Mayo Clinic will again require staff members to wear masks in Mayo buildings, regardless of role and COVID-19 vaccination status, the Rochester, Minn.-based health system said.
Mayo attributed the decision to the continued spread of the delta variant.
"The delta variant is more contagious than the previous strains that we've had in the U.S.," Melanie Swift, MD, co-chair of Mayo's COVID-19 Vaccine Allocation and Distribution Work Group, said in a news release. "But it's also causing more severe illness that is causing hospitalizations to increase and ICU admissions to increase. And we're looking at another wave of the pandemic. It's more contagious, and that's concerning. It's more serious, and that's concerning."
Staff, patients and visitors are already required to wear masks in Mayo buildings where patient care takes place.
The reinstatement of universal masking for takes effect Aug. 2. It applies to all U.S. Mayo locations, including the main campuses in Rochester; Scottsdale and Phoenix, Ariz.; and Jacksonville, Fla., as well as locations in Wisconsin.