A man wears a protective face mask as he walks past the emergency department of the Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster, B.C. Friday, April 3, 2020. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward)
WINNIPEG — Requirements to wear a mask in acute, long-term and community settings are being lifted next week in Manitoba.
Shared Health announced Wednesday the change will occur on May 10 and apply to most visitors and patients entering health-care facilities across the province.
“The changes in masking requirements are based on advice given by infection prevention and control experts and reflect the changes we’ve seen with virus transmission in our province over the past year,” said Monika Warren, Shared Health’s COO of provincially coordinated health services and its chief nursing officer.
“Care settings across the province will continue to be mask-friendly. Masks will be available to those who wish to wear them.”
Shared Health says people who are ill will still be asked to wear a mask when seeking care and should refrain from visiting or accompanying a loved one receiving care.
Masks will still be required in settings where vulnerable populations are being cared for, including cancer patients and transplant recipients.
Medical masks will be available at facility or unit entrances and health care workers will continue to have access to both medical masks and N95 respirators.
Shared Health says the move follows similar changes in other Canadian jurisdictions over the past month.
