A mask mandate is returning to health-care facilities in Newfoundland and Labrador.
The mandate will take effect on Tuesday, Oct. 29, according to an internal memo obtained by CBC News and later confirmed by Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services.
It will require everyone to wear masks in clinical areas, including waiting rooms and nursing stations. It also applies to visitors of patients in hospitals and long-term care facilities.
Comments closedEastern Ontario’s children’s hospital is reintroducing safety measures for the viral season, including requiring people to wear a mask in clinical areas and waiting rooms and limiting the number of caregivers accompanying a patient to an appointment.
CHEO says the viral season can bring a “triple threat for children and youth” with seasonal influenza, COVID-19 and RSV.
Comments closedToronto’s University Health Network (UHN) is upping its masking requirements amid respiratory virus season.
As of Oct. 28, patients, visitors and staff will need to wear a mask while waiting for care, receiving care and in high-risk areas, UHN said in an update on its website.
Comments closedNova Scotia Health will no longer require people to wear masks when entering its facilities, unless they are symptomatic.
The health authority updated its rules on Tuesday, stating that it will continue to monitor levels of respiratory illness, including COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
Comments closedAs of April 8, 2024, masks are “no longer required in healthcare settings” in BC. This decision comes after data showing decreased COVID-19 levels in the province. However, COVID-19 hasn’t suddenly become less dangerous, nor has it disappeared. Data surrounding masks suggests the decision is questionable, if not dangerous. Healthcare settings have always been environments with increased pathogenic risk, which is why masks are so important.
Medical masks have been a thing long before COVID-19. Countries in Asia have worn masks for a variety of reasons “since at least the 1950s.” With the propagation of the SARS outbreak back in 2002, masks as a layer of protection have become a staple in many societies. Throughout the ongoing pandemic, and previous ones, they’ve been proven to be an efficient form of protection and prevention of airborne diseases. A wealth of studies have demonstrated masking’s effectiveness for both the wearer and those around them. One study showed masks were effective in “reducing symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections.” N95s are especially effective, with efficacy rates 48% higher than cloth masks.
Comments closedIn response to April’s removal of mandatory mask mandates in healthcare settings, BC’s health advocacy group DoNoHarm BC, joined by Protect Our Province BC and Masks4EastVan, are leading a campaign to urge the provincial government to reinstate these protections. The groups say that BC health authorities have ignored warnings about ongoing COVID-19 risks and other respiratory threats like measles and tuberculosis.
The decision to remove mask mandates in healthcare settings was announced by the Ministry of Health, “the peak of the respiratory illness season has passed.” Though COVID-19 levels typically lessen in the spring, COVID-19 has not been established as a seasonal illness.
The Peak reached out to Dr. Karina Zeidler who organizes with DoNoHarm BC and is the co-founder of Protect Our Province BC for more information. Zeidler referenced a research article from BC Medical Journal which noted that “for some of these most vulnerable patients, the air in the hospital can be deadlier than the diagnosis that brought them in.” This is due to hospital acquired infections, which can then lead to COVID-19 deaths.
Comments closedOntario will need 33,200 more nurses and 50,853 more personal support workers by 2032, the government projects — figures it tried to keep secret but were obtained by The Canadian Press.
The government recently won a fight in front of the Information and Privacy Commissioner to keep those figures under wraps after denying access to them to Global News following a freedom-of-information request from the outlet.
But the same FOI office made the information available to The Canadian Press through a separate request, a situation critics say exposes the frailties and arbitrariness of the access-to-information system.
Comments closedThe federal government says the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario’s (CHEO) will have major updates, resulting in healthier and cleaner air, and energy savings.
An investment of up to $1 million from the Low Carbon Economy Fund (LCEF) will go to the hospital to support its Deep Energy Retrofit Program, the government announced on Thursday.
Comments closedMask requirements for health-care workers are being loosened at Manitoba facilities starting next month.
In a memo to staff issued last week, Shared Health Chief Operating Officer Monika Warren writes the requirement to mask during direct care interactions will be lifted in most areas starting May 1.
She notes health-care workers are required to wear PPE according to approved protocols, including if respiratory symptoms are present.
Comments closedWednesday, April 17, 2024 (British Columbia) – Independent public health groups Protect Our Province BC, DoNoHarm BC, and Masks4EastVan are calling on the BC government to restore healthcare mask requirements. They are urging British Columbians to call for airborne pathogen protections in clinical settings by joining DoNoHarm BC’s campaign.
