{"id":2035361,"date":"2023-09-17T17:26:01","date_gmt":"2023-09-17T21:26:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/more-hospitals-across-the-us-are-bringing-back-mask-mandates\/"},"modified":"2023-09-17T17:31:59","modified_gmt":"2023-09-17T21:31:59","slug":"more-hospitals-across-the-us-are-bringing-back-mask-mandates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/more-hospitals-across-the-us-are-bringing-back-mask-mandates\/","title":{"rendered":"US hospitals reinstate mask mandates."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">10<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmore-hospitals-across-the-us-are-bringing-back-mask-mandates%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2035361&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>COVID-19 Mask Mandates Reimposed in Multiple States as \u200cCases Rise<\/h2>\n<p>A handful of hospitals in multiple \u200dstates\u2063 announced this week that COVID-19 mask\u200d mandates would be \u2062reimplemented as officials cite \u2062an increase in COVID-19 cases.<\/p>\n<p>On Sept. 15, the \u2063Baystate Health system in\u200c Massachusetts announced that it would \u200brequire masks for anyone entering patient rooms \u2064or\u2064 patient care areas. That includes doctors, nurses, visitors, and patients, it said.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;In order to protect the safety and\u200c health of our patients, visitors, and employees, we \u2064must re-institute the requirement that face masks \u200dbe worn by employees and visitors in \u2063all direct patient care areas in Baystate Health hospitals and the\u2063 Cancer Center, effective immediately,&#8221; the announcement said.\u2064 &#8220;Our team will be\u200d continually monitoring the \u200cstate \u200cof COVID-19 \u2064in \u2062our communities so that \u2062our\u200b policies can adjust based on\u200b the risk assessment.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3>Related\u200d Stories<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/world\/covid-19-vaccines-revealed-to-be-neither-safe-nor-effective-watchdog-5492986\">COVID-19 Vaccines Revealed to\u200d Be &#8216;Neither Safe, Nor Effective&#8217;: Watchdog<\/a><\/strong>  &#8211; \u20629\/17\/2023<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/health\/us-doctors-group-says-all-mask-mandates-must-be-rescinded-5491667\">US\u200b Doctors&#8217; Group \u200bSays All Mask Mandates &#8216;Must Be Rescinded&#8217;<\/a><\/strong>  -\u200b 9\/15\/2023<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Also on \u200bSept. \u206215, \u2062the University of Chicago Medical Center in Illinois told CBS Chicago and other \u200dlocal\u200c media that mask mandates will be\u2063 in effect for workers who are in\u2062 direct contact\u200b with patients. Employees\u200c who don&#8217;t have symptoms don&#8217;t have to\u200d wear \u200bmasks in\u2063 certain areas like workrooms, public areas,\u2062 break rooms, and during meetings, officials said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBased on our internal \u200ddata, COVID cases amongst employees are\u2064 doubling\u2062 every week, and patient cases have\u200c increased\u200b in all locations,\u201d Dr. \u200cEmily Landon, \u2064the executive medical director for \u2063infection prevention and \u200dcontrol at the hospital, said\u2064 in a\u200d memo, according to the \u200cChicago Sun-Times.<\/p>\n<p>In Pennsylvania, Mount Nittany Health said\u2063 on Sept. 14 \u200bthat it would mandate\u200b employees\u200b to wear \u200cmasks \u2064while\u200b engaging with patients. \u200cThe mandate will run until Sept. 29, according to a news release cited by\u2062 a local\u2064 outlet, \u2062and it\u2062 doesn&#8217;t include a mandate \u200dfor visitors or\u200d patients.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMount\u2063 Nittany Health will continue to monitor\u200d the situation and make changes as appropriate,\u201d the \u2064hospital said. \u201cIf \u2064patients or visitors\u2064 have symptoms \u2063of COVID-19 or respiratory illness, Mount Nittany Health asks that\u200b they\u200c please take the appropriate precautions \u2064and kindly mask\u200c in Mount \u2064Nittany Health facilities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Around \u200dthe same time, Cape Regional Medical Center in\u2062 Cape \u2064May County, New Jersey, confirmed \u200cthat it would also be reinstating a mask mandate. There&#8217;s\u2064 no mandate for visitors or patients, officials said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;In response to an increase in\u2062 the number of patients hospitalized with COVID at Cape Regional\u200c Medical\u2064 Center as well\u2062 as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/oregon-governor-encourages-people-to-call-police-on-neighbors-violating-covid-orders\/\" title=\"Oregon Governor Encourages People To Call Police On Neighbors Violating COVID Orders\">community members<\/a> with \u2062COVID, Cape Regional Medical \u200cCenter team members are wearing masks\u2063 when\u200b <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/more-hospitals-across-the-us-are-bringing-back-mask-mandates\/\" title=\"US hospitals reinstate mask mandates.