Barrie's Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) says it's updating its masking guidelines ahead of the fall respiratory season.
The move comes in anticipation of increased spread of influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and COVID-19.
Effective Tuesday, Sept. 12, the Barrie hospital will return to mandatory masks in all clinical treatment areas. This includes patient rooms, waiting rooms in the RVH Cancer Centre, dialysis clinic and emergency department, as well as when care is being provided in ambulatory or inpatient settings.
Masks will remain optional, but recommended, in areas such as hallways, administrative spaces, meeting rooms, and public areas such as the cafeteria.
All visitors should continue to self-screen upon arriving at RVH. If they have any symptoms or are unwell, officials say you should stay home and return to the local hospital once they are well.
Patients requiring care and who are unwell should inform their care team upon arrival.
“RVH’s goal is to always maintain safety for patients, families and members of Team RVH. That is our top priority,” RVH president and CEO Gail Hunt said in a release Monday afternoon.
“As we enter a season when respiratory illnesses typically increase among the population, RVH’s infection prevention and control (IPAC), workplace safety and occupational health and wellness teams have been working diligently to assess our mask-wearing protocol to keep everyone safe, while at the same time allow us to maintain some flexibility within the health centre," she added.
Hunt said RVH officials will carefully monitor the situation over the coming weeks and adjust the policy as needed.
More information is available on the hospital's website at www.rvh.on.ca.
