BC Government Brings Back Mask Mandate in Health Care Settings

A woman wearing a protective face mask and gloves waits at a COVID-19 assessment centre for staff at Lions Gate Hospital in North Vancouver on March 19, 2020. The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck

Mask mandates are returning to British Columbia health care facilities to curb the spread of respiratory illnesses amid the seasonal surge, the provincial government announced.

Effective Jan. 6, the mandate applies to anyone entering patient care areas within health authority-operated facilities, such as waiting rooms, emergency rooms, and any area where emergency health services are being provided, including client homes, community care locations, and ambulances, according to the “COVID-19 guidance in B.C.”