masks Mandatory In Public Buildings In Winnetka, Glencoe

WINNETKA, IL — Following updated guidance from state, federal and county public health officials, village officials in Winnetka issued a new mask mandate for everyone who visits municipally owned facilities. But in neighboring Glencoe, wearing a face mask indoors is recommended, but not required.

Everyone in a county with more than 50 new cases of coronavirus per 100,000 residents should don face coverings whenever they are indoors, regardless of their vaccination status, according to guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released Tuesday and adopted hours later by the Illinois Department of Public Health.

"In compliance with CDC masking recommendations, visitors to all Village [of Winnetka] facilities will be required to wear a mask regardless of their vaccination status," staff announced Friday.

It is up to individual businesses to determine whether require masks indoors. Village staff asked residents to be respectful of and follow the requirements of businesses.

"Businesses are permitted to require face coverings and social distancing as they deem appropriate," village staff said Thursday. "Businesses and patrons should be supportive of customers or employees who choose to wear a face covering."

In Glencoe, village officials acknowledged the new guidance but did not issue a similar local mandate on Friday.

Then on Monday, village staff issued a statement saying everyone — not just visitors — would be required to wear a mask in all village-operated businesses, including the Glencoe Golf Club.

The new moves toward local mask mandates follow announcements earlier this week that face masks would be mandatory for everyone, vaccinated or not, in facilities owned by the state government or secretary of state's office.

The latest masking guidance from Cook County public health officials "strongly recommends" that everyone wear a mask indoors, regardless of vaccination status, though it stops short of requiring it.

Dr. Rachel Rubin, chief medical officer and co-lead of the Cook County Department of Public Health, said at a news conference Friday that the majority of the county's new cases were instances of the delta variant, which is at least twice as contagious.

"Basically, indoors you should be masked, whether you're vaccinated or not," Rubin said. "And that's because there's significant community spread — meaning that even if you're vaccinated there is the small chance that you could get COVID from someone who's not vaccinated who has COVID. Even though you are almost certainly going to have a very mild or even asymptomatic case, and then you could spread that to people who are not vaccinated."

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