(FamilyConservationPAC.com) – As officials point to an upsurge in COVID-19 cases, a few hospitals in several states stated this week that COVID-19 mask requirements would be reinstituted.
The Massachusetts Baystate Health system announced on September 15 that anyone entering patient rooms or places where patients are being cared for would need to wear a mask.
This applies to physicians, nurses, guests, and patients.
The announcement stated that “we must reinstitute the requirement that face masks be worn by employees and visitors in all direct patient care areas in Baystate Health hospitals and the Cancer Center, effective immediately,” in order to safeguard the safety and health of our patients, visitors, and employees.
It continued, “Our team will be constantly keeping an eye on the COVID-19 situation in our neighborhoods so that we can adjust our policies in accordance with the risk assessment.”
The University of Chicago Medical Center in Illinois informed CBS Chicago and other local media on September 15 that mask requirements would be in force for staff members who had direct patient contact.
According to officials, employees who don’t exhibit symptoms are not required to wear masks in workplaces, public areas, break rooms, or during meetings.
No. It was wrong then. It is still wrong now. A Canadian woman in respiratory distress in a hospital was murdered by security guards for not wearing a stupid mask because of you Covidian influencers and the lack of integrity in your nonsense narratives.https://t.co/xerkQjRqow pic.twitter.com/rzC5gmTQl1
— Natasha Montreal Live Free or Die (@NatashaMontreal) September 17, 2023
According to internal data, employee COVID instances are increasing every week. Patient cases have grown across the board, according to a memo from Dr. Emily Landon, the hospital’s senior medical director for infection prevention and control, as reported by the Chicago Sun-Times.
On September 14, Mount Nittany Health in Pennsylvania announced that it would require staff members to wear masks while interacting with patients.
According to a news release from a local publication, the rule won’t take effect until September 29, excluding visitors and patients.
“Mount Nittany Health will continue to monitor the situation and make changes as appropriate,” the hospital said.
“If patients or visitors have symptoms of COVID-19 or respiratory illness, Mount Nittany Health asks that they please take the appropriate precautions and kindly mask in Mount Nittany Health facilities.”
At about the same time, a mask requirement would be reinstated at Cape Regional Medical Center in Cape May County, New Jersey. According to administrators, neither visitors nor patients are required.
“Cape Regional Medical Center team members are wearing masks when providing direct patient care,” a hospital spokesperson told a nearby New Jersey station.
“This is in response to an increase in the number of patients hospitalized with COVID at Cape Regional Medical Center as well as community members with COVID,” it added.
The week ending September 2 saw an 8.7% increase in hospital admissions nationwide, according to recent data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
In contrast to prior years and rises in hospitalizations, the overall COVID-19 hospital admission rate is still incredibly low.
A physician from Tufts Medicine claimed last month that the current increase in COVID-19 cases wasn’t cause for alarm.
“An upswing is not a surge; it’s not even a wave,” Dr. Shira Doron, the chief infection control officer for Tufts Medicine, told ABC News.
“What we’re seeing is a very gradual and small upward trajectory of cases and hospitalizations, without deaths really going along, which is great news.”
Other Mandates
UMass Memorial Hospital in Massachusetts announced this week that it would reinstate employee masking in August. The obligation does not apply to patients or visitors, it said.
Over the past two weeks, “we have continued to see a dramatic increase in the number of COVID-19-positive employees, which has led to exposures of both fellow caregivers and patients,” the statement said.
“As a result of this, and as a precaution for our staff and patients, we are requiring mandatory caregiver masking for all patient encounters in all licensed clinical areas, effective immediately,” it continued.
As of August 22, a Kaiser Permanente facility in Santa Rosa, California, announced that it will once more demand masks due to what it claimed was an increase in COVID-19 testing.
Days later, the hospital was forced to clarify that visitors and patients are not covered by the rule; only staff and doctors are.
Guelph General Hospital reintroduces mask requirement https://t.co/Vn6ERj73et
— Jess (@MeetJess) September 11, 2023
In a local Santa Rosa newspaper, Kaiser stated that it is still “strongly encouraging masks for patients, members, and visitors in the hospital and medical offices in the Santa Rosa Service Area in response to this latest increase in COVID-19 cases.”
But it said that those folks are exempt from wearing face coverings.
Meanwhile, several hospitals in Upstate New York declared in August that masks would be required for everyone, including employees, patients, and visitors.
They include Samaritan Health facilities in Watertown, upstate New York, United Health Services in Binghamton, Auburn Community Hospital in Auburn, University Hospital in Syracuse, and others.
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