Public health advocates are calling for hospitals, doctors, and other health providers to adopt masking policies, as health care mask mandates were lifted with the end of the state’s COVID-19 public health emergency on Thursday.
The end of masking policies “will put those seeking medical care who are already more vulnerable — people with respiratory diseases or cancer, people with disabilities, and older adults — at risk of contracting COVID and other potentially life-threatening illnesses,” said Carlene Pavlos, executive director of the Massachusetts Public Health Association.
The public health advocates cited the decision by UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester to keep masks in higher risk settings, such as the emergency department and oncology.
Meanwhile, the head of the Massachusetts Medical Society said its physicians support the evidence-based and data-driven decision to lift the national public health emergency.
“We are encouraged by the improving metrics around the virus,” said Massachusetts Medical Society president Ted Calianos. “The disease will not be eradicated, but we are in a markedly better position to prevent and control outbreaks.”
“In spite of our improved circumstance, we must remember that COVID-19 is still here, and infections can still lead to serious illness and death,” Calianos later added. “We urge all people in the Commonwealth to stay current on vaccinations and to consult with their health care clinician with questions about vaccines.”
On Thursday, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health reported 979 virus cases over the last week. The daily average of 140 COVID cases from the last week was a slight increase from the daily rate of 128 virus infections during the previous week.
The Bay State’s positive test average ticked up last week. The seven-day positive test rate is now 2.59%, up from 2.46% last week.
The state Department of Public Health on Thursday also reported that 174 total patients are hospitalized with COVID, which is up two patients from this time last week. Tufts Medical Center last week reported that it wasn’t treating any COVID patients for the first time since the start of the pandemic in March 2020.
The state reported 15 new COVID deaths over the past week, bringing the state’s total to 24,644 recorded deaths since the start of the pandemic. The daily average of deaths is now two.
State health officials recently updated how COVID deaths are counted, limiting COVID-associated deaths to those with COVID listed on the death certificate.
More than 2 million people in the state have received a booster dose since the bivalent vaccine was offered last September.
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