With Masks Coming Off, Urgent Care Operators Are Inching Back to ‘Normal’ Practices

With the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently adapting its stance on wearing masks in public to reduce risk for spreading COVID-19, urgent care operators are already using the new guidance to review their own practices and procedures. They’re also being encouraged to do so by fluctuations in patient volume. Tomah Health in Wisconsin, for example, is reopening its urgent care facility after closing it in January due to overwhelming COVID-19 cases in its hospital units. In Oahu, HI, the Queen’s Health System is closing one dedicated COVID-19 vaccination clinic and opening another in a smaller venue in response to falling case rates. And MU Health Care in Columbia, MO, announced that it will close its COVID-19 testing site as the number of patients presenting specifically for a test dwindles; they’ll continue to offer tests in their “regular” offices.