If you plan to visit a health-care facility in the coming days and months, be prepared to wear a face mask if you haven’t had a flu shot.
Keeping your face covered is the recommendation of all health authorities in B.C., at the request of the provincial government, which has set a policy for visitors and health workers alike.
The province now requires face masks for those not vaccinated against influenza.
With flu season well underway and children, seniors and people with compromised immune systems most at risk, the masks are seen as a way of curbing the spread of the flu.
The policy will be in place from now until the end of March and affects visitors and health-care workers.
Influenza is spread from person to person by inhalation of tiny droplets produced when a person infected with influenza coughs, sneezes, laughs or sings. It can also be spread by direct contact and by contact with infected respiratory secretions through objects, such as bed rails, facial tissue or utensils.
Hand washing is important to avoid spreading the flu.
— Diane Strandberg, Tri-City News