Comments closedAs respiratory season winds down, a mask mandate in hospitals is being dropped but a COVID spring booster program is ramping up to strengthen waning protection for the most vulnerable.
“We are returning to the rules that were in place prior to respiratory illness season,” Health Minister Adrian Dix said Monday on the suspension of the mask mandate, likely to be a seasonal requirement.
The B.C. Health Ministry says given the decreased rates of viral respiratory infections in the community, additional infection prevention and control measures implemented last fall in health-care settings — such as masks — are no longer required at all times.
Comments closedIf you’re headed to the hospital on Monday, you won’t need to wear a mask as Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services has updated its masking guidelines.
Masking had been required for patients and visitors at health-care facilities since February, but will no longer be required as of Monday, according to NL Health Services.
People who are seeking care and showing symptoms of viruses like COVID-19 will still be required to wear a mask. They can wear their own medical mask to the facility — but not a cloth mask — or get one on-site.
Comments closedHuron Perth Healthcare Alliance (HPHA) is updating its masking policy.
“Based upon the most recent Public Health Ontario guidance, updates will be made…” read a release from the organization.
Effective immediately, masking will be “welcomed but no longer required,” in many clinical areas of HPHA hospital sites with the exception of emergency departments where masking is still required.
Masking will also still be required for anybody who has symptoms of respiratory infection such as cough, fever and sore throat. If you’re accompanying somebody with symptoms, you must also wear a mask.
Comments closedRespiratory disease levels have remained mostly steady in the past week, Ottawa Public Health says in its latest update.
Influenza remains a major concern with 13 more patients hospitalized in the seven days ended March 16. There were 14 new hospitalizations for COVID-19, which OPH described as “low and decreasing since last week.”
There were 45 more confirmed COVID-19 cases, about half of them in patients 65 years of age and older.
Advocacy group launches province-wide campaign to strengthen mask protections in healthcare.
DoNoHarm BC, a grassroots group advocating for public health measures, is campaigning to keep mask protections in the healthcare industry year-long.
In a release, the organization says healthcare workers are not required to stay masked everywhere. Last April, they were able to stop masking in various settings, including in ERs, children’s hospitals, and cancer centres.
“B.C. currently requires masks in hospitals and long-term care for staff, contractors, visitors, and volunteers – but not for patients,” DoNoHarm BC said in a news release.
“While policy-makers have only guaranteed this measure for a “few months” over the winter, DoNoHarm BC notes the last time BC discarded healthcare masking, multiple medical facilities suffered COVID outbreaks.”
Comments closedNew data shows Quebec with 21 measles cases as of Friday 2 p.m., including 15 in Montreal.
According to the CIUSSS de l’Est, health centres in the eastern part of the island have responded by reinstating mask mandates and launching a vaccination campaign in elementary schools.
Notre-Dame and Sainte-Justine Hospitals are also among those requiring patients to wear masks to stop the spread.
“I feel like it’s necessary, especially to protect those who are more vulnerable,” said Montrealer Selena Ringwald. “Masking really doesn’t bother me, even as someone who has breathing issues after having COVID.”
Comments closedMarch 14, 2024 (British Columbia) – DoNoHarm BC, a grassroots group advocating for evidence-based public health measures, is leading a province-wide campaign to keep mask protections in BC medical settings. The campaign, “Vulnerability Isn’t Seasonal”, also calls to strengthen infection control with patient masking; wider use of N95 masks; and coverage in private practices like GP’s offices.
BC currently requires masks in hospitals and long-term care for staff, contractors, visitors and volunteers – but not for patients. While policy-makers have only guaranteed this measure for a “few months” over the winter, DoNoHarm BC notes that the last time BC discarded healthcare masking, multiple medical facilities suffered COVID outbreaks. At the time, removal of healthcare masking contradicted guidance from the World Health Organization, and prompted BC’s Human Rights Commissioner to state that the move “does not uphold a human rights centered approach to public health.”
Comments closedAn outbreak of COVID-19 at Kings County Memorial Hospital’s in-patient unit is over, Health P.E.I. confirmed Sunday.
The outbreak at the hospital in Montague was declared on Feb. 22. Visitor restrictions were put in place to limit the number of partners-in-care per patient.
The health agency is encouraging visitors to the in-patient unit to wear a mask and to stay away if they feel ill.
Comments closed
