With respiratory illness season upon us and a recent increase in COVID-19 activity, Grand River Hospital and St. Mary’s General Hospital are making changes to their masking requirements, beginning Wednesday, October 9 until further notice.
To support our team and for the safety of our patients, we strongly encourage visitors to wear a mask in clinical areas, especially while at the bedside. While masks are not mandatory for the public, we continue to make them readily available for anyone coming to St. Mary’s or Grand River.
Team members and volunteers are required to wear masks during all patient interactions upon entering the room and when two metres of distance can’t be maintained. Masks are not currently required in non-clinical spaces, but we continue to support patients and visitors who would like team members or volunteers to wear a mask while interacting with them in these settings. Please note that Care Partner visits on units experiencing an active outbreak will also be suspended during this time, except in exceptional circumstances.
Grand River Hospital and St. Mary’s General Hospital, along with our regional hospital partners in Ontario Health West, will continue to review the data to inform ongoing measures to keep people safe within our Hospitals.