In response to an increase in COVID, seasonal flu, and other respiratory ailment cases, hospitals in at least four U.S. states have restored mask requirements.
Patients and healthcare personnel in New York, California, Illinois, and Massachusetts are required to wear masks. On Wednesday, Dr. Ashwin Vasan, the commissioner of health for New York City, informed sources that mask mandates had been reinstated at all 11 public hospitals, 30 health centers, and five long-term care institutions in the city. “Shortages of employees are what we want to avoid, right?
The main problems during the omicron wave in 2022 were not just the number of sick individuals but also the large number of front-line healthcare providers who were absent due to COVID,” Vasan told the sources.
In the United States, there were nearly 29,000 hospital admissions attributable to COVID-19 between December 17 and December 23, up more than 16% from the previous week, according to the most recent weekly statistics released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. During the same period, the CDC also noted about 14,700 hospital admissions connected to the virus.
Mandatory masks became divisive political and cultural issues during the COVID pandemic, infuriating many who disregarded medical advice and thought masks did not effectively stop the illness from spreading.
The federal vaccine or test mandate for businesses was overturned by a conservative-dominated Supreme Court, while President Joe Biden’s public transit mask rule was overturned by a judge nominated by his Republican predecessor.
Deep animosity also existed among people who wore masks because they believed others who did not were endangering their health.
COVID has killed more than 1.1 million Americans, more than most other industrialized countries combined, according to CDC data.
On Tuesday, the Chicago-based Rush University medical system announced that it will be mandating “that patients, visitors, and staff wear hospital-approved masks in certain areas of the campus.” They consist of patient registration and clinical waiting spaces.”
Chicago-based Cook County Health and the Chicago suburbs’ Endeavor Health began enforcing mask use last month after hospitals were urged by the Illinois Department of Public Health to intensify their mitigation efforts across the board, including mask use within the facility.
According to a statement, Berkshire Health Systems in Massachusetts started requiring mask wear on Wednesday.
