Healthcare organizations update masking guidelines for 2025-26 respiratory illness season

Healthcare systems in Puget Sound updated their guidelines for masking in hospitals and outpatient clinics during respiratory illness season. This year’s thresholds will consider the overall burden of respiratory illnesses that include COVID-19, influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) as well as other respiratory illness infections.

Local healthcare facilities will develop masking policies for patients, visitors and employees in healthcare settings based on respiratory illness levels in the community. Masking is an effective way to reduce the spread of respiratory illnesses in healthcare settings.

The Snohomish County Health Department joins other local health jurisdictions in supporting the continued commitment by healthcare organizations to encourage appropriate masking in hospitals and clinics. Masking reduces the spread of disease, protects vulnerable patients and healthcare workers, and helps ensure healthcare facilities maintain capacity to serve our communities. 

“Having so many healthcare organizations across the Puget Sound region and the state sign on to this agreement and working directly with their local health jurisdictions (LJHJs) exemplifies inter-organizational cooperation as well as cooperation between healthcare and public health,” said Snohomish County Health Officer Dr. James Lewis. “It sets an excellent example for how we can work together to improve patient and healthcare worker safety in meaningful ways. I am so proud that Snohomish County gets to work with all the signatories and LHJs participating in this work and leading the way in implementing meaningful lessons learned from the pandemic.”

Read more about masking guidelines and local healthcare organizations’ commitment to keeping our community safe. You can see up-to-date data on respiratory viruses in Snohomish County here.

Originally posted Oct. 21, 2025