As the world navigates through the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a continuous shift in rules and regulations surrounding face masks. With vaccines becoming more available and hospitalization rates decreasing, many institutions and governments are beginning to take a step away from the pandemic era. This includes relaxing face-mask rules in situations where they were mandated before. In this article, we will explore the decision behind this shift and the potential implications of relaxed face-mask rules in the post-pandemic world.
In Ireland, the mandate for “universal use” of face masks in acute hospitals will end on April 19 for patients, staff, and visitors, according to new guidelines. The new update from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre has stated that “at a minimum,” where patients have respiratory viral symptoms, staff should use a surgical or respirator mask. Despite the reporting of 26 Covid outbreaks associated with hospitals last week, the decision to drop the mandate is a matter for each hospital. Additionally, masks will not be shelved in key situations of patient risk, including when performing higher-risk procedures and when patients in multi-bed wards should be offered masks if others are symptomatic.
The relaxing of the rules comes after a new study claiming that wearing surgical masks in hospitals during the spread of the Omicron variant made no difference in reducing hospital-acquired Covid-19 infections. The study was led by Dublin-born microbiologist Dr Aodhan Breathnach, from St George’s Hospital. Dr Breathnach will present this research to the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Copenhagen next week.
Researchers from St George’s Hospital analyzed routinely collected infection-control data from December 4, 2021, the week the Omicron variant became dominant, to September 10, 2022. During the first phase of the study – December 4, 2021, to last June 1 – all staff and visitors were required to wear masks in clinical and non-clinical areas of the hospital. In phase two – June 2 to last September 10 – the surgical mask-wearing policy was removed for the majority of wards. Researchers termed this the “study group”. Some high-risk wards, such as those for renal haematology and oncology, as well as the medical admissions unit and intensive care, retained the mask policy for staff. These were the “control group.”
The analysis found that during a general community surge in infection last June, removal of the mask policy among the “study group” was not associated with a significant change in the rate of hospital-acquired infection. Infection rates were no higher than when masks were obligatory, with no immediate or delayed change in the infection rate found in the group that continued wearing masks.
Lead author Dr Ben Patterson has stated that this does not mean masks are worthless against Omicron. “Many hospitals have retained mask-wearing at significant financial and environment cost, and despite the substantial barrier to communication. We hope this empirical evidence can help inform a rational and proportionate mask policy in health services.”
Even though the mask-wearing policy has been relaxed in Irish hospitals, exceptions must be made, and the decision to drop the mandate is still up to each hospital. Therefore, hospitals must ensure they have policies in place to protect staff, patients, and visitors. Despite the latest research, there is still value in wearing masks in health care settings, and hospitals should take a cautious approach to their usage.
