Same song, different verse. Regardless of whether employees, patients, or visitors have received Covid shots, masks are required once again in all St. Luke’s facilities statewide, effective immediately. The only exception is when people are eating or drinking. Additionally, anyone in a breakroom who is not wearing a mask must maintain a physical distance of six feet from others.
St. Luke’s has been experiencing a severe staffing shortage, which they say is one of the reasons for reintroducing the mask mandate. Other reasons stated by St. Luke’s include a “COVID-19 resurgence,” and high patient numbers. The previous mask mandate at St. Luke’s was suspended in June.
The reinstated rule comes amid talk of another rollout of recommended mask mandates across the country. Rumors have been circulating that the White House was going to bring lockdowns back to America, especially after Biden’s principal deputy press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, said on July 29, “The Biden administration has not taken potential future lockdowns and school closures off the table.”
However, Jean-Pierre later walked back her comments, saying, “To be clear, here is what [President Biden] said this week: ‘more vaccinations and mask wearing in the areas most impacted by the Delta variant will enable us to avoid the kind of lockdowns, shutdowns, school closures, and disruptions we faced in 2020….We are not going back to that.’”
It appears that the so-called “Delta Variant” will be used as trigger to reinstate societal controls, as well as spark debate about the need for COVID-19 “booster” shots.
St. Luke’s claims that reinstating their mask mandate is to “ensure staff and patient safety,” but that is causing some St. Luke’s employees to wonder about the efficacy of Covid shots. This appears to be a valid question, considering that St. Luke’s, along with St. Alphonsus and Primary Health, is mandating that all employees receive at least one of the Covid shots before September 1 or lose their employment.
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