\">providing\u200c direct\u200b patient care<\/a>,&#8221; a hospital spokesperson \u2064told a local New Jersey station.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>Recent data from\u2062 the U.S.\u200d Centers for Disease\u200b Control and \u2064Prevention\u2062 (CDC) \u2064 <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#datatracker-home\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">showed<\/a> that hospitalizations \u200dacross the United States are up 8.7 percent in the week \u200bending Sept. 2. However, the total \u2062number of COVID-19 hospital\u2062 admissions \u2062is still very low \u200crelative to previous years and previous increases in hospitalizations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Last month,\u2064 a doctor with\u2063 Tufts\u200b Medicine \u200bsaid that the \u2062recent rise in\u200c COVID-19 \u200bcases shouldn&#8217;t \u200cbe \u2063of concern.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>&#8220;An upswing \u200dis not a\u2063 surge;\u200b it&#8217;s \u200bnot even a wave,&#8221; Dr. Shira Doron, the chief infection control\u200d officer for\u200c Tufts Medicine, told ABC News. &#8220;What we&#8217;re seeing is a very gradual and small\u2062 upward trajectory of cases and hospitalizations, without deaths really\u200d going along,\u200d which is \u200dgreat news.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Other Mandates<\/h2>\n<p>In August, UMass Memorial \u200bHospital in Massachusetts confirmed in a statement last week that it would reimpose masking\u2063 for staff. \u200dPatients and\u2062 visitors are exempt from the mandate, it\u2064 stated.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We have continued to \u200dsee\u2064 a \u200bdramatic \u200cincrease in the number\u200b of COVID-19-positive employees over the past two weeks, which has led to exposures of both fellow \u2063caregivers and \u2063patients,&#8221; the \u200bstatement read. &#8220;In response to this, as a protective \u200dmeasure for our staff and patients, effective immediately,\u2063 we are \u2064requiring \u200bmandatory\u2063 caregiver masking for all patient encounters in all <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/these-hospitals-across-the-us-are-bringing-back-mask-mandates\/\" title=\"US hospitals reinstate mask mandates.\">licensed clinical areas<\/a>.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>A Kaiser\u200d Permanente location in Santa Rosa, California, stated that it would again require masks\u200c because of \u2064what it said was a \u200drise \u200din COVID-19\u2064 tests \u2062as \u200cof Aug. 22. However, days later,\u2064 the hospital clarified \u200dthat\u200b the\u200b mandate \u2062applies only to staff and \u2063physicians, not visitors and patients.<\/p>\n<p>Kaiser told a local\u200c newspaper\u200d in Santa Rosa \u200cthat it&#8217;s still\u2062 &#8220;strongly \u2064encouraging\u200c masks for patients, members, and visitors in the hospital\u2062 and medical offices in the Santa Rosa Service Area in response to this latest \u200dincrease \u2064in COVID-19 cases.&#8221;\u2063 But face coverings\u200b aren&#8217;t required for those people, it stated.<\/p>\n<p>In \u2062the meantime, several hospitals\u2062 in \u2064Upstate New\u200b York announced\u2064 in \u200dAugust that masks will be mandatory for not only staff but \u2062also patients\u2062 and visitors. They include United Health Services in Binghamton, Auburn Community Hospital \u200din Auburn, \u2062University \u2064Hospital \u2063in \u200bSyracuse, \u2063and\u200d Samaritan Health facilities \u2062in Watertown, \u2064also located upstate.<\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> How are hospitals \u2063like Baystate Health system in Massachusetts \u200cand the University of Chicago \u200cMedical \u200cCenter in\u2064 Illinois\u2062 implementing mask mandates to protect their \u200dpatients and staff?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  R&#8221;COVID-19 Mask Mandates\u2062 Reimposed in\u2062 Multiple States as \u200cCases Rise&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>In response to\u2064 a recent increase in COVID-19 cases, multiple \u2062states in the United States have announced the\u200c reimposition of mask mandates. Several hospitals have taken the initiative to enforce these mandates to ensure the safety and health of their patients, visitors, and employees.