Mask Mandate To End In NY Hospitals Sunday: Department Of Health

LONG ISLAND, NY — Mask requirements in hospitals and healthcare settings are set to end Sunday, according to the New York State Department of Health.

The new state guidance aligns with the latest recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the DOH said.

Masking is still a "vital and effective infection prevention strategy," the DOH said. The new guidance, which goes into effect on Feb. 12, advises all facilities to develop and implement a masking plan for staff and visitors at their healthcare centers, which includes COVID-19 and uses transmission levels, as a minimum threshold.

"March 1 represents 3 years since the first COVID-19 case was identified in New York," Acting State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said. "Health care workers statewide have performed consistently and heroically throughout this pandemic, and have used masking and other personal protective equipment to protect themselves and their patients. The pandemic is not over, yet we are moving to a transition. As we do, and with safe and effective vaccines, treatments, and more, we are able to lift the state's masking requirement in health care settings as operators now develop and implement their own facility-specific plans, in accordance with federal CDC guidance and the level of transmission in their areas."

The advisory was issued to all facilities and entities regulated by the DOH and includes hospitals, nursing homes, home health care and hospice agencies, and diagnostic and treatment centers.

The facilities are still expected to follow previously established and required policies for the control of infectious diseases, including COVID-19, that at a minimum adhere to CDC's guidance and transmission levels system, the DOH said.

The masking requirement could be implemented again at any time when COVID-19 transmission levels are high enough to trigger that recommendation by the CDC, the DOH said.

Department-regulated facilities may also set requirements that go beyond CDC's guidance, based on their own unique circumstances.

Health care settings in New York State that remain outside of the DOH's regulatory authority, including private medical and dental practices, are strongly advised to also adhere to the COVID-19 infection prevention and control measures, the DOH said.

New York adult care facilities are recommended by the Department to follow CDC's community guidance and guidance for congregate living settings.

According to Gov. Kathy Hochul, New York's positivity rate statewide Friday was 4.95 percent; the positivity rate on Long Island remained the lowest this week statewide at 3.66 percent.

Dr. Sanjey Gupta, the chair of the emergency medicine department at Northwell Health's South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore, spoke with Patch earlier this week and said health care professionals see the pandemic from a different perspective.. "While much of the rest of the world is back to normal, we're still all masked," Gupta said, before the news that the mandate would be dropped. "People still have a barrier — we don't have face-to-face exposure with our patients."

And, for medical personnel, Gupta said, "There's always a level of anxiety."

For many health care workers, the pandemic struggle is still very real, Gupta said. "The things that were unmasked during COVID — social, emotional, health disparities that came up, that's been persistent. For many health care workers, there's still long-standing PTSD, anxiety, depression, a lack of sleep, excessive nervousness. It's still there. A lot of people in health care really suffered."

COVID, Gupta said, changed the world for everyone. "There's a different kind of zeitgeist that exists now. I hope we get better. I hope we continue to heal."