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Tag: universal masking

Topic: OntarioView all posts for the topic: Ontario

Ontario wrote off $1.4B of PPE, province burning expired equipment: auditor

Published December 2, 2025

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Published by: CBC News / The Canadian Press
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By Liam Casey

Ontario wrote off more than one billion items of personal protective equipment at a cost of $1.4 billion since 2021, the province’s auditor general found.

Shelley Spence found the province continues to purchase masks, gowns and other protective gear at the same levels as the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, despite significantly declining demand.

“We found that expired products began to accumulate in the provincial stockpile as some of the products purchased during the pandemic fell short of desired quality standards and were not used,” Spence wrote in her annual report.

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Topic: Ottawa-GatineauView all posts for the topic: Ottawa-Gatineau

Here are CHEO’s new visitor guidelines as flu season begins

Published November 14, 2025

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Published by: Ottawa Citizen
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By Elizabeth Payne

CHEO is reinstating public health measures for visitors to the hospital as viral season begins.

Beginning Monday (Nov. 17), visitors will be asked to wear masks while in all waiting areas and during clinical interactions. CHEO will also begin limiting visitors. There will be a limit of one caregiver for patients attending appointments, and no visitors under the age of 12 — including siblings — will be allowed.

The precautions are being taken to help reduce the spread of viruses and protect those who visit the hospital and its community locations, spokesperson Karl Oczkowski said.

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Topic: TorontoView all posts for the topic: Toronto

Mask mandate returns to UHN facilities ahead of respiratory virus season

Published November 14, 2025

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Published by: TorontoToday
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University Health Network (UHN) has announced a new requirement for staff, patients and visitors to wear a mask when inside its facilities.

Masks must be worn in all UHN facilities, including Toronto General Hospital, Toronto Western Hospital and the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre as of Tuesday, Nov. 18.

All staff, patients and visitors will be expected to wear a mask in physician offices, waiting rooms for clinics, the emergency department and other outpatient clinical areas. Patients and staff must also wear a mask when delivering or receiving direct care, or when staff are closely interacting with patients in inpatient, outpatient and emergency clinical areas.

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The CSA’s revised standard on respirators should help us all breathe easierPhoto of a doctor (right) who is examining a patient (left). The doctor is wearing a white respirator, and she has long dark hair.
Topic: universal maskingView all posts for the topic: universal masking

The CSA’s revised standard on respirators should help us all breathe easier

Published November 10, 2025

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Published by: The Conversation
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By Dick Zoutman, Julia M. Wright, Mark Ungrin, Ryan Tennant

The CSA Group — a not-for-profit standards organization — released for review a new draft standard on the “Selection, Use, and Care of Respirators” (CSA Z94.4:25) for workplaces, specifically including health care. This new standard is designed to ensure much better protection for health-care workers and for everyone seeking health care.

Continue readingThe CSA’s revised standard on respirators should help us all breathe easier
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Topic: Newfoundland and LabradorView all posts for the topic: Newfoundland and Labrador

COVID-19 cases, vaccine campaigns helped prompt mask mandate’s return, doctor says

Published October 30, 2025

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Published by: CBC News
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By Elizabeth Whitten

A temporary mask mandate is coming back to Newfoundland and Labrador’s hospitals and long-term care facilities, and one doctor says the driving force is two-fold — a rise in COVID-19 cases and the availability of vaccines.

On Wednesday, Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services announced it was temporarily bringing back mandatory masking in clinical settings effective Monday. The release cited an increase in infectious diseases circulating.

“The timing of the mask requirement was a little bit deliberate to coincide with the timing of the COVID-19 and influenza vaccine campaigns,” Dr. Natalie Bridger, an infectious disease specialist, told CBC Radio’s The St. John’s Morning Show.

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Topic: MontrealView all posts for the topic: Montreal

Jewish General Hospital reinstates mask mandate as flu season kicks in early

Published October 23, 2025

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Published by: Montreal Gazette
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By Aaron Derfel

The Jewish General Hospital has reinstated a mask mandate for medical staff as the flu season has begun much earlier than usual this year, prompting fears that some elderly and vulnerable individuals might not get their vaccines on time.

“It’s not a bad thing to reinstate wearing masks in a hospital because you have sick people by default and you have high-risk patients,” Dr. Karl Weiss, chief of the division of infectious diseases at the Jewish General, told The Gazette.

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Topic: PhilippinesView all posts for the topic: Philippines

Quezon reinstates mandatory face masks amid flu-like illnesses spike

Published October 19, 2025

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Published by: Philippine Daily Inquirer
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By Delfin T. Mallari Jr.

