Mask mandates should be maintained in all healthcare settings
Get your information and arguments here!
From Dr. Lucky Tran on Twitter:
Some hospitals are saying they don't need mask mandates anymore because people are likely to get COVID elsewhere anyway.
That's a dereliction of duty. Regardless of what is happening elsewhere, no one should ever have to risk their health while seeking medical care. Do no harm.
Many ppl who are immunocompromised & high-risk have had access to society and public spaces taken away due to the lack of government leadership. When hospitals also abandon mask mandates, they are also taking safe access to healthcare away from the most vulnerable. Unacceptable.
The death rate for hospital-acquired Covid infection is 10.62%. Those are internal numbers from the Australian Department of Health. (Thanks Barry!) That is appalling. If someone goes to the hospital for a broken arm (ie. me in April 2021) or for dialysis or cancer treatment and they end up getting Covid while at the hospital, there’s over a 10% chance that the infection will be fatal. Which makes sense, since people at the hospital are by definition the most vulnerable and much more likely to be sick or immunocompromised. (Luckily my 2021 hospital encounters didn’t end up with a Covid infection).
What’s truly appalling is that hospital systems everywhere are dropping their mask mandates. As we know, masks work in preventing Covid transmission. Removing masks in healthcare settings will result in more Covid infections. More Covid infections will result in more deaths.
Doctors should not infect patients. Healthcare settings should be safe for the patients that need care as well as the staff that are employed giving that care. We know that there is live virus in hospital air.
What can we all do? First of all, we should be prepared with arguments and information to counter this disturbing trend. I hope that what I’ve included below with help with that. The first section of this issue is a series of resources with all the main points and data you need. That’s followed with a list of “bad takes” – don’t be like the people in those bad takes.
The next section in this issue is a list of articles about the situation in Ontario, Canada, where I’m based. After that is a selection about what is going on elsewhere.
Most of all we can act. We can contact our local, regional and national representatives to demand that mask mandates be maintained in healthcare settings. Here in Canada at least, there’s a petition set up by Toronto family physician, Dr. Iris Gorfinkel.
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'We need to do better' - over 14,000 people died with Covid after catching it in hospital by Kieren Williams / The Mirror
Of the 137,471 people who died in hospitals in England with Covid, according to NHS data, 10 per cent of these people caught the deadly virus in the very same hospitals.
Similarly, 20 per cent of all probable and definite hospital acquired Covid infections led to a death - meaning one in five people who caught the virus in hospital, died with it.
One expert warned the Mirror that the country "could have done better" as he admitted the deaths were far higher than he had anticipated.
Human Rights Commissioner troubled by end of mask mandates in healthcare settings / British Columbia’s Office of the Human Rights Commissioner
As mask restrictions have been lifted in B.C., I have repeatedly expressed concerns about the human rights implications of these policy decisions: that the removal of mask mandates has a disproportionate impact on marginalized people, seniors, and those who are clinically extremely vulnerable. This represents a violation of their rights to equal participation in our communities. Masks minimally impair those who wear them, but the impacts of COVID-19 on vulnerable people are well known and they vary from the mild to the deadly. If there is one space that all vulnerable people should be able to rely on to prioritize their safety, it is in healthcare settings, including long term care facilities. …
This week’s removal of universal masking directives in healthcare settings does not uphold a human rights centered approach to public health.
Gandhi statement on removal of mask mandate in healthcare settings by Sanjiv Gandhi / BC Green Party
Once again, today the B.C. Ministry of Health and B.C. Public Health failed to acknowledge the detrimental, ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In British Columbia, we have removed all public health protective measures, restricted broad access to further vaccinations, and limited the use of available medications to treat active infections. Today, the one remaining public health order still in place, mandatory universal masking in healthcare settings, intended to protect the most vulnerable in our society, was also removed.
No uniform clean air policies were discussed. This is all at a time when healthcare professionals are now encouraged to return to work even if they have active COVID infections, somehow ignoring the fact that transmissibility of this virus does not correlate with clinical symptoms, and apathetic to the high incidence of iatrogenic infections within hospital settings. Currently, almost 5% of British Columbians are infected with COVID.
COVID-19 in hospitals: B.C. report shows how many infected in acute care by Penny Daflos / CTV News
For the first time, B.C.’s Ministry of Health has provided information about people who likely caught COVID-19 after going to acute care settings for medical treatment or work, with 1,619 getting the virus and 274 of them dying.
The B.C. Centre for Disease Control has compiled a report, which is intentionally vague in parts, outlining the time frame and location of the outbreaks. To protect privacy, when the number of affected people is five or fewer, they simply mark an “x," so only 1,533 cases and 189 deaths can be pinpointed in the document; the more accurate grand total was provided by a Ministry of Health spokesperson.
Hospitals That Ditch Masks Risk Exposure by Nina Kohn and Irina D. Manta / Bill of Health
Requiring masks in direct patient care settings is a prime example of a cost-justified precaution. Masking is a simple, effective, and low-cost measure that hospitals can take to substantially reduce the spread of COVID-19. And the benefits are significant in hospital settings. Hospitals concentrate people who, as reflected in the conditions that bring them to the hospital, are both more prone to infection and more likely to face serious consequences if infected. Moreover, both healthcare providers and patients are known vectors of transmission in healthcare institutions. …
Science, law, and the principle of “do not harm” all concur about the path to keeping patients safe from disease and hospitals safe from liability: at a minimum, continue requiring masks amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Otherwise, hospitals are proceeding at their own risk — and that of their patients.
