WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Fully vaccinated Pennsylvanians do not have to wear masks in most outdoor and indoor settings. However, that ruling does not apply to medical facilities like the UPMC hospital in Williamsport.
"I just want to remind people that we are a health care environment and we care for the most sick and vulnerable, and that is why we need to remain diligent, and a good way to protect our patients is to continue masking," said Heather Stafford, the Clinical Director at UPMC Susquehanna.
Officials with the hospital said they saw more and more people last week come to the hospital or vaccination clinics without a mask on.
"All of our settings, in-patient care, and out-patient care clinics, we are requiring a mask still. You will be screened for any potential clinical symptoms of Covid, and the expectation is you have a mask. If you don't have a mask, we can still provide one for you," said Stafford.
There are currently nine COVID-19 inpatients at UPMC Williamsport. The hospital system says continuing to wear masks on site is an effort to protect employees and patients.
"There is still a lot of unknowns with this virus, and even if we are vaccinated, we don't know if we can still be spreaders, so again, when we are caring for our sickest patients, we want to make sure we are protecting them," said Stafford.
Officials also told Newswatch 16 that they want to encourage more people to get the vaccines. As of now, kids as young as 12-years-old can get the Pfizer vaccine.
"While it is hopeful that many of us are getting vaccinated, we need more people to become vaccinated to truly reach this herd immunity and hopefully move away from this virus and masking at all," said Stafford.
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