This story has been updated from its original version.
Regional health authority CISSSO announced on Tuesday morning that medical masks are once again mandatory at most health-care facilities in the Outaouais, as a way of curbing the spread of the influenza and other respiratory diseases.
The statement gives several reasons for the change, including an early start to the flu season, a rise in respiratory viruses (particularly influenza A), and a high number of ER visits due to respiratory issues.
Masks will be mandatory in the following facilities:
- Hospitals (including outpatient services)
- Long-term care facilities (CHSLDs)
- Pierre-Janet Mental Health Hospital
- Physical Rehabilitation Center (La RessourSe)
- Seniors and adapted living residences
According to CISSSO media relations agent Camille Brochu-Lafrance, this mandate does not extend to CLSCs.
CISSSO’s Pontiac coordinator Nicole Boucher-Lariviere explained that they are prioritizing facilities where vulnerable populations are housed.
“There’s grades of when we should include the masks, so it’s more for where there’s vulnerable clientele right now,” she said. “So within hospitals you have people who are immunosuppressed because they’re on chemotherapy treatments or they’re on big meds, and in our nursing homes all of our elderly are considered vulnerable, so any clientele who could be exposed over several hours if somebody’s inside the building and we’re sharing air, we’re protecting with the masks right now.”
Similar mandates vary by hospital on the other side of the river. For example, the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa requires masking in their emergency department and waiting rooms.
