SUDBURY -- As of now, members of the public will be required to wear surgical or procedural masks as they enter the Sault Area Hospital.
Screeners will also be handing them out at the door for those who feel they made be inadequately equipped, but it puts an end to wearing homemade masks in the facility.
"What we've normally done since the start of the pandemic is encourage masking for all individuals in our community, and part of that was making sure we followed public health recommendations and the community," said Dr. Lucas Castellani, medical director of infection, prevention and control at SAH.
As time's gone by, the mask recommendations have changed and with the recent recommendations by Canada's Medical Health Officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, to wear a three-ply mask, they decided to make the shift.
Castellani said they have an adequate supply to make the masks available to everyone inside the hospital.
"It's just making sure everyone is at the same standard of protection while they're in the hospital, for our higher risk population," he said.
Castellani said they will do their best to make sure everyone is covered off with an adequate layer of covering.
The new rules don't apply to children under the age of two or those are unable to wear a mask as a result of a medical condition or a disability.
