A Massachusetts healthcare system has implemented a mask mandate for staff interacting directly with patients, triggered by a regional respiratory illness rate exceeding 2.85%.
Patients and visitors are strongly encouraged to wear masks in the same situations.
The mandate will persist until the illness rate falls below 2.85% for a week. (Trending: Trump Announces Heartbreaking Melania-Related Health Update)
Mass General Brigham wrote, “With the percentage of patients presenting at emergency rooms and outpatient facilities with respiratory illnesses exceeding 2.85 percent in the region, Mass General Brigham will begin requiring masking for healthcare staff interacting directly with patients on Jan. 2.”
In contrast, L.A. County has reinstated a more severe mask mandate for both staff and patients in healthcare facilities, citing notable increases in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health pointed to “notable, yet not unexpected, increases in COVID-19 reported cases, hospitalizations and deaths,” for requiring masks again.
“Based on the Los Angeles County Health Officer Order posted on December 27, 2023, when the COVID-19 hospital admission level in Los Angeles County meets or exceeds the CDC’s Medium Level, all healthcare personnel, regardless of COVID-19 and influenza vaccination status, in licensed health care facilities that provide inpatient care are required to mask while in contact with patients or working in patient-care areas,” wrote the department.
Despite some studies suggesting limited effectiveness of masks in stopping the spread of COVID-19, the mandates remain in place.
Cochrane Library found in their study that, “Wearing masks in the community probably makes little or no difference to the outcome of influenza-like illness (ILI)/COVID-19 like illness compared to not wearing masks[.]”
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