Mask mandates to stay in York Region hospitals

COVID-19 protections remain in place to protect the 'most ill, injured and vulnerable patients'

Thestar.com
June 10, 2022
Kim Zarzour

The province’s top doctor may believe that masking in health-care settings is no longer necessary, but York Region’s hospitals disagree.

Ontario chief medical officer of health Dr. Kieran Moore announced on Wednesday that hospitals, health-care settings and public transit settings are allowed to remove their mask mandates as of June 11.

All three York Region health-care centres issued statements today saying they will buck that trend and keep their face covering rule as protection against COVID-19.

Newmarket’s Southlake Hospital, Mackenzie Health in Vaughan and Richmond Hill, and Oak Valley Health in Markham-Stouffville have all indicated they will continue requiring face masks in order to protect staff and vulnerable patients.

Moore said the provincial mandate will end at 12 a.m. on Saturday, except in long-term care and retirement homes, due to declining hospitalization rates and high levels of vaccination.

But it appears local hospitals in York, and elsewhere in the province, share a differing view.

“Our top priority is ensuring the health and safety of everyone who comes to our hospitals for care and the staff and physicians who care for them,” Mackenzie Health said in an emailed statement to yorkregion.com.

“As a high-risk environment caring for vulnerable patients, at this time, we will be keeping our mask mandate in place at both of our hospitals and network of community-based locations to ensure patients continue to receive care in a safe environment.”

Southlake shared a similar statement.

“As we continue to navigate the rapidly changing pandemic, we are always looking to ensure a safe environment for everyone at Southlake. As a high-risk setting with vulnerable patients in our care and in alignment with hospitals across the province, Southlake will continue to maintain appropriate infection prevention and control protocols, including universal masking and active screening, at our facilities to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.”

Oak Valley Health, which includes Markham Stouffville Hospital, Uxbridge Hospital and the Reactivation Care Centre, will also continue to require mandatory masking past June 11.

“Mandatory mask requirements continue to offer additional protection to some of our most ill, injured, and vulnerable patients,” the hospital said in a statement.

Every person that comes into Oak Valley Health will be given a new surgical mask to be worn at all times. Personal or cloth masks are not permitted.

York Region emergency physician Dr. Stephen Flindall applauds the move.

Removing masks in hospitals is dangerous, he said, requiring some of the most vulnerable people to walk through a minefield to get the care they need.

"Moore apparently understands that the elderly are at high risk from COVID infection, as he is extending mask mandates in long-term care. How does he not understand that those same individuals come to the hospital for health care and should be protected there as well?"

The Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO) and Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) also expressed concern about the heightened risk of infection among vulnerable populations and staffing shortages disrupting the health-care system.