I've got a hospital appointment tomorrow and was wondering what to expect about mask etiquette.  I presume in common areas I'm expected to wear a mask, but what about when I'm seeing the consultant, or when the nurse does the usual preliminary checks on weight and blood pressure?  Should I keep my mask on and talk through it, or take it off to talk?

I guess it depends on the hospital.

 

Personally, when I have visited, I have kept the mask on unless requested to remove it.

I was just at a private hospital today as well as dentist, and in a government hospital both yesterday and several times last week.

 

Mask wearing is absolutely expected/required except when a procedure necessitates its removal.

 

Pharmacies both in Bangkok and out where I live are also being strict about it.

 

Makes sense...of all the places where masks would be important hospitals, clinics and pharmacies head the list.

As said wear unless eating or exam that requires removal.  I did remove for a 3 hour MRI last week (but believe it would have been removed in any case as they appear to have metal in nose area).

Thanks.  Indeed, absolutely everyone at the hospital was wearing a mask (apart from one African gentleman).

 

For some reason the parking situation at the hospital was particularly bad, though the number of patients inside seemed fewer than usual.  That might, in part, be because some parking space was now reserved for people with a fever.

 

Only one set of lifts from the underground car park was open, and that only went to the ground floor where one had to get out and get temperature checked, then switch to a different set of lifts.  Confusing, but not unworkable.  It did mean that the second set of lifts was busier than usual.

 

Anyway, all in all, a less scary experience than I'd anticipated.

It seems to be acceptable to all the hospitals in Chiang Mai to wear a plastic face-shield that fully covers the mouth and not a paper or cloth mask over the mouth.  I like the face shield better, because a mask causes my glasses to fog.  The only place that has prohibited just the face shield has been a mall.  It makes it easier to talk with people, too.  

 

Hubby had a dental procedure a couple weeks ago and reports that the dental staff was in full hazmat gear.  That's not been the case when I've seen my cardiologist and dermatologist recently.

The face shield has little effect by itself. A mask should always be worn with it.

 

I use this simple trick to keep my glasses from fogging up: