Gov. JB Pritzker announced this week that he will be ending his continued COVID-19 disaster declarations on May 11, 2023. This announcement coincides with the decision by the White House to end the federal emergency declarations on that date.

Illinois’ disaster declaration has been in place since March 9, 2020. Since then, the Governor has issued the disaster declaration every 30 days, which has allowed him to order statewide mandates and restrictions at his discretion.

Illinois remains one of only eight states that still have a disaster declaration in place, and it’s the only state in the Midwest currently under a declared state of emergency.