Masking reintroduced in N.S. hospitals as respiratory illnesses increase
CTV
A partial masking mandate has returned to Nova Scotia hospitals and provincially run healthcare facilities for visitors and healthcare workers.
A partial masking mandate has returned to Nova Scotia hospitals and provincially run healthcare facilities for visitors and healthcare workers.
"This is for anybody who is in clinical areas in the hospitals, inpatient units and clinics where we are providing direct patient care,” said Nova Scotia Health senior medical director Shelly McNeil.
Infectious diseases specialist Dr. Lisa Barrett said these regulations implemented on Thursday may seem to be limited to Nova Scotia in scope, but they are in response to the latest COVID-19 variant and its recent spread.
“You don’t need to look at the provincial numbers on surveillance to know that there is a lot of COVID out there,” said Barrett, who added the spread of the virus is in hospitals and communities across Canada, not just in Nova Scotia.
“Certain hospitals around the country have gone back to masking inside their walls in most places where patients are around in order to protect them.”
Barrett emphasized that even with the implementation of the vaccine, COVID-19 is still dangerous.
“COVID, even though we want to consider it run of the mill in all provinces is competing with the flu and there are still more deaths and hospitalizations from COVID than even from influenza,” said Barrett.
