As the COVID-19 public health emergency is lifted and the pandemic continues to recede, hospitals and other healthcare facilities must make decisions on how best to mitigate disease transmission. According to a new study, masking during interactions between patients and healthcare personnel should continue as a critical safety measure.

The study, published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, found that masks continue to offer some protection, reducing your risk of catching COVID-19 in a community setting like a close doctor and patient interaction. It also found that there wasn’t a significant safety difference between surgical masks and N95 respirators in a healthcare setting.

The authors noted that one of the biggest reasons people should wear masks in healthcare settings is that people who work in these places are “notorious for coming to work while ill,” says CNN. Previous research found that a full two-thirds of those who work in healthcare settings came to work with respiratory symptoms.

“Exposing patients unnecessarily to infections that are preventable by masking seems directly contrary to the principles of patient safety,” said an editorial that accompanied the study. “For all these reasons, we advocate remaining masked during patient interactions.”

Syra Madad, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the Harvard Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, who wasn’t involved in the new research, agrees that healthcare workers should wear masks when interacting with patients, especially those who are most vulnerable or immunocompromised.

She adds that with flu season and RSV season returning this fall, more healthcare workers should consider wearing masks.

“We all realize the importance and utility of a mask,” says Madad. “A culture of safety shows you’re being respectful to your patients.”

The expert adds that if the patient is having difficulty understanding the health practitioner, then the provider can take off the mask.

“Even though the public health emergency for COVID-19 has been declared over, we still see over 1,000 Americans dying every single day from this virus, and that is unacceptable. It’s still very high, which means it’s a threat,” said Madad, according to CNN. “As much as we want to downplay it, and it’s not an emergency anymore, but it’s certainly a threat.”

According to NPR, Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, says he and his wife are still playing it conservatively. He cautions people to stay “careful, not carefree.” He explains that they are older, and at higher risk of serious illness if they catch the virus.

“Older persons, people of any age who have serious underlying illness, heart disease, lung disease, diabetes, if you’re immune compromised, keep wearing that mask,” Schaffner said.