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In view of the active circulation of certain viruses in the territory, the mask is once again imposed on health professionals, patients and hospital visitors, in several regions.
Bronchiolitis and the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) have once again interfered in our daily lives. But while the government is sounding the alarm to curb the spread of these seasonal viruses, a drastic measure has been taken: masks are once again compulsory in hospitals.
Wearing a mask concerns all professionals and patients
Faced with the significant circulation of viruses responsible for bronchiolitis and Covid-19 in Île-de-France, the AP-HP (Assistance publique – Hôpitaux de Paris) has decided to reinstate the compulsory wearing of surgical masks in its establishments health.
“Given the passage of the Île-de-France region into the bronchiolitis epidemic phase and the active circulation of SARS-CoV-2, a surgical mask must be worn by all people upon entering the spaces in which patients circulate“, she warned in a press release, broadcast on November 8.
This obligation concerns all healthcare professionals (whatever their sectors of activity: conventional hospitalization, consultation, day hospital) and all patients – whether hospitalized or treated on an outpatient basis.
“Workers in contact with patients (including paramedics, volunteers)” And “visitors aged over six“, must also submit to this rule, the press release further specifies.
These recommendations will beupdates to take into account the evolution of winter epidemics“, concludes the AP-HP.
Similar recommendations have already been made in several hospitals in Charente-Maritime, in the Ardennes, Contentin…
What mask should be worn?
In this situation, it is a “surgical” type mask intended to prevent, when the wearer exhales, the projection of secretions from the upper airways or saliva that may contain transmissible infectious agents:
- By droplet route (transmission by droplets of saliva or secretions from the upper airways);
- By air (airborne transmission by fine particles less than 5 microns).
Beyond the fact that it is obligatory in the hospital, this mask must be worn by any contagious patient from the first symptoms of an illness (flu, Covid-19, etc.) or as soon as one is in contact with vulnerable people.
The mask must also “êbe thrown away as soon as it is wet or soiled, in a bin if possible fitted with a lid and fitted with a plastic bag. Disposal is via household waste.“, specifies the Ministry of Health in a press release.
Obviously, barrier gestures must also be respected:
- Wash your hands regularly (and as soon as necessary) with soap and water (or disinfect them with a hydro-alcoholic solution);
- Cough into his elbow.