Communications Director, Connecticut Hospital Association
110 Barnes Road, Wallingford, CT
rall@chime.org, 203-265-7611
Hartford Courant – Thursday, January 16, 2025
By Staff Report
Trinity Health Of New England is strongly recommending colleagues, residents and visitors to wear a mask in patient-facing locations amid seasonal, respiratory viral illnesses, according to the health system.
The organization’s recommendation comes as a result of increased cases of upper respiratory tract illnesses reported across Trinity Health Of New England facilities in Connecticut and Massachusetts, according to a statement. The recommendation follows CDC guidelines to help reduce the spread of germs. The masks are not mandatory.
Yale New Haven Health Wednesday also updated it “current masking guidelines, saying “while patients and visitors are not required to wear masks in most settings, masks are “required or recommended” in the following situations::
- Patients with respiratory symptoms (e.g., cough, fever, runny nose) should wear a mask in all ambulatory areas (such as clinics, imaging, or therapy rooms) whenever possible;
- Visitors who feel unwell or show symptoms of a respiratory infection (such as cough or fever) are kindly asked to postpone their visit;
- Inpatients on isolation for a respiratory illness must wear a mask when being transported to another part of the hospital;
- Visitors to patients on isolation must follow the hospital’s Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) policies as directed by the signage posted outside patient rooms.
Yale New Haven said it would provide masks “entrances and throughout our hospitals for patients and visitors who need or wish to wear them.”
Doctors early this month said Connecticut had been seeing a spike in several types of respiratory illness cases over the past month, according to data from Yale New Haven Health. Confirmed cases of the flu, RSV, COVID-19 and norovirus, more commonly known as the “stomach-bug,” as saw a rise in cases amid the busy holiday season.
Dr. Ulysses Wu, chief epidemiologist and system director for infectious diseases for Hartford HealthCare, said last week that cases of norovirus and influenza are both up more than normal at this point in the year. Wu had said he urges people to take necessary precautions such as washing hands frequently, wiping down surfaces, masking up if feeling sick, and getting the flu, RSV, and COVID-19 vaccines.
Readers looking for the most recent information regarding masking from the CDC can be found here, according to a statement.