Together, for a safer Maryland.
#KeepMasksInHealthcareMD
Event: Join COVID Safe Maryland for our weekly action meeting.
When: Thursday, January 11, 2024
5:30 PM EST
What's happening:
Major hospital systems in Maryland are voluntarily dismantling their requirements for universal masking. University of Maryland Medical System, Lifebridge, Greater Baltimore Medical Center, Luminis Health, and Mercy Medical Center have all ended their requirements for universal masking.
These policy decisions put our communities at risk and must be reversed. Without action, it is likely that the other major medical systems in Maryland will soon follow. We must advocate to clearly communicate that Marylanders need safe access to healthcare. Amid an airborne pandemic, we need universal masking within our healthcare facilities.
Our Demands:
Healthcare needs to be safe in Maryland. Facilities should maintain existing universal masking requirements or reinstate their previous requirements. Governor Moore and the Maryland Department of Public Health should mandate masks in all healthcare facilities in the state, and county health departments should do the same.
Action Alert: John Hopkins Medicine
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Who is Covid Safe Maryland?
We are a volunteer group of Marylanders working to stop the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in our state. We organize for action to reduce transmission, support people experiencing Long COVID, and remember those who have died from COVID.
We advocate because COVID policies that promote unmitigated spread force many of us out of public life and put all of us at risk. We believe that everyone deserves the right to safely access essential spaces such as healthcare offices and public transit.
We know that COVID is disproportionately harming already marginalized groups such as people of color, disabled people, elders, immigrants, and the working class. We fight for COVID safety because we believe in racial equity, disability justice, respect for elders, immigrant rights, and safe workplaces for all.
Covid Safe Maryland wants to hear your story!
Covid Safe Maryland is looking to amplify the voices of individuals who support mask requirements in healthcare settings.
We want to give you the opportunity to share your story on social media and in advocacy materials, express interest in speaking to the press, and express interest in joining meetings with Maryland legislators and decision-makers.
Click here to access our general submission form.
If you wish to share your story completely anonymously for social media, please click here.
If you are interested in participating but would prefer to supply your answers over the phone or in any other format that is more accessible for you, please send an email to: [email protected]
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):
SARS-CoV-2 is an airborne virus. The White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy says that “COVID-19 is primarily transmitted through the air.” The virus hangs in the air like smoke. If spaces are crowded and poorly ventilated and if people do not wear high-quality masks, more virus gets into the air and stays in the air for longer.
One-way masking is insufficient, and is not an evidence-based response to a highly contagious airborne virus. We need universal masking because masks act as source control. This means that masks keep in what we exhale, which helps us stop from spreading the virus. Since COVID is airborne, this means that less of the virus gets into the air. Universal masking in essential spaces like healthcare is critical to protect everyone.
Current CDC healthcare guidance recommends universal source control (masking) at certain levels of COVID transmission and otherwise leaves decisions up to providers. If there are no other local masking requirements for your state or county, this means that providers have agency in how to approach the question of universal masking.
CDC guidance currently recommends universal masking in healthcare facilities when community transmission levels are high. Community transmission levels are not the same as community levels (check out this explainer on the difference from the People’s CDC for more information). Consult www.covidtransmissionmap.com to check the current transmission levels for your county, which are updated every Thursday night. If your provider does not require universal masking when your county is at high community transmission, they are not following CDC’s recommendations.
When community transmission levels are not high, healthcare facilities can decide whether to require universal masking. As the CDC states: “When SARS-CoV-2 Community Transmission levels are not high, healthcare facilities could choose not to require universal source control.” This simply means that it’s up to your healthcare providers, this does not mean that the CDC is actively recommending that they end universal masking. You can take action to influence your providers’ decisions.