On April 8, 2024, BC abruptly dropped healthcare mask requirements, ignoring calls from medical professionals, BC’s Human Rights Commissioner, and over 18,000 messages from vulnerable British Columbians. Policy-makers claimed this downgrade was due to the end of "respiratory illness season". However, NACI stated that COVID is not regarded as seasonal, and so far healthcare mask requirements have not been restored this fall.

Since dropping healthcare mask protections, BC has endured multiple outbreaks in medical settings. As we enter fall and winter, we’re also facing significant COVID spread, a rise in “walking pneumonia”, local measles warnings, and Canada’s first human case of H5 avian influenza - which health officials warn could potentially turn into another pandemic.

We need healthcare mask protections now!

We urge policy-makers to immediately reinstate mask requirements for all healthcare workers, contractors, patients, volunteers, and visitors. There is no acceptable level of avoidable infection in medical settings. BC policy-makers acknowledged in 2023 that healthcare mask requirements are essential to “slow down and decrease / minimize the impact of these viruses on ourselves, on our communities, and on our healthcare system.” With avian influenza, we have seen the risks from even a single case, where over 30 healthcare workers were exposed to an airborne illness.

Healthcare settings in Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador have already restored mask requirements. BC must follow suit without delay. We also call on BC policy-makers to:

• include patients in universal healthcare mask protections (with reasonable exceptions);

• improve airborne precautions with wider use of respirators, as the only masks rated to protect against airborne illnesses like COVID-19, measles, or H5N1 avian influenza;

• require masks in private and community healthcare settings like doctor’s offices and medical labs.

How you can help:

• 👉 Leave phone messages with our phone script
• 👉 Send free faxes online
• 👉 Send postcards (mail to Ministers and MLAs is free!)
• 👉 Request a meeting with your MLA (can be done via phone or Zoom) - use our fact sheet or share your personal story!

Why this matters:

• Patient safety: Gaps in infection control put patients at greater risk, particularly in high-risk settings like ERs, cancer centres and long-term care. Hospital-acquired COVID-19 is at least 70 times more deadly than COVID contracted in the community. Since healthcare masking was dropped there have been multiple COVID outbreaks in healthcare, while Canada’s first H5N1 avian flu hospitalization and surging measles cases worldwide underscore the rising risks posed by other communicable diseases.

• Worker safety: The healthcare sector has the highest rates of WorkSafeBC claims for COVID. Dozens of healthcare workers were exposed to H5N1 from a single case. We can’t afford to lose more staff - temporarily to acute illness, or long-term to Long COVID.

• Accessibility: Multiple polls show 85-91% of respondents must delay healthcare due to lack of COVID safety. This year, British Columbians have sent over 33,000 messages so far calling for masks back in healthcare - a particularly pressing need for Indigenous, racialized, disabled, 2SLBTQIA+ and lower-income communities, who are disproportionately harmed by COVID and Long COVID.

• A necessary layer: While vaccination is essential, it doesn’t fully prevent infections or long-term health impacts - plus, it’s less effective for many immunocompromised people. Nearly 60% of COVID cases spread asymptomatically, so symptom checks alone can’t catch all infectious people. PHSA's own infection control policies state that N95s should be used for confirmed or suspected airborne illnesses.

• Protecting our healthcare system: BC faces a healthcare crisis, and healthcare-acquired infections can cause surgical delays, prolonged hospitalization and other interruptions of care. Skyrocketing rates of Long COVID also contribute to healthcare demand.

• Evidence-based support: Masks are a low-cost, high-impact safety tool. A recent cohort study found resumption of staff masking was associated with a 33% decrease in hospital-onset respiratory viral infections. A study on SARS-CoV-1 co-authored by BC’s current Provincial Health Officer found that “Consistently wearing a mask… was protective for the nurses” while noting that “[r]isk was lower with consistent use of a N95 mask than with consistent use of a surgical mask.”

“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…removal of universal masking directives in healthcare settings does not uphold a human rights centered approach to public health.”
— BC Human Rights Commissioner, April 3, 2023