A California wine country county has issued strengthening vaccine guidance this week and has ordered masks to be worn inside healthcare facilities due to an increased risk of COVID-19 as flu season begins.
Dr. Karen Smith, Interim Health Officer for Sonoma County, has mandated that masks must be worn in specified healthcare settings including skilled nursing facilities, areas of long-term care with nursing services, rehabilitation centers, infusion centers and dialysis centers.
“The risk to vulnerable patients of COVID, flu and other respiratory viruses in healthcare facilities remains significant, so it continues to be important for face masks to be used in patient care areas when seasonal risk of exposure to one or more viruses is high,” Smith said.
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