I just saw a communication from a major hospital in the South East that said pre CoVID operations were resuming and masking would be an individual’s choice in a patient room. Exactly as it has always been. So I think some more forward thinking institutions are heading that way.
Hubby recently admitted to hospital and yes, we could choose not to mask in the room only. However, the last surgery he had to removed his kidney in January, I was not allowed in pre-op or post-op. He has to have another surgery this week to remove his parathyroids and was told the policy would be the same. I won’t be able to see him before or after surgery.