An email received on Thursday morning by the approximately 20,000 employees of the CIUSSS de l’Estrie-CHUS confirms the application of this measure.
Information about the completion of this action has been circulating for some time. Questioned on Wednesday about this issue, the CIUSSS did not respond to La Tribune’s email. At around 9:15 am on Thursday morning, the CIUSSS sent out an invitation to the media, who will provide a public update later in the morning.
“Thus, given the increase in the number of cases of COVID-19, in the last week, both among health workers and users and also due to the following elements: the respiratory virus season that is at our doors (,) the vulnerability of clients who frequent our facilities (,) the absenteeism of our workers due to contagion of respiratory viruses including COVID-19 accentuates the context of fragility of the workforce (,) it was agreed to reintroduce the use of masks in the CIUSSS facilities of l’Estrie – CHUS”, we indicate in the internal note.
Administrative employees who do not see users as part of their job and those who provide care at home or in community settings, such as daycares or schools, are exempt from this obligation.
All caregivers and visitors to the CIUSSS facilities must also wear a mask, we assure you. People who are hospitalized or housed are not required to wear a mask.
No timeline is provided for the estimated duration of this measure.
Absences
According to the little information provided to the media by the CIUSSS de l’Estrie-CHUS, a hundred healthcare workers are currently absent due to COVID-19 in the Estrie network.
The CIUSSS public health department maintains, however, that the region is not “in a pandemic context” and that “the epidemiological situation is under control in Estrie.”