LUCENA CITY — Citing a spike in influenza-like illnesses, Quezon Governor Angelina Tan has reinstated the mandatory wearing of face masks.

“Due to the increasing number of cases of illnesses such as colds, coughs, influenza-like illness, and severe respiratory infections like community-acquired pneumonia—and in accordance with Executive Order No. DHT-60—the wearing of face masks is hereby strictly mandated in all indoor settings, as well as in outdoor areas where physical distancing cannot be observed,” Tan, a medical doctor, said in a Facebook post on Sunday afternoon, Oct. 19.

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Topic: PEIView all posts for the topic: PEI

P.E.I. hospitals bring back mask mandates as experts warn of viral surge across Canada

Published October 16, 2025

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Published by: CTV News
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By Maria Sarrouh

Mandatory masking is back at health facilities across Prince Edward Island as public health officials work to reduce the spread of respiratory illnesses.

The newest numbers from Canada’s respiratory virus surveillance report show that during the week ending Oct. 4, COVID-19 activity was increasing on the Island, with about 20 per cent of tests coming back positive. Nationally, the average was under 10 per cent.

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Topic: PEIView all posts for the topic: PEI

Masks will be required in all Health P.E.I. facilities starting Oct. 14

Published October 10, 2025

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Published by: CBC News
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By Brittany Spencer, Marilee Devries

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.

Continue readingMasks will be required in all Health P.E.I. facilities starting Oct. 14
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Topic: N95 respiratorsView all posts for the topic: N95 respirators

Pushing for a national N95 masking standard

Published September 16, 2025

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Published by: The Peak
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By Niveja Assalaarachchi

On June 20, the Canadian Standards Association, also known as the CSA Group, released a new draft version of CSA standard Z94.4, which was open to public consultation until August 19. It sets to regulate workplace standards around “the selection, use, and care of respirators.” The CSA Group is a non-profit organization which creates non-legally binding but precedent-setting regulations for professional workplace standards. As reported by DoNoHarm BC, the rule changes would see new nationwide respirator requirements that mandate the use of respirators like N95 masks instead of surgical masks by workers, patients, and visitors in healthcare settings.

The CSA Group’s new draft has received praise from healthcare advocates and workers alike. DoNoHarm BC was one of the leading organizations pushing the public to support and contribute to the CSA Group’s consultation process.

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Topic: New BrunswickView all posts for the topic: New Brunswick

Horizon resumes mandatory masking as respiratory illnesses rise in N.B.

Published September 2, 2025

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Published by: CBC News
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By Bobbi-Jean MacKinnon

Horizon Health Network has reintroduced mandatory masking in all patient-facing clinical areas in all of its facilities, starting Wednesday, citing a rise in respiratory virus activity.

All health-care workers, patients, social visitors, and designated support people will be required to wear a medical grade face mask, also known as a surgical or procedure mask, at all times in all inpatient units, outpatient/ambulatory care clinics and emergency departments, and any other clinical setting, including waiting areas.

“With this upward trend, and knowing this time of year historically leads to further increase of viral transmission, Horizon is taking a proactive and precautionary measure,” the regional health authority said in a news release Tuesday.

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Ontario School Safety Calls on Province for an Immediate Vaccine-PLUS Strategy to Tackle Current Measles OutbreakColourized transmission electron micrograph of a measles virus particle (red), with a blue background. Photo: CDC and NIAID. Licensed under Creative Commons CC BY 2.0 DEED Attribution 2.0 Generic license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
Topic: OntarioView all posts for the topic: Ontario

Ontario School Safety Calls on Province for an Immediate Vaccine-PLUS Strategy to Tackle Current Measles Outbreak

Published April 24, 2025

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Published by: Ontario School Safety
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Toronto, Ontario – [April 24, 2025] – In an urgent appeal to protect the health and safety of Ontario’s students, education workers, and families, Ontario School Safety (OSS) has issued an open letter asking the Ontario Provincial Government and Public Health Ontario for an immediate vaccine-PLUS strategy, which includes the essential role of healthy indoor air, to curtail the spread of measles. This critical request comes in the wake of concerning measles infection rates – as of April 17th, 2025, Public Health Ontario is reporting 925 measles cases in the province, more than five times the number of cases than the total number of cases over the last 12 years. Encouraging a vaccine-only strategy is insufficient due to barriers to access, and because measles spreads not only through direct contact with secretions or contaminated surfaces, but through the air we breathe.

