One of my cycling buddies has completely avoided Covid until last week. No positives etc. He had to visit his 92 year old mother in hospital 2 days out of 3. He's now very unwell and positive as his wife who has also avoided infection until this week.
I hope it doesn't get worse for either of them. Perhaps they can reflect, grasping for the positives, that their vaccinations and boosters are likely to have reduced the severity of this illness.
There is no doubt that the hospital environment is risky and I expect mitigations will be enhanced this month across the NHS, which will include (effectively) mandatory masking. But when considering that, they have to recognise the adverse effect on communications that masks have.
Chair of the public health medicine committee BMA [noted, 30 Sep] that the Government's recent call for the public to wear masks in crowded places was "especially important in healthcare settings where infection rates and risk of contracting the virus are high".
At least your friend was able to visit his mother in hospital, which would have been difficult or impossible 2 years ago.
For those who are anxious or vulnerable I'd recommend wearing FFP3 mask when they have to come into close contact with strangers.
