Springfield officials warn new CDC mask recommendations do not apply to health care settings

Tiffani Jackson, State Journal-Register
·2 min read
A sign inside Memorial Health in Springfield advises that mask wearing is still required inside the hospital. [Thomas J. Turney/The State Journal-Register]
A sign inside Memorial Health in Springfield advises that mask wearing is still required inside the hospital. [Thomas J. Turney/The State Journal-Register]

Memorial Health, Springfield Clinic, HSHS Illinois and SIU Medicine officials are reminding the public that mask requirements are still in place for entrance into health care facilities.

While the CDC relaxed recommendations for most indoor spaces on Monday, officials said changes do not apply to health care sites – where many patients are immunocompromised or weakened.

Valeria Cueto, a vice president at Springfield Memorial Hospital, said many arriving for care since the CDC update have been confused over mask requirements.

"We've seen patients come to the facility and experience confusion because the mandate dropped in other settings so there's an expectation that it'd be the case in ours, too. Because we're a health care site, patients are sometimes ill and vulnerable so the CDC requires the mask mandate be something we continuously uphold," Cueto said.

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Cueto said patients and visitors are still subject to screenings and masks are still given upon entrance into facilities. Masks are also still required for health care employees in patient care and public areas of health facilities.

Cueto said while mask recommendations have been relaxed for most spaces, seeing that change in health care facilities is something that won’t happen anytime soon.

"I'm not sure we'll see the mask mandate leave the health care setting in the near future. I think we have to continue to watch the rate of community spread and recognize that patients we're seeing in our spaces are vulnerable and it's our responsibility to do everything we can to protect them," she said.

Sangamon County Department of Public Health officials reported 25 new COVID-19 cases on Friday. The county's case total now stands at 54,302 since the pandemic began. Eleven patients were hospitalized locally Friday with COVID-19.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Masks still required at health care facilities in Springfield, IL