Officials with Health P.E.I. say people will have to wear masks inside all of the provincial health authority’s facilities beginning next week.

The policy is being put in place in response to the growing presence of respiratory illnesses on the Island.

Lara MacMurdo, director of occupational health, safety and wellness with Health P.E.I., said rates of respiratory illness are often higher this time of year.

“Masks are are known to be one of those easy measures that we can implement to ensure the safety and the health of our health-care workforce and our overall health-care system,” she said. “It’s just one of those things that we can expect to see year over year… Masking is that new reality.

“It’s not a matter of if we’re going to mask, it’s a matter of when we’re going to mask.”