WASHINGTON (TND) — Hospitals across the United States have reintroduced the use of masks in reaction to spikes in COVID-19 cases.
Settlements in Illinois, New York, California, Massachusetts, and Washington, D. C. They reinstated those policies after an increase in hospitalizations.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the number of positive cases nationally increased by about 13% between Dec. 17 and Dec. 23 through last week. Sixteen counties had “high” levels of COVID-19 patients as of Dec. 23.
Last month, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) suggested hospitals adopt the guidelines.
In New York, hospital officials felt the increase in admissions was enough to reintroduce the masking order.
“It’s the same advice we give to other people year-round: If you’re not feeling well or others are feeling fine, consider staying home or isolating,” Elias Youssef, a physician in Brooklyn, N. Y. , told News 12. If you faint indoors, wear a mask. An N95 is considered to be the most productive mask if you have one at your disposal.
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UCLA professor Annie Rimoin says seasonal weather has the disease.
“We’re starting to see the effects of gatherings during the holidays, a variant that’s likely to be more contagious, infecting other people more easily, low vaccination rates,” Rimoin said, according to KTLA 5. “And the weather has been bloodless, so other people are congregating inside.