JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — (The video above is from a different report)
Mayo Clinic is once again requiring all staff members, regardless of role and COVID-19 vaccination status, to wear masks in all Mayo Clinic buildings.
The company says the policy is due to the continued spread of the delta variant, and will be effective starting Monday, Aug. 2.
Patient and visitors are already required to universally mask, and Mayo has decided to extend universal masking of staff at all locations for the safety of staff, patients and visitors.
“The delta variant is more contagious than the previous strains that we've had in the U.S. but it's also causing more severe illness that is causing hospitalizations to increase and ICU admissions to increase," says Dr. Melanie Swift, co-chair of Mayo Clinic's COVID-19 Vaccine Allocation and Distribution Work Group. "And we're looking at another wave of the pandemic. It's more contagious, and that's concerning. It's more serious, and that's concerning."
Mayo Clinic's decision aligns with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's for indoor mask use for those who are vaccinated due to the continued spread of the highly contagious delta COVID-19 variant.
Mayo Clinic says it's seeing areas of high transmission in Arizona, Florida and Northwest Wisconsin, as well as Dodge and Waseca counties in Minnesota. The number of cases Mayo Clinic is seeing and the levels of community transmission in these areas have increased dramatically in recent weeks.
To lower the rising number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations ― and once again lift masking requirements ― Mayo says it's crucial that all eligible children and adults are fully vaccinated for COVID-19.