Health P.E.I. is bringing back masking requirements across its facilities starting Friday, October 16, citing increased respiratory illness activity in the province.

Staff must wear medical masks during direct patient care and whenever they are within two metres of a patient or resident. Visitors and other members of the public must also mask within that distance, according to an October 15 directive to staff. The measures remain in effect until further notice.

The health authority’s public announcement uses softer language, saying members of the public “will be asked” to mask near patients. Its internal directive explicitly describes that masking as required.

“This is an important decision that receives careful consideration,” said Jillian Nixon, Health P.E.I.’s director of occupational health, safety and wellness. The agency says the policy is intended to protect patients and help keep the health system stable.

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The rules do not require staff to remain masked everywhere. Employees may remove masks in hallways and cafeterias when they are not providing care or services. A porter transporting a patient, however, must wear one.

Patients in acute care are encouraged to mask when outside their rooms if they can tolerate doing so, but that is not mandatory, and staff are strongly encouraged to receive updated COVID-19 and influenza vaccinations.

The public announcement provides no numerical threshold for introducing the measures or a firm date for lifting them. The agency says it will update the policy when it considers it safe to do so.