Masks to be required in common areas for families and visitors in long-term care

With increasing COVID cases in Saskatchewan, and in an effort to minimize the risk of COVID transmission in long-term care facilities, starting Friday, September 10, the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) is making masks mandatory outside of residents’ rooms for family and visitors. This masking protocol will apply to both SHA long-term care homes and affiliates, and applies to both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals.

Those who refuse to comply with masking requirements in common areas may be asked to leave.

While it is not required, the SHA also strongly recommends that family and visitors wear a mask within the resident’s individual room. This will provide additional protection for all our residents during this fourth wave facing our province.

Residents are not required but are strongly encouraged to wear a mask outside of their room, particularly if the resident is not fully vaccinated.

Free medical masks are available at the screening stations when entering a long-term care home. Family members or visitors must:

• wear a medical mask at all times when outside a resident’s room;
• wear the mask so it fully covers their nose, mouth and chin;
• perform hand hygiene before and after you put on your mask; and
• keep your mask on at all times, and refrain from lowering it to talk.

To prevent the spread of COVID-19 and its variants in long-term care homes, the SHA will also continue to:

• ask everyone to complete health screening and perform hand hygiene before they enter;
• offer rapid COVID testing (results available in 15 minutes);
• encourage full vaccination and physical distancing; and
• monitor local spread of the virus.

Protect Yourself and Your Loved Ones Today!

The SHA also continues to strongly encourage all Saskatchewan residents 12 years of age and older to be immunized with both doses. COVID-19 variants are continuing to develop and spread, and are more transmissible than the initial COVID-19 virus. Vaccines are proving to be effective in protecting individuals from serious illness against these variants, and high vaccination rates in our province will help curb the spread.

Visit a participating pharmacy in your neighborhood or one of our pop-up clinics to be immunized.

Finish the fight – and get immunized today!