From the desk of Dr. Michael Gardam, Health PEI CEO
Hi everybody,
In this phase of easing of measures, and as of today, universal masking is no longer required (exception is when in a respiratory outbreak) and all admission testing is being stopped. We will only be testing symptomatic people.
The attached documents provide details on all related COVID-19 Infection Prevention and Control Measures. Please review them carefully and implement in your daily work.
Active screening for symptoms at entrances to facilities remains in place and will be lifted in the upcoming weeks when we move to passive screening.
Since the last message regarding lifting the universal masking requirement and other measures, we have heard some staff are excited, some are worried and some are unsure how they feel. This is okay; as we have been working (and living) in an unpredictable world for the last 3 years. The lifting of restrictions is in some ways more challenging than implementing them. Infection Control measures were implemented throughout the world at a speed never seen before. This alone heightened all of our concern. Now with each measure being lifted, we are faced again with uncertainty.
What we do know is we are in a vastly different place than 2020. We have vaccines to protect us; most of our population has already had COVID once (for some more than once) and our number of positive cases, outbreaks and exposures are decreasing.
We also know point of care risk assessments (PCRAs) will help protect us by determining what personal protective equipment is required for our patient interactions. The beauty of PCRAs is all healthcare workers can complete them and they are individualized as you complete them for yourself.
We will continue to closely monitor the numbers each week, and if needed reimplement measures. An example of this will be when a unit/household is in an outbreak of a respiratory illness, universal masking will be implemented for the duration of the outbreak. We do not know what this upcoming fall will bring, but we are already evaluating and planning for it. As we finalize our respiratory season IPAC plans, we will communicate them with you.
Thanks,
Michael
Please send questions, comments, or submissions for these notes to emclean@gov.pe.ca, subject line “Notes for Michael”.