Colds, infections and Corona again – many Munich residents are currently suffering from respiratory diseases. The Munich clinics are also feeling this. In a joint campaign, the Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU) Clinic, the Munich Clinics, the Rechts der Isar Clinic at the Technical University and the Red Cross Clinic are now appealing to their employees to voluntarily wear mask protection.
“From O to O”, i.e. from October to Easter, is written on a colorful poster that will be hung in the wards of the four Munich clinics in the next few days. The initiative came from the LMU. “We knew what to expect after Oktoberfest and in the fall,” says Bernhard Heindl, head of the Strategic Corporate Management department at the LMU Hospital. The pandemic has shown that wearing masks can definitely help to avoid infections. So why not learn the lesson from this time in the coming months and put on masks again for protection? “It’s not just about Corona, but about all the respiratory diseases that are currently circulating,” says Heindl.
Above all, protecting the patients, but also the employees of the clinics, is the focus of the campaign. The Munich Clinic says they want to limit infections in both directions. The aim is to break chains of infection in the four city buildings. And the poster campaign could also have a side effect: that visitors to the clinics will wear masks again.
It is important to Bernhard Heindl that hospital employees wear masks on a completely voluntary basis. No paternalism and away from guidelines. There are no longer any constant tests of employees, says Heindl. Ask employees who have Corona about their symptoms. If they are light, you are allowed to work, but only with a mask. Anyone who is sick should stay at home.
According to Heindl, there is no reason to panic despite the many corona infections in Munich. Even if there are new Omicron sub-variants such as “Eris” and “Pirola”, at the moment there is “no change in the symptoms, no new quality of Corona,” says the head of the Strategic Corporate Management department at the LMU Clinic.