Dr. Ngozi Ezike pictured here after she was honored with the Distinguished Leadership Award | Twitter/IDPH
Dr. Ngozi Ezike pictured here after she was honored with the Distinguished Leadership Award | Twitter/IDPH
In less than two weeks Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director for the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), will be leaving her current position at the agency and Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) is thanking her for her service to Illinois.
Harmon took to social media to express his gratitude for Ezike and how she handled the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Throughout this pandemic, Dr. Ezike has been a calming, compassionate voice offering reassurance and information to the people of Illinois in at least two languages," Harmon wrote in a March 2 Facebook post. "I want to thank her for her commitment to the public health of this great sate and wish her the very best in her next endeavors."
Ezike recently announced she'd be leaving her post as of March 14, according to WGN, which called her "the public face of Illinois' pandemic response."
"With all her being @IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike has dedicated each day — EVERY day — to the agency's mission to protect the health and wellness of Illinois. For the last two years, she's dedicated each night, too," Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-IL) wrote in a tweet.
A year ago FOX 32 Chicago highlighted Ezike's role in Illinois becoming the second state in the country to impose lockdown orders and ban indoor dining, in a move that was originally supposed to last a few weeks.
Not everyone is sorry to see her go.
"Good news for students, businesses, and people across Illinois as IDPH Director, Dr. Ezike, will be stepping down," Republican gubernatorial candidate and current state Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Louisville) tweeted.
According to FOX News, the National Commission on COVID-19 and Criminal Justice found stay-at-home orders lead to at least an 8.1% increase in domestic violence cases likely contributed to by unemployment and financial stress.
Researchers from Johns Hopkins University also found the spring 2020 lockdowns only reduced coronavirus deaths by 0.2%. FOX News reported the study noted the economic and social consequences of the lockdowns were devastating, leading to more overdose deaths, learning loss, unemployment, and a rise in domestic violence.
A Unicef report found that government-mandated lockdowns and school closures negatively impacted children, leading to more fear, stress, anxiety, depression, alcohol and drug abuse, loss of learning, and poor physical activity and sleeping habits.
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