June 1, 2023
(LONDON, Ontario) – As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to become a manageable health concern, London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) and our partner hospitals throughout the South West Region are further refining masking guidelines to reflect the new reality and the current health and safety risks.
“It’s clear that the COVID-19 pandemic is entering a new phase, and it’s again time to adjust our approach to masking. The risks are lower now than they have been since the start of the pandemic and our masking guidelines can be further relaxed.” says Dr. Michael Payne, Medical Director, Infection Prevention and Control at LHSC.
“The latest changes in our masking guidelines are based on Provincial guidelines and the advice of our infection prevention and control experts and reflect the changes we’ve seen with virus transmission,” added Dr. Payne. “LHSC will continue to be mask-friendly and masks will be available to those who wish to wear them.”
What This Means for You
For patients/visitors:
- Masking will be voluntary in the majority of clinical areas.
- Patients and visitors in clinical areas with higher-risk patient populations (such as C7 BMT/Oncology or Multi-organ transplant unit) will continue current masking practices:
- Masking of patients or visitors is still recommended when receiving care directly from staff or physicians.
- Masking is recommended in associated waiting rooms.
- Patients with a fever or respiratory symptoms are still required to mask in all clinical and non-clinical settings (except if in an inpatient room or bed space).
- Masks will continue to be available in main entrances of the hospital.
For staff/physicians/dentists/midwives:
- The majority of clinical areas will return to pre-pandemic/standard measures for masking. Masking will be based on routine practices (point of care risk assessment) and additional precautions.
- Some clinical areas with higher-risk patient populations (such as C7 BMT/Oncology or Multi-organ transplant unit) will continue current masking practice, and staff or physicians in these areas will mask when providing direct patient care.
- Masks for staff and physicians will continue to be available in main entrances of the hospital.
We would like to thank you for your ongoing support. As always, we will continue to assess and reassess our COVID-19 precautions over the coming weeks and months and adjust policies as needed.
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For media inquiries contact:
Steve Robinson
Senior Media Relations Consultant
London Health Sciences Centre
519-685-8500 ext. 35947
media@lhsc.on.ca
