Quebec hospitals facing ‘triple threat’ of viruses as doctors group recommends masking
Global News
Quebec's college of physicians is urging people to wear masks in public as hospitals are battling a trio of respiratory viruses that are filling up emergency rooms.
Quebec’s college of physicians is recommending masking in public spaces amid a rise in respiratory viruses in children.
In a tweet Sunday afternoon, the college pointed to overburdened pediatric emergency rooms as the reason for a return to masking.
The measure is to “protect yourself and to protect others,” the tweet read in French.
The order recommended masks be worn on a “voluntary and preventive basis” in public places, crowded private spaces and on public transit.
It said hospitals were facing a “triple threat” of viruses — COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV.
The college also urged Quebecers to be especially cautious as the holiday season approaches, reminding people to keep up to date with their vaccinations.
On Monday morning, the Montreal Children’s Hospital ER was operating at 100 per cent capacity, while Sainte-Justine was at 94 per cent, according to latest hospital data.
