LHSC will continue to provide masks at all hospital entrances. We recommend wearing a mask during high-risk seasons to help our patient's and visitor's respiratory health during visits to our hospitals.
For patients/visitors/caregivers:
- Masks are voluntary in the majority of clinical areas.
- Patients with a fever or respiratory symptoms are required to mask in all clinical and non-clinical settings (except if in an inpatient room or bed space* and not receiving direct care with a healthcare worker).
- Please note that some clinical areas who provide care to an immunocompromised population may require masking of all patients, visitors and essential care partners, especially when there is increased infection in the community. This is in an effort to keep that high-risk patient population as safe as possible. If a unit requires masks they will communicate this directly with their patients and/or visitors and have masks available.
- If a unit is on respiratory outbreak, enhanced precautionary measures are implemented. Infection prevention and control requires masking of visitors/care partners, or limiting the presence of visitors to essential care partners. Please speak directly with your or your loved ones’ care team if the unit is on outbreak. You can find a complete list of units on outbreak here.
We recognize that some patients may not be able to tolerate wearing a mask due to their health condition. These patients will be exempt. Paediatric patients under five years of age, who cannot tolerate a mask, are also exempt from wearing a mask. Health-care workers are protected from those unable to mask by wearing their own required PPE.
*A patient’s bed space refers to a private patient room or the space enclosed by a curtain in a multi-bed room.
