SPOKANE, Wash – Greg Repetti, the President of Multicare Inland Northwest hospitals, says they are seeing an increase in RSV in their hospitals across the state.
“We are definitely seeing a higher rate of RSV than we have seen over the last probably five years,” said Repetti.
They are concerned because it’s contagious, “it’s very communicable through people coughing, people, sneezing, even just talking, so masking is a really effective way. masking and hand washing.”
The uptick in cases is prompting conversations about reinstating mask mandates at hospitals. However, before doing so, they’ll have to pass specific thresholds. According to the Northwest Healthcare Response Network, hospitals should reintroduce mask mandates if it meets one of these criteria
There are more than ten new COVID-10 hospital visits per 100,000 in the county Flu hospital visits exceed 1% of total hospital visits in a facility in the region RSV hospital visits exceed 0.3% of hospital visits in any facility in the region
He added that at the heart of these decisions outside of the safety and well-being of their patients and their staff, “when we ask people to mask if we get to that point, no, that’s not just from protecting you, but it’s also to protect the team of folks.
