A mask mandate has been reintroduced at BԪַ health care facilities as infection trends show an upswing in respiratory illness, including COVID-19.
All health-care workers, patients, and visitors must wear masks in areas “where patients are actively receiving care except when eating and/or drinking”, states a release from the Ministry of Health.
The masking requirement is expected to continue until the spring, though it could be dropped sooner depending on the perceived risk from transmittable respiratory illnesses.
Signs directing visitors to wear masks were posted Wednesday at BԪַ General Hospital and other care facilities. The ministry says the resumption of a mask mandate is not unusual, noting such measures were regularly taken even before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic five years ago.
“To keep people safe, the province is strengthening infection control measures in health authority-operated facilities and contracted sites to protect people during the respiratory illness season,” the ministry said in the statement emailed to The BԪַ Courier.
“Temporary measures like these have been regularly used in health care settings both pre- and post-pandemic, including last year,” the statement said. “In conjunction with existing infection control practices, they will help curb the spread of respiratory illness this season and keep patients, residents, and health care workers safe.
After the last orders relating to the pandemic were lifted by the provincial health officer in July 2024, it was stated mask mandates might be reinstated if necessary during future respiratory illness seasons.
“Current surveillance trends show that influenza and RSV activity is increasing, and COVID-19 activity is stable but showing early signs of an increase,” the statement said.
Last winter, masks were required for a time in all areas of health care facilities, the statement noted.
This year, the measure applies to areas where patients and resident care “actively receiving care”. In practice, this means that people must wear masks:
- in all emergency departments and waiting rooms
- people do not need to wear a mask when they are visiting a single resident in a patient-care area, in multi-bedrooms, or in communal areas when visiting directly with one individual resident
- residents in long-term care and assisted living facilities must wear a mask over their nose and mouth, and other personal protective equipment, when directed to do so by a health care worker during provision of direct patient care, if medically tolerated
