Masks won't be required in Quebec psychiatric hospitals as province creates exception to reduced mandate
Quebec psychiatric hospitals have been carved out of the province's reduced mask mandate set to begin Saturday, which will maintain mandatory masks in other health centres.
Public Health Director Dr. Luc Boileau said the risk in most mental-hospital settings is comparable to the general community. However, in areas where there may be close contact between psychiatric and COVID-19 patients, such as waiting rooms, "we have to be very careful and make sure that they will be masked."
In other, larger psychiatric institutions, such as the Douglas Mental Hospital in Montreal, "if [staff] and patients want to wear them, then of course [they will be able to]," he said during a Wednesday press conference. "But it will not be mandatory."
Boileau was joined by public health medical advisor Dr. Marie-France Raynault and pediatric infectious diseases specialist Dr. Caroline Quach to provide a snapshot of the pandemic in Quebec.
The sixth wave is on the decline, they said.
"Deaths, hospitalizations, absences," listed Boileau, "all indicators suggest that we can gradually return to normal."
Part of that "return to normal" is a significantly reduced public mask mandate, which will allow Quebecers to appear maskless in most public spaces.
Masks will still be required on public transit, as well as in most health-care settings, except in mental health units.
HOSPITALIZATIONS TO KEEP DROPPING: PROJECTIONS
Quebec's public health institute released new projections on hospitalizations suggesting vacancy will rise in both general and intensive care units.
For the first week of May, about half -- 48 per cent -- of those in hospital with COVID-19 caught the virus after being admitted.
Now that fourth-dose vaccines are open to the general public, Boileau also added some details on what the province is expecting. He said that pregnant people and others with heightened risk are encouraged to get the extra dose, and those who are low-risk may get it if they choose, though it likely won't increase their immunity too much.
He did double down on urging the entire population to get a third dose, which he said was much more important than the fourth dose for preventing severe illness. Only about half of Quebecers have a third dose.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.