COVID-1984EVER: Resurgence of Mask Mandates in US Hospitals

COVID-1984EVER: Resurgence of Mask Mandates in US Hospitals Amid Rising COVID-19 Cases

NEWS Media Staff

Hospitals in several states across the United States, including New York, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Washington, are re-implementing mask mandates due to a rise in COVID-19 cases and other respiratory illnesses. The NYC Health + Hospitals, New York City’s public hospital and clinic operator, announced the return of mask mandates at its facilities. The decision was influenced by an uptick in respiratory diseases like COVID-19, flu, and RSV in communities and hospitals, as shared on Twitter. This was also reiterated for its Jacobi facility in the Bronx due to the prevalence of COVID-19 in the community, as stated in a separate tweet.

Despite the rise in cases, historical data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that the increase is relatively small compared to previous years. As of December 16, over 25,000 people were hospitalized for COVID-19 across the United States, compared to more than 36,000 on the same date in 2022, as per the CDC’s data.

In Massachusetts, UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester has confirmed a month-long mask requirement for its staff starting January 2, with no mandate for patients and visitors. Mass General Brigham, Massachusetts’ largest health system, also announced the reinstatement of masking requirements due to COVID-19. Delaware’s TidalHealth mandated masks for all hospital visitors in patients’ rooms from Thursday, citing protection for the most vulnerable population.

Kaiser Permanente in Washington state confirmed that staff working in person with patients must wear masks, while patients and visitors are not required to do so. Similarly, Beacon hospitals in Indiana have reimplemented masking requirements for visitors, patients, and staff at Memorial Hospital and Elkhart General in South Bend. This follows similar actions by several hospitals in Pittsburgh, Boston, and UW Hospitals in Illinois and Wisconsin.

In California, multiple counties in the Bay Area have imposed a mask mandate for staff starting in November, which will run until the end of spring due to anticipated increases in respiratory illnesses.

The CDC recently updated information regarding the new COVID-19 variant, JN.1, which now accounts for nearly half of all U.S. cases. The World Health Organization (WHO) stated that JN.1, labeled a “variant of interest,” does not seem to pose a high risk compared to other variants and is unlikely to increase the burden on public health systems. Symptoms of a JN.1 COVID-19 infection can include cough, sore throat, fever, headache, and muscle aches, among others. Dr. John Brownstein from Boston Children’s Hospital commented that while JN.1 is spreading more widely, there’s no significant evidence suggesting it is more severe or poses a substantial public health risk.