As of April 6, 2023, face masks are no longer required to be worn by staff and visitors of St Paul’s Hospital and here at HLI. It is your choice whether you continue to wear them or not. This will remain in effect until further notice.
Thank you,
HLI Operations
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Dear Providence,
This afternoon, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced the end of the respiratory season and changes to provincial health orders. These changes will impact our organization, and we want to ensure that everyone is aware of the updated guidelines.
Effective immediately, most, but not all, COVID-19-era measures in health care settings are being lifted. This includes:
Acute care settings:
- Proof of vaccination is no longer required from visitors.
- Symptom screening of visitors is no longer required.
- Masks are no longer required to be worn by staff or visitors, except if required under infection control guidance and Point of Care Risk Assessment.
Long-term care or assisted living settings:
- Proof of vaccination is no longer required from visitors
- Symptom screening of visitors is no longer required • Rapid testing of visitors is no longer required
- Masks are no longer required to be worn by staff or visitors, except if required under infection control guidance and Point of Care Risk Assessment.
Vaccination requirements for health care workers will remain in place.
We want to acknowledge that everyone will have a different level of comfort regarding masks. While some staff have been looking forward to today’s announcement, we ask that you please continue to respect and support individual choices. At our entrances, you will still find medical masks and you may choose to wear one if you prefer.
For the past three years, Providence staff and medical staff have done a remarkable job in ensuring safe environments for our patients, residents, families, and colleagues during an exceptionally difficult time. Your commitment and hard work are deeply appreciated. As highlighted by Dr. Henry, with the high vaccination rates and the current epidemiological data, we can now begin to implement changes that enable us to navigate through the pandemic and embrace the future with greater confidence.
As we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, we will continue to uphold strong prevention care practices. PHC’s Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC) team is working on updating all relevant documents to reflect these changes. Additionally, Human Resources is working on a plan to redeploy the greeters and ambassadors that were performing visitor screening at all of our sites.
We will be updating our signage over the coming weeks, will be providing more guidance and information in the coming days and weeks as adjust to these latest changes.
Thank you for your patience and cooperation.