Fall means cold and flu season in the Maritimes, and Nova Scotia Health is keeping an eye on the spread of respiratory illnesses in the province, like COVID-19, influenza and RSV.
“As we see more circulation of viruses in the community, of course we sort of have to batten down the hatches to try to prevent those from coming in and spreading around our hospitals,” Dr. Shelly McNeil, Nova Scotia Health’s chief of infectious diseases, said on Wednesday.
Masking policies have not changed within Nova Scotia health-care settings. Inpatient areas, emergency departments and high-risk ambulatory areas still require people to wear a mask.
“I think there is this sense that hospitals have dropped masking requirements, and that has never been the case in Nova Scotia,” McNeil says. “We have narrowed some of the spaces where masking is required, but we have not ever stopped masking in our inpatient and many of our outpatient areas.”
In New Brunswick, citing an increase in COVID-19 cases, the Horizon Health Network is implementing mask requirements in certain situations and settings.
On Tuesday, Nova Scotia’s chief medical officer of health said he does not anticipate a return to mask mandates for the general public, but he is asking people to be responsible.
“Where it’s really most important to wear a mask, if you have cold and flu symptoms and you cannot stay at home until you are feeling better, then it is critically important at those times that people wear a mask,” said Dr. Robert Strang.
Some people in the community say that is not a big deal for them.
“I have a lot of friends that are either elderly or immune-compromised and I don’t mind giving up something very small, like having something cover my face, for everyone’s safety. It’s not a big deal to me,” says Kimberly Gilson.
