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Tag: masks

Now is not the time to end Covid-related services in BC

After 2023, funding for Covid-related services is set to end in BC.

For nearly four years now, British Columbians have been grappling with Covid-19. We’re currently aided by health management initiatives like vaccination, testing, and protective equipment for healthcare workers. Since 2021, these measures have been funded by BC’s Pandemic Recovery Contingencies, a three-year plan that also sustains economic recovery programs and supports for vulnerable community members.

This plan expires at the end of 2023. After that, our government anticipates that “most initiatives will wind down or be integrated into existing government programs.”

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Masking requirements increase in all areas of Stevenson Memorial Hospital

Masking requirements are increasing at Stevenson Memorial Hospital (SMH) starting on Monday in all areas of the facility, including hallways and shared spaces.

The hospital’s website cites rising COVID-19 cases, including outbreaks at health care and seniors’ facilities as the reason behind the change.

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Calgary’s Peter Lougheed Centre adopts masking directive to curb COVID-19 infections

Calgary’s Peter Lougheed Centre is one of the latest hospitals to adopt Alberta Health Service’s mask directive to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Masking is now required for Peter Lougheed Centre’s staff, physicians, volunteers, contracted service providers and laboratory workers in patient-facing areas of the hospital.

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WA public hospitals strengthen mask-wearing requirements in response to surging COVID cases

Surging COVID cases in Western Australia has seen the first public health measures introduced since the state’s COVID-19 ‘state of emergency’ declaration was dropped.

From Monday, all staff and patients in high-risk hospital clinical areas must wear masks.

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Physicians’ Refusal to Wear Masks to Protect Vulnerable Patients—An Ethical Dilemma for the Medical Profession

On May 11, 2023, the US federal government put an end to the COVID-19–related public health emergency. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) no longer recommends routine universal masking in most health care settings. Many clinicians and staff at hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes around the country have stopped regularly wearing masks. A conflict might arise when patients who are immunocompromised or have other risk factors that increase their susceptibility to COVID-19 complications seek health care and encounter an unmasked clinician. Individuals who have such conditions are considered disabled under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Those disabled patients nowadays must embark on a “personal crusade for public health” to have their needs met.

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Le port du masque obligatoire dans les foyers de soins de longue durée en Ontario

Ontario’s provincial government has announced that staff in long-term care homes are now required to wear masks in the face of an increase in COVID-19 outbreaks, cases and hospitalizations of residents.

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Ontario requires masking for long-term care home staff amid rise in COVID‑19 outbreaks

Masking is now required for staff in long term care homes across Ontario amid a recent rise in COVID‑19 outbreaks, cases and resident hospitalizations, the provincial government says.

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Ontario: Keep masks in healthcare!

📣 Let hospital CEOs and MPPs know you want universal masking with respirators in Ontario hospitals

✉️ Send letters to voice your support for universal masking with respirators in hospitals. You can use your own email software to send the letters.

Why take action? SARS-CoV-2 is an airborne, level 3 pathogen. We need universal masking with respirators to prevent COVID-induced health issues, including long COVID, cognitive issues, and cardiovascular diseases.

Please take a moment to voice your support for universal masking with respirators in Ontario hospitals!

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AHS mask mandate takes effect at Drumheller health centre

The Drumheller Health Centre has become the first acute-care facility in southern Alberta to adopt AHS masking rules to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The mandate, posted by Alberta Health Services on Friday, requires all patients, visitors, and medical and non-medical staff to wear masks in areas where patients are cared for, including the long-term care and supportive living wings of the hospital, as well as the Community Cancer Centre.

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Horizon tightens mask rules again, starting Monday

Horizon Health Network is tightening its masking rules again, requiring all health-care workers, patients, visitors and designated support persons to wear a medical-grade mask in all patient and clinical areas of its facilities, starting Monday.

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No plans to extend mask requirements: Health Department

The Nunavut government is not planning to expand the mask mandate it imposed last week at the territory’s health centres.

The Health Department announced the change Oct. 17 in a news release in light of “increasing numbers” of COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses.

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Dr. Lyne Filiatrault discusses masks in healthcare

On September 27, BC provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, and health minister, Adrian Dix, announced mandatory masking would be re-established in healthcare environments as COVID-19 cases are rising at a rapid rate. Starting October 3, masks became mandatory once again in healthcare settings.

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BC’s new masking guidance isn’t enough

As of October 3, masks are mandatory for healthcare workers and visitors in settings that are accessible to patients, including areas where they receive care. This includes spaces like the rooms where doctors and nurses serve patients directly, or areas where patients may stay while waiting, such as lobbies. The policy also extends to contractors or volunteers in the area, but does not include private clinics or patients themselves.

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