Bellingham hospital requiring everyone to wear mask in ER during coronavirus pandemic

Everyone who comes into the Emergency Department at St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham, including all patients and visitors, will be asked to wear a mask, as Whatcom County responds to the coronavirus pandemic.

“It’s just to minimize the risk of exposure in an area where we have a lot of traffic,” hospital spokesperson Bev Mayhew told The Bellingham Herald Wednesday, March 30.

The hospital already has been screening and checking everybody for symptoms at all main points of entry to the hospital for at least week, Mayhew said, adding that anybody “with a little cough or is starting to show a temperature or any other symptoms” related to COVID-19 has been asked to wear a mask.

As of Wednesday at noon, the Whatcom County Health Department reported 144 residents have tested positive for COVID-19, eight of which have died.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/bellingham-hospital-requiring-everyone-to-wear-mask-in-er-during-coronavirus-pandemic/ar-BB124q7d?ocid=hplocalnews