Each day, patients entrust Penn State Health employees with their safety and well-being. Since the start of the pandemic, the health system has followed guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to keep our patients, visitors, students and co-workers safe. But we must do more.
The number of our employees who have tested positive for COVID has recently increased. These infections generally are not acquired from patients at our clinics or hospitals. Evaluation shows that a notable number of cases were acquired when our employees relaxed their guard and didn’t practice precautions during social events outside of work. The COVID-infected friends and family appeared well at the time of interaction. Many employees have acquired COVID at weddings, overnight parties, beaches and other social events.
Recent examples include:
- Attendance of a wedding where the bride and others in the party were unknowingly positive, leading to the infection of a Hershey Medical Center employee
- Visit with a friend who later turned out to be positive — leading to the infection of an employee
- Friends gathered at a home, and later an employee and spouse tested positive with the same illness onset date, suggesting common exposure from the gathering
“Pandemic fatigue” can cause us to be complacent about safety, wearing masks less frequently or not staying at least six feet away from others.
Whether we’re at work or out and about during our off-hours, employees should continue to follow safety protocols to help prevent contracting or spreading COVID. Remind your team that, as health care workers, we play a critical role in helping stop the spread of the disease.
Employees are reminded to:
- Maintain at least six feet from others during mealtimes — this is an exceptionally risky period as masks are off and people are trying to relax.
- Wear a mask in public places.
- Frequently wash/sanitize hands and avoiding touching your face.
- Avoid public places, especially indoor restaurants and bars, and events that don’t enforce social distancing or universal masking.
- Avoid, if at all possible, traveling to areas deemed “hot spots” where cases are increasing. The latest “hot spot” list, designated by the Pennsylvania Department of Health, can be found here. You can also check out this site from The New York Times.