Mask mandate remains at Health P.E.I. facilities as flu season drags on
As respiratory illness season continues across the province, Health P.E.I. is reminding Islanders that a mandatory masking policy remains in effect at all of its facilities.
Lara MacMurdo, director of occupational health, safety and wellness at Health P.E.I., said that even though it's already May, the province is still experiencing respiratory illness season, which means all visitors and health-care workers have to mask when they're in Health P.E.I. facilities.
Masks can be removed in designated areas, including cafeterias and private patient rooms where no health-care worker is present.
"The weather is getting nicer… We think the respiratory illness season should be over by now. Unfortunately, we're not playing by the same rules that we might have been used to," MacMurdo told CBC News.
"We are still in the respiratory illness season, where we're seeing a test positivity rate [for influenza] that is above our threshold of five per cent. So right now, P.E.I. is sitting at about 12 per cent."
She added that compared to last year, the peak of P.E.I.'s influenza season arrived a little later this year, which means the season is expected to last longer than usual. Last month alone, three influenza outbreaks were reported in Health P.E.I. facilities.
MacMurdo said masking — along with the health authority's ongoing measures such as promoting proper hand hygiene and asking people to stay home when they're sick — can help protect not just health-care workers, but also patients, their visitors and the broader community.
The Chief Public Health Office releases test positivity data every two weeks. Health P.E.I. will review the next update to assess whether measures can be adjusted, she said.
"If those numbers are trending downwards, we're in the right direction, and we can look to revising our measures."
She said while staff sometimes get questions from visitors about the mask mandate, most people are following the rules.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
14 minutes ago
- CTV News
Fentanyl czar says government's border bill will help in fight against lethal drug
Canada's fentanyl czar Kevin Brosseau looks on during a press conference following a tour of the Canada Border Services Agency Lansdowne port of entry in Lansdowne, Ont., on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby OTTAWA — Canada's fentanyl czar says the fight against the deadly opioid would get a boost from proposed new tools for law enforcement in the Liberal government's recently tabled border bill. Kevin Brosseau, the federal point person on fentanyl, welcomes provisions in the Strong Borders Act to increase inspection powers, give police easier access to information, crack down on money laundering and improve control of chemicals used to make the drug. Brosseau was appointed fentanyl commissioner in February in response to the White House's vocal concerns about the southbound flow of the synthetic opioid into the United States — criticism it used to justify tariffs against Canada. In an interview, Brosseau said Canada is 'not the significant source' of fentanyl entering the United States, but reiterated his stance that being the source of any of the drug is a concern because small amounts can have devastating effects. Brosseau, a former senior Mountie, said his American counterparts have expressed 'deep appreciation' for Canada's efforts to address fentanyl, given the U.S. focus on hardening the border and protecting the homeland. He said they want to take additional steps in 'a collaborative approach' with Canada to address any gaps in areas such as information sharing. As a result, Brosseau said, his message of integrating and amplifying the work on fentanyl north of the border 'has been well received' by the Americans. 'We know domestically, in communities across this country, there is a problem with fentanyl production, supply, trafficking and use,' he said. An average of about 21 people a day are dying in Canada from using the drug, 'and that's what incentivizes me to act and do something.' The Liberal government's wide-ranging border bill has drawn pointed criticism from civil libertarians and refugee protection advocates. The legislation contains several elements Brosseau sees as helpful in tackling fentanyl, including a requirement that owners and operators at certain ports provide facilities for the Canada Border Services Agency to examine and detain goods bound for export. The bill would also remove barriers that prevent police from searching mail to advance a criminal investigation, where authorized to do so under the law, and expand Canada Post's inspection authority to open mail. The legislation would also make it easier for authorities to access information about internet subscribers, enable the health minister to more rapidly control precursor chemicals that can be used to produce illicit drugs and introduce new restrictions on large cash transactions. Brosseau suggested a comprehensive approach is key because, otherwise, fighting fentanyl producers and traffickers becomes a game of whack-a-mole, with a new vulnerability popping up as soon as one is eliminated. 'Criminal organizations are incredibly adept at figuring out what the weak points are, and when the weak points are found, they will be exploited until you close it off,' he said. The proposed legislation builds on earlier Canadian border security measures, including the introduction of round-the-clock border surveillance using helicopters, drones and towers. Ottawa is also working with Washington on a North American 'joint strike force' to target organized crime groups that work across borders. Overall, Brosseau is taking a broad view of the fentanyl problem, stressing the need to hold those who profit from the drug accountable and make sure authorities have the needed tools, while also putting programs in place to help addicted people find a path to recovery. 'I call it an all-of-society approach,' he said. 'And the conversations I have with everybody (are) that there are no free rides in this.' Brosseau said the scourge of fentanyl and other opioids has become a concern on his street among 'parents like me' — part of a larger national conversation. He said he's in a position to provide some comfort and security to fellow parents worried about their children who might be exposed to drugs, and solace to those who are going through heartache by showing 'that we're going to do something about it.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 13, 2025. Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