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Topic: pandemic responseView all posts for the topic: pandemic response

Is Public Health Really Dead?

Published April 22, 2025

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Published by: The Tyee
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By Michelle Gamage

Local podcaster Daniella Barreto called her latest project Public Health Is Dead to capture her frustration with how leaders handled the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It seemed like all of these things we’re taught in school, like prevention being key and using evidence to make decisions, was thrown out the window,” Barreto told The Tyee. “Mask mandates were being taken away, people were increasingly getting long COVID, and I decided I needed to do something because people were not getting the information they needed.”

Launching the podcast in November 2024, Barreto used her background in public health, with a master of science in population public health from the University of British Columbia and a bachelor of science in health science from Simon Fraser University, to help explain what went wrong. So far she’s released five episodes and has many more in the works.

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Topic: British ColumbiaView all posts for the topic: British Columbia

‘Abandoned and betrayed’: Removal of mask requirement in B.C. health care sparks outcry

Published April 1, 2025

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Published by: Daily Hive
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By Amir Ali

We’ve come a long way from the days of general mask mandates for the public, but a recent move to eliminate the requirement in B.C. health care settings is causing some outcry.

According to a recent BC Ministry of Health release, “People are still encouraged to wear medical masks in health care settings as appropriate,” but it is not mandatory.

Some groups, including Protect Our Province BC and DoNoHarm BC, are questioning the decision. This response comes after B.C. announced that it was launching the spring immunization campaign on April 8.

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BC patients, health advocates slam removal of healthcare mask protectionsOrange, yellow and black graphic with an illustration of a person in an N95, fist raised, holding a sign that reads: Keep (and improve) masks in healthcare. Next to the DoNoHarm BC logo and a QR code, smaller text reads, New tools and actions: www.DoNoHarmBC.ca
Topic: British ColumbiaView all posts for the topic: British Columbia

BC patients, health advocates slam removal of healthcare mask protections

Published March 31, 2025

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Published by: DoNoHarm BC
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DoNoHarm BC, Protect Our Province BC and the Canadian Covid Society warn the province’s decision endangers patients, healthcare workers, and the healthcare system

March 31, 2025 (British Columbia) – BC patients and health advocates are speaking out against the provincial government’s decision to drop healthcare mask requirements, at a time when there are multiple illness outbreaks in medical settings. Public health groups DoNoHarm BC, Protect Our Province BC, and the Canadian Covid Society warn that the move endangers vulnerable patients and frontline workers, while harming the sustainability and cost-effectiveness of BC’s healthcare system.

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Topic: British ColumbiaView all posts for the topic: British Columbia

Mask Rules Are Back in BC Hospitals

Published January 9, 2025

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Published by: The Tyee
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By Michelle Gamage

Masks are back for British Columbia’s health-care sector.

On Wednesday the province said it had reintroduced masking requirements for all health-care workers, volunteers, contractors, patients and visitors.

The masking requirements kicked off on Monday and will last for the duration of respiratory season, which usually ends once the weather improves in the spring.

Masks will be required “in areas where patients are actively receiving care, except when eating and/or drinking,” the Health Ministry said in a statement Wednesday.

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Topic: British ColumbiaView all posts for the topic: British Columbia

B.C. orders masks for hospitals, care facilities as flu, respiratory illness increase

Published January 8, 2025

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Published by: The Canadian Press
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VICTORIA – Medical masks are again required in British Columbia health-care facilities as provincial authorities say cases of respiratory illness are rising.

A statement from B.C.’s Health Ministry says workers, volunteers and visitors in facilities operated by provincial health authorities must wear masks in areas where patients are receiving care in order to prevent the spread of the flu, RSV and COVID-19.

The requirement spans hospitals, long-term care and assisted living facilities, outpatient clinics and ambulatory care settings, and it’s expected to remain in effect until the risk of illness decreases, likely in the spring.

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Topic: British ColumbiaView all posts for the topic: British Columbia

Masking required at all B.C. health-care facilities once again

Published January 8, 2025

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Published by: CBC News
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Masks must again be worn in health-care facilities across B.C., according to the province’s Health Ministry.

In an email to CBC News, the Ministry of Health said the requirement came into effect on Jan. 6, and everyone in health-care facilities, including staff, patients, visitors and volunteers, must wear medical masks “in areas where patients are actively seeking care.”

The move is in response to what the ministry says is a rise in influenza and RSV infections in B.C. COVID-19, it said, is “stable but showing early signs of an increase.”

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