"Face mask now required at Mayo Clinic and Mayo Clinic Health System Mayo Clinic and Mayo Clinic Health System are requiring all staff, patients and visitors to wear a face covering or mask to slow the spread of COVID-19. Please bring your own face mask or covering to wear while at one of our facilities. A limited amount of face masks may be available to patients and visitors. Remember, visitor restrictions are still in effect. Consult the "Visitor Restrictions" section lower on this page for more details. "
Note to Pence: Welcome to our world. Now you know how we feel.
Thanks for posting that…. I had heard that that there was a policy that they were informed about before they left for the Clinic but this is the first time I’ve seen actual details. There is something about this story that isn’t passing the smell test for me. As part of my job, I have to visit plants of a wide variety of types all the time. Before visiting, I typically get a pre-printed circular of some sort that lists what has to be brought along, hard hat, steel toed boots, perhaps a safety video to watch etc. Then once I get to site, there is typically an indoctrination in a visitor’s center where the person is met who is giving the tour etc. I would be very surprised if for the Mayo Clinic visit, anybody was told to ‘bring your own mask’… mask could mean any type of face covering and depending on where one goes in the facility, there may be completely different levels as far as what kind of facial coverage is actually required. The statement is way too vague and it makes it seem like every visitor is allowed to interpret the rules as they see fit as opposed to the facility explicitly saying what the rules are that need to be followed. Secondly, I have a hard time believing that the VP was sent a message that he should bring his own mask along… even if they had specific mask criteria that they could have given to him, were they really going to insist that the VP bring his own and they weren’t going to provide it? Never have I ever experienced that even for basic tour as part of an industry professional group..…. for a fit tested gas mask, yes but never for a disposable product. Were they told to bring their own gowns too?
And where was the Mayo personnel in all this? When you have someone show up at your doors for a tour, it is your responsibility to give them an indoctrination that outlines specific policies and at the end of which questions such as “Is everyone outfitted properly? Are there any questions? Does anybody need any assistance? Etc.” The individual taking the tour isn’t supposed to be a mind reader on every detail of what he/she is supposed to do and know in advance…. It’s the site’s responsibility to make sure that every visitor is safe and equipped properly. There were of course some very high level people from the Mayo Clinic on this tour that probably went right up to and perhaps included the director. Surely this individual would have said “Oh sir, I see you don’t have a mask… we can’t go in there until you get one on. Let me get one for you…. etc. “ If this type of dialogue didn’t take place, what was said? Sheesh… maybe there was a discussion along the lines of “As the surgeon general says, wearing of masks in some instances can make things worse… since you get tested so frequently, you’re better off not having one….” I’m not suggesting this but who knows what actually went on?
I think this whole thing looks like a set up….