<\/p>\n<p>One such hospital is the\u2062 Baystate Health system in \u200dMassachusetts, which \u200cdeclared on September\u2063 15 that masks would\u2062 be required for anyone entering patient rooms or patient care areas. This includes\u2062 doctors,\u200c nurses, visitors, and patients \u200calike. The hospital emphasized\u200b the need to reinstitute this requirement immediately\u200c to protect\u2063 the well-being of everyone involved. Baystate\u2064 Health stated that \u2062they would continuously monitor the COVID-19 situation in\u200c their communities and adjust their policies accordingly.<\/p>\n<p>Similarly, the University of Chicago\u200b Medical Center\u200c in \u2062Illinois\u200d has implemented mask\u200c mandates\u200d for workers who have direct contact with patients. Employees without symptoms\u200c are exempted from wearing masks in certain areas like workrooms, public areas, break rooms, and during meetings. Dr. Emily Landon, the executive medical\u200d director for\u2064 infection prevention \u200dand control at\u200b the hospital, emphasized the doubling rate of COVID-19 cases among employees and the increase in patient\u200d cases in all locations.<\/p>\n<p>Mount Nittany Health in Pennsylvania also announced on September \u200d14 that employees would be required to wear masks \u200cwhile engaging with\u2064 patients. This mandate will be \u2063in place until September 29. However, it does not extend to visitors or patients. \u2062The hospital assured that they would monitor the situation \u2063and make necessary changes as \u200bappropriate. They \u2063urged patients and visitors with COVID-19 \u200bor respiratory \u200billness symptoms to take appropriate precautions \u200dand\u2062 wear masks in their\u200d facilities.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, \u200dCape Regional\u2064 Medical Center\u2063 in Cape May \u2064County, \u2062New Jersey, confirmed\u200c the reinstatement of a mask\u2063 mandate. While \u2063there is \u2063no mandate for visitors or patients, \u2063hospital staff is required to wear masks when\u2064 providing direct patient care.<\/p>\n<p>Recent data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed an 8.7 percent increase in hospitalizations across \u200dthe United States in the week ending on September 2.\u200c However, it is crucial to note that the total number of COVID-19 hospital admissions remains relatively low compared \u200dto previous years and previous increases in\u2062 hospitalizations.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the increase in COVID-19 cases, some experts argue against \u2064alarming concerns.\u200c Last month,\u200b a doctor \u2062from \u200dTufts Medicine stated\u200d that \u2062the recent rise in cases should not be a cause for major concern.<\/p>\n<p>In \u200dconclusion, \u2064as COVID-19 cases rise in\u200d multiple states, hospitals are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/buttigieg-says-transportation-department-working-to-avert-summer-travel-disruptions-amid-demand-surge\/\" title=\"Buttigieg: Transportation Dept. Preventing Summer Travel Disruptions Amid High Demand.\">taking proactive measures<\/a> to protect their patients, visitors, and employees. The reintroduction of\u200c mask mandates aims \u2063to\u200d mitigate the spread of the virus and ensure the safety of healthcare settings. Continuous monitoring of the COVID-19\u2062 situation and adjusting policies accordingly will \u2063be vital in navigating through this ongoing pandemic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Several hospitals across multiple states have reinstated COVID-19 mask mandates due to a surge in cases. Massachusetts&#8217; Baystate Health system recently declared that masks would be mandatory for all individuals entering patient rooms or care areas, encompassing doctors, nurses, visitors, and patients. This measure aims to curb the spread of the virus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":58,"featured_media":2035362,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2035361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2035361","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/58"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2035361"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2035361\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2035362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2035361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2035361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2035361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}