BREAKING: CDC Issues New Eviction Moratorium, Saving Illinois Renters At Last Minute
BREAKING NEWS: Illinois renters worried about the expiring eviction order at the end of July got a reprieve today from the CDC, which issued an order halting all evictions in areas of “substantial” and “high” covid transmission rates until at least October.
Much of Illinois is in the “substantial” zone.
Locally, Rock Island County is in the “substantial” zone and Scott County is in the “high” zone, meaning the entire Quad-Cities area and surrounding rural areas are covered.
The CDC released the following statement today:
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky today signed an order determining the evictions of tenants for failure to make rent or housing payments could be detrimental to public health control measures to slow the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. This order will expire on October 3, 2021 and applies in United States counties experiencing substantial and high levels of community transmission levels of SARS-CoV-2.
The eviction moratorium allows additional time for rent relief to reach renters and to further increase vaccination rates. In the context of a pandemic, eviction moratoria—like quarantine, isolation, and social distancing—can be an effective public health measure utilized to prevent the spread of communicable disease. Eviction moratoria facilitate self-isolation and self-quarantine by people who become ill or who are at risk of transmitting COVID-19 by keeping people out of congregate settings and in their own homes.
CDC remains committed and will continue to explore and use all of the tools at our disposal to protect the health and well-being of 
Americans affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The order can be found at: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-eviction-declaration.html.
The below can be attributed to CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky:
The emergence of the delta variant has led to a rapid acceleration of community transmission in the United States, putting more Americans at increased risk, especially if they are unvaccinated. This moratorium is the right thing to do to keep people in their homes and out of congregate settings where COVID-19 spreads. It is imperative that public health authorities act quickly to mitigate such an increase of evictions, which could increase the likelihood of new spikes in SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Such mass evictions and the attendant public health consequences would be very difficult to reverse.
