Here are six updates on masking physicians should know that Becker's has reported on since Aug. 22:
- Cincinnati Children's Hospital is the most recent hospital to reinstate mask mandates and will require all employees to wear masks beginning Sept. 25. The health system is strongly recommending patients and staff also wear masks, though it's not required.
- Concern is mounting among healthcare workers over draft CDC infection control guidance that puts surgical masks on par with N95 masks, with clinicians urging the advisory committee to reconsider the proposals.
- While some hospitals have already begun to bring back mask mandates in the wake of the rise in COVID-19 cases and the start of respiratory virus season, others are watching trends and waiting to make that determination.
- As hospitals in New York, California and a few other states reinstate mask mandates amid a COVID-19 uptick, hospital supply leaders told Becker's mask costs aren't rising.
- This fall will mark the first virus season since COVID-19 emerged in which hospitals and health systems must independently determine when and how to implement universal masking, if at all.
- Ten healthcare experts have called for healthcare facilities to integrate masking as part of routine policies, as the rise in COVID-19 admissions across the country is reinvigorating the focus on hospitals' masking policies.