Boone Health ends universal masking requirement

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Boone Health announced in a press release that it will end universal masking in its facilities on Tuesday.

Masks will be optional for employees, providers, patients and visitors, unless requested by patients or required for infection prevention precautions.

Patients will be able to request that Boone Health staff wear masks while providing care, and masks will still be made available, according to a Monday press release. Employees will continue to follow PPE requirements and other standard precautions.

“Promoting safety is Boone Health’s #1 priority. With Boone County now at its lowest level of community transmission of COVID-19 since Spring 2022, we have satisfied the CDC criteria to discontinue universal masking,” Robin Blount, Boone Health Chief Medical Officer, said in a Monday press release.

Masks will still be required for patients who have symptoms of respiratory illness, recent exposure to a respiratory illness, or a positive COVID test in the last 10 days; and visitors for patients who have a respiratory illness.