Controversial former Illinois Department of Public Health head Ngozi Ezike is being criticized for saying mask requirements at Evanston High School District 202 are not a form of quarantine.
Ezike made the comments at the University of Chicago Institute for Politics earlier in the week after being asked about Evanston High School District 202’s new mask mandate.
“So, I think maybe I would take issue with the first part that says that masks are a form of quarantine," Ezike said. "I'm not sure that that's accurate, and so things are based on that, then it's hard for me to kind of follow that logic. I would say masks are a form of protection against disease. It's not the only form, but when you think about the different options in terms of how you slow the spread of a disease, you know, you can close things down and force people to physically, you know, isolate and quarantine. But then you have other measures that are less, you know, less drastic i.e., wearing a mask, which allows us to still convene, and still be in person here, still connect with others do work together. So yeah, I just have a problem with the idea that masks are a form of quarantine.”
Illinois Department of Public health Director Ngozi O. Ezike
| dph.illinois.gov
Indeed, Ezike’s statements run counter to the law. According to Illinois state law, Evanston H.S. cannot require students or staff members to wear masks because the requirement would be a type of quarantine. School officials do not have such authority. Last Sunday the school issued a notice asking "students and staff" to hold each other in "loving accountability" for wearing masks.
A Covid researcher tweeting under the alias Emma Woodhouse said on Twitter the school district was not punishing students who chose not to mask. “Maybe @ETHSWildkits read this article? Or saw @tnertz's video? Or heard from informed parents? No matter the method, I'm glad to hear that the few kids at ETHS who don't want to mask at school will again be able to show their faces w/out being punished,” Woodhouse tweeted.
Attorney General candidate Tom DeVore said reinstating required masking is beyond the school district’s authority. DeVore was legal counsel on the class-action lawsuit that did away with compulsory masking in schools. Illinois was only one of a handful of states engaging in the practice at the time. He said the school district was not one of those included in the judge’s order that forbid the practice noting its unconstitutionality. DeVore said Attorney General Kwame Raoul should be the one protecting the rights of children by forcing the school to stop the practice.
Ezike is well-known for advising state people to wear masks in their homes to limit the spread of Covid among family members. Her re-appointment hearing as IDPH director was delayed and then denied due to controversial Covid policies, Dupage Policy Journal reported.
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