“We respect every person’s choice to voluntarily wear a mask, and to ask their health care provider to wear a mask, even in areas where they are not required,” the spokesperson added.Īlameda Health System, a public network that is separate from the Alameda County Public Health Department and operates nine facilities in the East Bay including Highland Hospital and the Eastmont Wellness clinic in Oakland, will continue to require masking in most cases. In an email, a spokesperson told The Oaklandside that Kaiser will “monitor and adhere to all applicable federal, state, and local regulations regarding masking.” The spokesperson also confirmed that masking is no longer required for all staff, except for “in designated circumstances and clinical areas.” This includes masking while in operating rooms, and after being exposed to COVID-19 or within 10 days of testing positive for the virus. Visitors also no longer have to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test to visit friends or family in the hospital. Kaiser updated its website on March 31 to inform visitors to their hospitals and clinics that “masks are no longer required at Kaiser Permanente facilities,” unless they are mandated by the government, regulatory agencies, or local infection prevention experts. Sutter will also continue “to require masks for patient care in transplant units and infusion centers.” The spokesperson added that Sutter is “continuously monitoring this situation and will adjust our guidance if needed to help ensure the safety of our patients, employees, and physicians.” In an emailed statement, a spokesperson told The Oaklandside that Sutter recommends masking, will provide PPE to all who enter its facilities and is basing its masking policy on recommendations from public health officials. Sutter Health told physicians and clinicians in a memo on March 28 that “masking is recommended but no longer required within most patient care settings,” but that staff must still wear masks when treating patients with “known or suspected airborne transmissible disease,” such as COVID-19. Two of the biggest providers in Oakland, Kaiser Permanente, and Sutter Health, have stopped requiring masks in most cases. While some are dropping the requirement for their workers, patients, and visitors, others are keeping mask mandates to varying degrees. In the absence of a state or county mask mandate, large healthcare providers operating in Oakland have been creating their own policies. The county health department issued a mandate on March 27 requiring staff at skilled nursing facilities to wear masks while working with residents, but the order did not include other healthcare settings, including hospitals and clinics. Nicholas Moss to continue requiring mask-wearing in healthcare facilities. In recent days, Oakland-based disabled and immunocompromised individuals, seniors, doctors, and others concerned with public health have participated in protests, call-ins, and letter-writing campaigns calling on Alameda County and its top health officer Dr. While individual counties can still require people to wear masks inside healthcare facilities, Alameda County hasn’t done so and has chosen instead to follow state guidelines that encourage but don’t require masking. As of yesterday, healthcare workers and others in California are no longer required by the state to wear masks at hospitals or other high-risk indoor settings such as jails, prisons, and homeless shelters.
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