‘It's scary': Residents say their groundwater is contaminated by firefighting foam from St. John's Airport
A group near St. John's Airport is worried about the quality of their drinking water. CTV's Garrett Barry reports. Torbay, N.L. -- A group of homeowners near the St. John's International Airport say runoff from foam used in decades of firefighting training has contaminated their drinking water and left them fearful of long-term health effects. Residents in Torbay, N.L., are attempting to bring a class-action lawsuit against Transport Canada, claiming the federal department didn't do enough to remediate and contain PFAS chemicals from contaminating their drinking wells. PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are often called 'forever chemicals' in reference to their resistance to breakdown and extremely long life. They've been linked to cancers and other serious health risks. A statement of claim, filed last month at the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador, alleges the department knew the PFAS were present in the environment surrounding the airport, but didn't notify nearby residents until Health Canada began to lower exposure guidelines in 2023. Torbay resident Dean Pike would be included in the class-action lawsuit should it be certified at Newfoundland and Labrador's Supreme Court. He and his family, including all pets, are not drinking the well water, relying instead on 5-gallon bottles. He says a Transport Canada representative tested his well water in December and found that the PFAS concentration was below Health Canada's 30 nanogram per litre guidelines. But Pike says he and his family are refusing to drink the water at any PFAS concentration. 'In my opinion, my water is contaminated regardless if it's 0.1 or five hundred [nanograms per litre],' Pike said. 'We should not be consuming PFAS in our system.' Pike says he's been left to wonder whether his diagnosis of prostate cancer was influenced by potentially drinking contaminated water through his well. 'We do not have a family history of it,' he said. 'So, it makes you wonder, was it because I was drinking water here for the last 20 years that was contaminated by what happened at the airport?' Pike said. Forever chemicals news FILE - A water researcher pours a water sample into a smaller glass container for experimentation as part of drinking water and PFAS research at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Center For Environmental Solutions and Emergency Response. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel, File) (Joshua A. Bickel/AP) In a statement to CTV News, Transport Canada said it would respond to the claims included in the class-action lawsuit in a courtroom. The department hasn't yet had to file a statement of defence in the lawsuit. 'Transport Canada takes its responsibilities seriously,' a spokesperson wrote. 'The department will continue to work with local health authorities and support potentially impacted residents and communities.' A statement of claim filed in May alleges that Transport Canada received test results indicating an elevated level of PFAS in the groundwater at the firefighter training site and in nearby surface water in 2011. Those results came in higher than the previous Health Canada objective of 700 nanograms per litre, and significantly higher than the current objective of 30 nanograms per litre. The statement of claim further alleges that Transport Canada 'knew that PFAS is characteristically capable of travelling long distances in groundwater.' Lawyer Alex Templeton said Transport Canada didn't inform homeowners they knew PFAS was in the area when they began a testing project in the nearby subdivisions in 2024. 'They didn't say that 'we've been sitting on monitoring data that shows for the past decade, annually, PFAS has been in the deep water aquifer, supplying this groundwater system,' he said. 'They didn't disclose that to any of these residents.' According to health surveys, nearly every Canadian has some PFAS concentration in their bloodstream. Health Canada wrote in its document laying out it's 30 nanogram per litre objective that exposure to PFAS does not 'necessarily mean that health problems will occur,' and exposure length, intensity and frequency are important considerations. Forever chemicals concerns in Newfoundland Eddie Sheerr has been drinking bottled water at home. Eddie Sheerr, the lead plaintiff for the proposed class-action, has also been living off bottled water. But his bottles are being delivered by Transport Canada, after tests in their water well in 2024 showed PFAS concentrations at about 100 nanograms per litre, well higher than Health Canada objectives. 'It's definitely scary because we've lived in the house since 2017,' he said. 'My kids are in the house. We've been bathing in the water, we drink the water, we cook with the water and so it gets you questioning a whole bunch of things.'
