Mask Rules: 4 Things To Know In Illinois' Phase 5

ILLINOIS — It's official: Illinois is open. After more than a year of coronavirus restrictions and various phases and stages of reopening — and occasionally, re-closing — all restrictions have been lifted, and capacity limits are a thing of the past.

And as Illinois looks forward to a summer that feels "normal" for the first time since 2019, some are still wondering: What about masks?

Illinois Reopening: 6 Things To Know

For the most part — provided you're vaccinated, as more than half of Illinois' adults are — you don't need them. According to Illinois guidelines, fully vaccinated residents can resume normal activities mask-free outdoors as well as indoors, except under certain circumstances or when businesses require customers to wear them.

Here's how it breaks down:

1) Masks for fully vaccinated people: While businesses and municipalities may continue to require face masks and social distancing, according to the latest state and federal guidance, fully vaccinated people can ditch the face mask in indoor and outdoor settings.

2) Where everyone should still wear a mask: In accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, there are still some places where fully vaccinated and unvaccinated people should all continue to wear face masks and practice social distancing, such as in health care settings, on public transportation including planes and buses, inside transportation hubs such as airports and train stations, at congregate settings including nursing homes and health care facilities, and where required by federal, state, county and municipal laws and ordinances.

3) Masks for the unvaccinated/immune compromised: Unvaccinated people should continue to wear face masks in large crowds, especially when children are present. At outdoor businesses, unvaccinated people may choose not to wear a face mask if they can maintain a 6-foot social distance while outdoors. Immunocompromised people should also continue to wear face masks and practice social distancing.

4) Schools: The state has lifted its outdoor mask requirement for schools in accordance with CDC guidance.

Over the weekend, the state's seven-day rolling coronavirus positivity rate on all tests conducted dipped below 1 percent, hitting 0.9 percent.

On Monday, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported 165 new cases — the lowest Illinois has seen since March 2020 — and nine additional coronavirus-related deaths.

Lorraine Swanson, Patch Staff, contributed to this report