With the rise in cases of influenza, RSV, norovirus and COVID-19, Ascension St. Joseph and Advocate Sherman hospitals in Elgin have reinstated policies requiring all visitors to wear masks.
Masks must be “medical-grade … that fully covers mouth and nose,” St. Joseph’s website said. “If you do not have a mask, one will be provided to you.”
With so many participating in holiday festivities over the past few weeks, various illnesses have taken hold. Flu activity “continues to rapidly increase,” RSV activity is “very high,” and COVID-19 activity is low but increasing, according to a Dec. 27 Chicago Department of Public Health surveillance summary.
Statewide, the percentages of positive tests for the flu and RSV also have been increasing, as have the percentages of emergency department visits for those illnesses.
Nationally, outbreaks of norovirus, which can cause vomiting and diarrhea, are way up. In Illinois, the state health department is evaluating reports of norovirus outbreaks, but initial analysis shows that norovirus cases are slightly above the levels seen in the years right before the pandemic, spokesman Michael Claffey said in a statement.
In Elgin, St. Joseph is prohibiting anyone currently experiencing respiratory symptoms, including fever, cough and sore throat, from visiting the facility. Anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 10 days or has had close contact with someone who tested positive in the last five days should also avoid the hospital, officials said.
Visitors younger than 12 must be accompanied by an adult at all times and are strongly discouraged from visiting intensive care units and high-risk areas, the hospital site said.
Procedural and specialty units may have stricter guidelines in which masks, gowns and gloves are required and there may be limits on visiting hours and number of visitors that can enter a room at a time, the site said.
A prepared statement from Advocate Sherman said, “For the safety of our patients, beginning Jan. 6 we are temporarily requiring visitors to wear masks when in contact with patients or in congregate areas, including patient rooms and other areas designated by signage. Masks are available at all location entrances.”
The Sherman website says that visitors who have a respiratory illness and/or fever are encouraged to not visit. If a visit is essential to the well-being of a patient, the visitor should ask for a mask and gown, the site said.
“It’s all out there,” Dr. Laura Zimmermann, a primary care doctor and chief of general internal medicine at Rush University System for Health, said of the viruses now circulating.
Sherman and St. Joseph are not alone in taking precautions. Given the uptick in respiratory illnesses, the Illinois Department of Public Health also has recommended that health care facilities move to facility-wide masking.
“We’re trying to (take) measures to keep our patients safe,” said Dr. Aniruddha Hazra, a UChicago Medicine associate professor of medicine in the department of infectious disease and global health.
Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News. Chicago Tribune reporter Lisa Schencker contributed.