Disability advocates and physicians call for required masking in hospitals, health facilities By Haley Lerner / WGBH News
Ritz-Sullivan said she is constantly worried about the risk of getting COVID herself, since she is disabled, along with her husband, who is an essential worker.
“I should not be forced to subject myself to further disability or death to meet my basic needs and receive the medical care that I need to survive,” she said. “The pandemic is not over. These losses were and continue to be the result of policy choices and will only worsen if our government continues to ignore this pandemic.”
Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, author of “The Future is Disabled,” said the lack of COVID precautions in hospitals can prevent disabled people from feeling like they can safely get the care they need.
“We are valuable and we deserve to be able to be in public, go and access health care without wondering if we're going to die or get sick or get even more disabled than we already are,” they said.
Regional hospitals face Twitter backlash after removing mask mandates by Robert Williams / The Record
The full rate of transmission is no longer known in the region, as mass testing is no longer available for the general public, as it was during earlier stages of the pandemic.
There have been 518 deaths in the region in which COVID-19 is a direct or contributing cause.
“It does seem ill-advised to remove mask mandates in health-care settings where, one would think, the risks of exposure are greater,” said University of Waterloo School of Public Health director Craig Janes.
“It does reflect our journey in the pandemic — wishing for a return to normalcy I suppose, and certainly a retreat from a public health perspective on transmission dynamics.”
The California mask mandate is gone. Now some patients fear for their health by Kristen Hwang / Daily Democrat
Beth Kenny, a patient in Alameda, said the termination of masking requirements is “devastating.” Kenny has Crohn’s disease, which requires monthly drug infusions that suppress the immune system. Kenny is enrolled in an internal Kaiser Permanente study on the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine and said the data shows their body isn’t able to produce protective antibodies.
They are trying to switch insurance providers to get treatment at a county facility that still requires masking, but that would cost an additional $1,000-plus per month.
“It’s hard to feel like there’s any value in my life in these policies,” Kenny said. “I feel pretty devastated, pretty alone, and gaslit by our political leaders and public health leaders.”
Lifting of COVID-19 restrictions in long-term care welcomed by many — but some fear it might be too soon by Michelle Gomez / CBC News
But Lyne Filiatrault, a retired emergency physician and advocate with Protect our Province, says the change is "reckless" and came too soon.
"We're all tired of COVID and many people think that we need to move on from COVID. The reality is, COVID doesn't care that we're tired," she said.
She says because the illness is often spread when people are asymptomatic or prior to experiencing symptoms, it is not enough to simply ask people to monitor their symptoms.
"The vast majority of time, people are going to be infected by somebody that doesn't know they have COVID," said Filiatrault.
And here are a few terrible takes. Do not be like these people.
Why mask mandates are lifting in hospitals across Canada | CBC News
Universal Masking in Health Care Settings: A Pandemic Strategy Whose Time Has Come and Gone, For Now
Biden officials to keep private the names of hospitals where patients contracted Covid - POLITICO
It's time to end universal mask mandates in healthcare, infectious disease experts say
Ontario
Beginning Wednesday, masks will be encouraged but no longer required to be worn by patients and visitors at our and all other @HamHealthSci and @stjoeshamilton hospitals. We still ask that you stay home if you’re feeling unwell. Details at https://hamiltonhealthsciences.ca/share/masking-changes-hhs-sjhh/
Windsor-Essex hospitals reduce masking requirements | CBC News
Bluewater Health Lifting Mandatory Masking & Social Distancing
CKHA eases masking policy as COVID-19 spread declines | The Stratford Beacon Herald
Mask rules change at hospitals in Kitchener and Guelph | Globalnews.ca
Niagara Health lifts mask mandate as other hospitals also ease rules
Masking changes at Hamilton Health Sciences and St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton
STEGH maintains masking requirement for time being | 94.1 St.ThomasToday.ca
Some examples from beyond Ontario
More hospitals, health systems begin to walk back mask mandates
Doctor Sacked After Asking For Improved COVID Infection Controls | Chuffed
Hospitals to relax facemask requirement from 19 April (Ireland)
Hospital mask mandates will soon be lifted, says Health P.E.I. | CBC News
Vitalité drops masks for staff when caring for some patients | CBC News
N.J. no longer calls for masks at all health care facilities to fight COVID-19, Murphy says
Masks optional again in Saskatchewan hospitals; Vax Wallet app winding down
Many of Alabama’s biggest hospitals ditch mask requirements for staff, patients, visitors - al.com
Minnesota health systems are dropping masking requirements for patients, staff | MPR News
COVID-19 screeners removed from hospitals, Alberta closes PCR testing centres | CBC News
NH hospitals dropping mask mandates as COVID-19 numbers decrease
Major health systems dropping mask mandates in ‘momentous’ shift of pandemic policy (Michigan)
Mask mandate at all 4 Columbus-area health systems to end due to falling COVID, flu rates
Mask wearing in hospitals should remain as covid 'hasn't gone away'
Minnesota hospitals want some COVID pandemic response rules to become permanent
SARS-CoV-2 surged in hospitals after end of universal screening
Study notes high rate of COVID-infected healthcare workers still caring for patients | CIDRAP