January 05, 2024
VLADIMIR SMIRNOV/SIPA USA
With COVID-19 and influenza spreading more rapidly, Main Line Health and Cooper University Health Care have brought back masking policies at their facilities.
Some Philadelphia-area health systems are again requiring people to wear masks in response to the increased spread of COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses in recent weeks.
On Thursday, Main Line Health began requiring patients, employees and visitors to wear masks in its hospitals and outpatient facilities, including Bryn Mawr Hospital, Paoli Hospital and Lankenau Medical Center. The policy will remain in effect for "at least the next two weeks," the hospital system said.
Cooper University Health Care in South Jersey implemented a similar policy Friday at Cooper University Hospital, MD Anderson Cancer Center and outpatient offices.
The masking requirements come as respiratory viruses have begun spreading more rapidly in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
COVID-related hospitalizations increased by about 40% last week in both states, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Pennsylvania's Department of Health reported that flu cases are rapidly rising; New Jersey health officials reported that flu activity is high statewide. Cases of respiratory syncytial virus, better known as RSV, are beginning to drop in Pennsylvania, case counts remain high.
A new COVID-19 variant, JN.1, now accounts for more than half of the reported COVID-19 infections in the U.S., according to the CDC.
Though the U.S. is amid another COVID uptick, the coronavirus is hospitalizing and killing fewer people than at this time last year. During the week before Christmas, there were 10,000 fewer COVID-related hospitalizations than at the same time last year, the Washington Post reported. There have been about 1,400 COVID-related deaths per week since Thanksgiving – less than half the total from last year.
The masking requirements at Main Line Health and Cooper Health are part of a growing trend. Hospital systems across the country, including in New York, Massachusetts, Illinois and California, have recently reinstated mask mandates, according to Forbes.
Philadelphia health officials are not considering reinstating a citywide mask mandate, though they recommend people wear them in indoor public places and get vaccinated, CBS Philadelphia reported. Health officials also are advising residents to test for COVID-19 if they develop symptoms and to stay at home if they become sick. Free COVID tests, masks and hand sanitizer are available at several city locations.
Don't start 2024 with COVID-19, test to be sure if you have symptoms or have been exposed. For more information: https://t.co/7di584RNUk. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/x4zvXBkTXb
— Philadelphia Public Health (@PHLPublicHealth) January 4, 2024
