Mask mandate returning to N.L. health facilities as respiratory illnesses spike

A mask mandate is returning to health-care facilities in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The mandate will take effect on Tuesday, Oct. 29, according to an internal memo obtained by CBC News and later confirmed by Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services.

It will require everyone to wear masks in clinical areas, including waiting rooms and nursing stations. It also applies to visitors of patients in hospitals and long-term care facilities.

All patients or visitors with one or more symptoms of COVID-19, or a rash, will have to mask up before entering the facility and are required to wear a mask at all times while inside.

"This requirement will be reevaluated based on changing epidemiology as we advance, with an anticipated end date of March 31, 2025," the memo reads.

An updated version of the news release was shared by N.L. Health Services after 4 p.m. Friday, which removed wording that masking was required in congregate living spaces.

The move comes as health-care facilities in the province deal with a rise in respiratory illnesses.

Thirteen people have been hospitalized with COVID-19 in the past week, according to the latest update published by the health department on Friday. One is in critical care. 

The Department of Health and Community Services also tracks the number of people who call health-line services with influenza-like illnesses, which has consistently hovered around 200 people each week throughout October. 

This is the first provincewide mask mandate since February, when health-care facilities brought in a similar requirement to combat rising cases of respiratory illnesses.

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