SOUTH JERSEY — Several South Jersey hospitals and medical centers have brought back masking requirements as the state endures its largest COVID-19 spike since last winter.
Inspira Health, Cooper University Health Care, Jefferson Health and Virtua Health re-imposed mask mandates in all or some settings. Many of the health care providers have cited a higher incidence of respiratory viruses throughout the region.
The changes came during a national rise in cases of COVID, flu and other respiratory viruses. U.S. hospital admissions for COVID increased 20.4 percent, while emergency-room visits rose 12.8 percent during the weekend that ended Dec. 30, according to the CDC.
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Inspira Health began requiring visitors to mask up Thursday in all facilities. Patients and visitors will each be provided with a medical-grade face mask to wear on the premises.
As of Friday, Cooper University Hospital in Camden requires all visitors to wear a mask inside patient rooms. Patients and visitors must also mask up at Cooper outpatient facilities and MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper locations.
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Since Saturday, Jefferson Health has required patients to wear ear-loop masks in emergency departments, urgent care centers and congregate settings, including rehabilitation hospitals and skilled-nursing facilities. The mandate also applies to patients with viral respiratory symptoms in all other Jefferson Health settings.
All other patients and all visitors are “strongly encouraged” to mask at Jefferson Health facilities as of Monday. Those with symptoms of a respiratory-virus infections should not visit patients, the health care provider said.
Virtua Health brought back masking requirements for patients and visitors in emergency departments, if they’re medically able. Staff must also wear masks during patient encounters and in congregate settings, such as meeting rooms and break rooms.
Dr. John Matsinger, executive vice president of Virtua Health, said the following in a statement:
“Virtua Health has reinstituted masking for all colleagues during patient encounters and in places where people congregate (such as meeting rooms and break rooms). Hospital patients and visitors are strongly encouraged to wear a face mask as well. All persons in the emergency department are required to wear a face mask (if medically able) during their stay, whether they are seeking care or accompanying someone else. Visitation to the adult emergency departments is limited to one companion per patient. Virtua Health will continue to monitor transmission rates in the region and adjust its policies accordingly.”
Hospitals around the state had 773 COVID patients on Tuesday — the state’s highest total since January 2023 — according to the New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH).
The NJDOH tallied 645 COVID hospitalizations as of Sunday, with 29 of 70 hospitals reporting data.
The concentration of COVID in the Northeast region’s wastewater — an early indicator of potential surges — doubled over the last month and reached its highest total since January 2022, when the omicron outbreak waned. See wastewater data from Biobot Analytics.
Meanwhile, the entire state showed high flu activity during the week ending Dec. 30, according to the NJDOH’s latest weekly report.
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