CBC
2 hours ago
- CBC
Apartments are allowed to be dangerously hot in Toronto. City still studying options
Should Toronto set a maximum indoor temperature for apartments? 7 minutes ago Duration 2:29 Social Sharing Monique Gordon's second-floor apartment in Rexdale is sweltering hot all year-round — even in the winter. She keeps track of the temperature in her home with a small digital thermometer and records it as proof. Recently, on a cool, rainy 20 C afternoon, her unit was 27.3 C, an indoor temperature that's unsafe to live in, health experts and environmental advocates say. Gordon, who is chair of ACORN's Etobicoke chapter, has lung granulomas. Paired with the heat, it makes it difficult to breathe. "Thank God, I don't have any asthma because I don't think I'd be able to make it through with the heat," Gordon told CBC Toronto. She says she's tried in the past to hook up an air conditioner, but every time it ran, it tripped the fuse. Last week, she told city officials about the lack of temperature control in her building during a tour. Gordon, like many tenants across Toronto, is bracing for yet another hotter-than-usual summer, while the city continues looking into implementing a maximum indoor temperature standard for apartments. City officials chose not to endorse a standard because of financial and technical barriers in 2018. Then, in June 2023, city council voted in favour of exploring the feasibility of a maximum temperature standard as a way to ensure no residential unit becomes dangerously hot. That led to another motion that was approved last December, where council endorsed the idea and asked for recommendations. "They just need to make the decision and then just enforce it," Gordon said. Toronto Heat Safety, a coalition of tenant advocacy groups, health experts and environmental organizations, came together last year to demand that the city establish a 26 C max temperature to prevent residents from developing any health problems from heat, including heart and breathing problems. With weather and climate modelling showing extreme heat days will increase in the city, Canadian Environmental Law Association lawyer Jacqueline Wilson, whose organization is part of Toronto Heat Safety, says sweltering apartments are an urgent health and safety concern. She says the onus shouldn't be on tenants. "It's kind of a core fundamental right to be safe in your home," Wilson said. "We're seeing that if you don't have the infrastructure in place to cool, that you're not safe in your home." WATCH | The consequences of extreme indoor temperatures: We installed sensors inside 50 homes without AC. Most levels were unsafe. 2 years ago Duration 8:57 In a year of deadly heat waves, CBC News installed sensors to measure the heat and humidity inside 50 homes with little to no air conditioning over the summer to find out how hot they would get and explored the consequences of extreme indoor temperatures. In an emailed statement, city spokesperson Shane Gerard said recommended next steps toward implementing a maximum indoor temperature standard will be released in a fourth quarter staff report, as requested by city council last December. "Indoor temperatures in apartment buildings are a particular concern, as tenants living in units without air conditioning or other cooling equipment may be at higher risk of heat-related health impacts," he said. "Addressing excessive indoor temperatures is a complex issue that must consider housing affordability, ongoing decarbonization initiatives, public health practices, and the perspectives of tenants and property owners." Toronto already has rules for heat in winter The new maximum standard would mirror what Toronto already has in place to protect renters in the winter. The minimum temperature standard of 21 C means landlords have to provide heat and run it from Oct. 1 to May 15, according to rules updated last December. If a tenant is fortunate enough to live in a unit where the owner already installed an air conditioner, then city rules state it has to be on from June 1 to Sept. 30 and maintain a maximum temperature of no more than 26 C. But right now, there's nothing keeping residents safe from scorching temperatures if they've moved into a unit that doesn't have a landlord-installed air conditioner. That includes Gordon, as well as Thorncliffe Park resident Khalil Aldroubi, whose 21st-floor apartment can reach highs of 29.79 C. He says his kids often put a mattress on the balcony just to get some sleep during hot summer nights. "Everyone's sweating and burning," he said. "It's hard to sleep." Aldroubi is among the majority of tenants living in apartments who don't have air conditioners. A municipal report from 2018 on the consequences of extreme heat found that only six per cent of apartment buildings in Toronto are reported to have air conditioning. By creating a maximum temperature standard, all landlords would have to make sure units stay cool and provide some sort of technology to do it, says Sarah Buchanan, campaigns director for Toronto Environment Alliance, another member of Toronto Heat Safety. She says it's no different from any other safety requirements landlords already have to abide by. "We have rules in place in rental apartments to protect people from things like fires. Landlords have to provide sprinklers, smoke detectors, things like that. It's starting to get hot enough now that we need to have rules in place to protect people from heat," Buchanan said. But when additional responsibilities and costs are saddled on landlords, some tenants worry how they might be impacted. That's why Wilson says it's important for the city to also consider complimentary measures, such as funding for landlords with low income renters. Buchanan says she knows the city is working diligently to find the right answers, but that a maximum temperature bylaw is an important tool and the faster it's established, the better.
