(Radio Iowa) - Flu cases across Iowa are still rising and it's prompting some hospitals to reinstate a policy from the pandemic era.
The medical director for UnityPoint's emergency departments in Des Moines, Clint Hawthorne, says they've started requiring staff members to wear masks. Even if a patient doesn't have respiratory symptoms, Hawthorne says the staff is wearing masks. Iowa hospitals reported more than ten-percent of emergency room visits were for the flu in recent days, which is significantly higher than at this time last year.
Officials say you should take care to wash your hands and stay home if you are sick. Dozens of Iowa schools are still reporting absence rates of at least ten percent due to illness.