“Starting Tuesday, December 31, all employees, patients and visitors at our hospitals are required to wear masks due to the widespread respiratory illnesses in our communities, including COVID-19, influenza and RSV,” said OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, based in Peoria, Illinois, in a statement posted on Facebook.
“Additionally, we are implementing a temporary visitor restriction: only two visitors (age 18+) per patient at a time. Thank you for your cooperation in keeping our community safe.”
It comes as Rush University Medical Center, based in Chicago, said in a statement that starting on Dec. 2, it will require “patients and visitors to wear hospital-approved masks when they are in clinical offices, waiting areas and patient registration.”
“The policy coincides with the respiratory virus season, when the spread of flu, RSV, and COVID-19 rises,” it wrote.