Queen’s relaxes mask guidelines at its facilities

The Queen’s Health Systems has announced that it will be relaxing certain mask requirements that were initially put in place at its facilities due to the COVID-19 pandemic, starting today.

Visitors will no longer be mandated to wear masks, unless necessary for the patient’s specific illness and related to a “transmission-based precaution”. However, individuals with respiratory symptoms should avoid going to the hospital.

In addition, patients will no longer be required to wear masks, unless necessary for their specific illness as a “transmission-based precaution”. Staff will educate patients on proper respiratory hygiene and cough etiquette.

Furthermore, staff will no longer be mandated to wear masks when not directly providing patient care, unless required by the patient’s specific illness based on transmission-based precautions. However, surgical masks are still required for staff involved in direct patient care.

Private practices that lease space in Queen’s facilities may establish their own masking policies for their offices.

In a news release, Queen’s, Hawaii’s largest private healthcare system, stated that it is relaxing these mask requirements “due to the recent decline in COVID-19 cases in our community.” Queen’s also emphasized that masking will not result in discrimination against staff, visitors, and patients.

This recent announcement by Queen’s follows similar actions taken by other healthcare providers, such as Kaiser Permanente Hawaii and Hawaii Pacific Health, who have also taken steps to ease their mask policies.

The Queen’s Health Systems operates The Queen’s Medical Center on Punchbowl Street, The Queen’s Medical Center – West Oahu, Molokai General Hospital, Queen’s North Hawaii Community Hospital, and Queen’s Island Urgent Care.