Auburn (N.Y.) Community Hospital has restored its universal mask mandate only a month after officially ending the policy, ABC affiliate WSYR reported Aug. 18.
The hospital is requiring all staff, patients and visitors to wear masks in clinical areas, effective Aug. 19. Masks are also required at its physician practices and 80-bed skilled nursing facility. Patients with COVID-19 will be restricted to one visitor who is wearing full personal protective equipment, according to the hospital's policy, which remains in effect until further notice.
The mandate comes two days after Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse, N.Y., reinstated universal masking and as COVID-19 cases tick up nationwide.
New York reported 650 new admissions in the week ending Aug. 5, marking a 3 percent increase from the week prior, CDC data shows.
The CDC recommends hospitals take a risk-based approach that considers various factors, including local transmission, when deciding when to implement universal masking.