The Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse, New York, reinstated mask mandates on Thursday amid reports of an uptick of COVID cases and renewed media hysteria over a new subvariant.
“Effective immediately, mandatory masking is required by all staff, visitors, and patients in clinical areas of Upstate University Hospital, Upstate Community Hospital, and ambulatory clinical spaces, according to a memo sent to staff and obtained by Syracuse.com. “Clinical areas are defined as any location patients gather, wait, transport thorough, or receive care.”
All patients being admitted will also be tested for COVID-19, according to the memo. Upstate University Hospital said it will revisit the policies in three weeks. Syracuse.com reached out to several other hospitals in the region. Crouse Hospital indicated no plans were underway to update testing or masking policies. Meanwhile, St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center said it is reviewing policies.
The move comes as COVID-19 admissions tick up nationwide. In New York, new COVID-19 admissions were up 3 percent for the week ending Aug. 5, with a total of 650 new admissions, according to CDC data.
Since the COVID-19 public health emergency’s end in May, hospitals and other healthcare facilities’ masking guidelines are no longer tied to the CDC’s community transmission metric. Policies are largely left to individual hospitals, with the CDC recommending a “risk-based approach” that considers factors such as local transmission, and in units or areas of a facility experiencing an outbreak.”
As Infowars exclusively revealed on Friday, TSA and Border Patrol sources reported that the Biden administration was prepping agencies for renewed COVID lockdowns and restrictions, including mask mandates and social distancing, in the early fall.
