‘We’re not asking for the moon here': Nurses raise alarm over restrictions to protective equipment

News Mar 21, 2020 by Joanna Frketich The Hamilton Spectator

Nurses in Hamilton and across Ontario are raising alarm after the province severely restricted when N95 respirator masks are used during the COVID-19 crisis.

The masks, which fit to the face and provide extremely efficient filtration of airborne particles, are now used only for invasive procedures, which is a recent change in federal and provincial advice. The personal protective equipment was more widely used when novel coronavirus first arrived in Canada.

"We're not asking for the moon here," said Vicki McKenna, president of the Ontario Nurses' Association. "Let's make sure health-care workers are protected. Let's not repeat the mistakes of the past."

Health-care workers died during the SARS virus outbreak in 2003 and McKenna says it's important to err on the side of caution during COVID-19 and give N95 masks to those caring for patients or screening for coronavirus.

"We believe this is the right thing to do," she said. "We're not asking that every health-care worker in this province walk around with fit-tested N95s on. That is unrealistic."

But Dr. Dominik Mertz, medical director of infection control at HHS, said the health-care system was cautious when COVID-19 came to Canada and gave the masks to those who would potentially be exposed.

"Now we know much more about the virus," he said. "N95 masks will be a scarce resource and we need to use the masks when we need them."

He said it's now clear COVID-19 is spread by droplets, so a regular mask is sufficient most of the time, with the N95s offering a higher level of protection for invasive procedures.

McKenna disputes the claim that enough is known about the virus now to make the change.

"The science is not clear on this," she said. "We could pile up research on either side of this discussion. Unless the science is clear you err on the side of caution."

The federal government said Friday that it was able to secure more than 11 million N95 respirator masks.

"This is changing hour by hour, but our goal is to make sure the resources are there and the right patient care has access to the right set of equipment," said Dr. Zain Chagla, co-medical director of infection control at St. Joseph's Healthcare.

‘We’re not asking for the moon here': Nurses raise alarm over restrictions to protective equipment

News Mar 21, 2020 by Joanna Frketich The Hamilton Spectator

Nurses in Hamilton and across Ontario are raising alarm after the province severely restricted when N95 respirator masks are used during the COVID-19 crisis.

The masks, which fit to the face and provide extremely efficient filtration of airborne particles, are now used only for invasive procedures, which is a recent change in federal and provincial advice. The personal protective equipment was more widely used when novel coronavirus first arrived in Canada.

"We're not asking for the moon here," said Vicki McKenna, president of the Ontario Nurses' Association. "Let's make sure health-care workers are protected. Let's not repeat the mistakes of the past."

Health-care workers died during the SARS virus outbreak in 2003 and McKenna says it's important to err on the side of caution during COVID-19 and give N95 masks to those caring for patients or screening for coronavirus.

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"We believe this is the right thing to do," she said. "We're not asking that every health-care worker in this province walk around with fit-tested N95s on. That is unrealistic."

But Dr. Dominik Mertz, medical director of infection control at HHS, said the health-care system was cautious when COVID-19 came to Canada and gave the masks to those who would potentially be exposed.

"Now we know much more about the virus," he said. "N95 masks will be a scarce resource and we need to use the masks when we need them."

He said it's now clear COVID-19 is spread by droplets, so a regular mask is sufficient most of the time, with the N95s offering a higher level of protection for invasive procedures.

McKenna disputes the claim that enough is known about the virus now to make the change.

"The science is not clear on this," she said. "We could pile up research on either side of this discussion. Unless the science is clear you err on the side of caution."

The federal government said Friday that it was able to secure more than 11 million N95 respirator masks.

"This is changing hour by hour, but our goal is to make sure the resources are there and the right patient care has access to the right set of equipment," said Dr. Zain Chagla, co-medical director of infection control at St. Joseph's Healthcare.

‘We’re not asking for the moon here': Nurses raise alarm over restrictions to protective equipment

News Mar 21, 2020 by Joanna Frketich The Hamilton Spectator

Nurses in Hamilton and across Ontario are raising alarm after the province severely restricted when N95 respirator masks are used during the COVID-19 crisis.

The masks, which fit to the face and provide extremely efficient filtration of airborne particles, are now used only for invasive procedures, which is a recent change in federal and provincial advice. The personal protective equipment was more widely used when novel coronavirus first arrived in Canada.

"We're not asking for the moon here," said Vicki McKenna, president of the Ontario Nurses' Association. "Let's make sure health-care workers are protected. Let's not repeat the mistakes of the past."

Health-care workers died during the SARS virus outbreak in 2003 and McKenna says it's important to err on the side of caution during COVID-19 and give N95 masks to those caring for patients or screening for coronavirus.

Related Content

"We believe this is the right thing to do," she said. "We're not asking that every health-care worker in this province walk around with fit-tested N95s on. That is unrealistic."

But Dr. Dominik Mertz, medical director of infection control at HHS, said the health-care system was cautious when COVID-19 came to Canada and gave the masks to those who would potentially be exposed.

"Now we know much more about the virus," he said. "N95 masks will be a scarce resource and we need to use the masks when we need them."

He said it's now clear COVID-19 is spread by droplets, so a regular mask is sufficient most of the time, with the N95s offering a higher level of protection for invasive procedures.

McKenna disputes the claim that enough is known about the virus now to make the change.

"The science is not clear on this," she said. "We could pile up research on either side of this discussion. Unless the science is clear you err on the side of caution."

The federal government said Friday that it was able to secure more than 11 million N95 respirator masks.

"This is changing hour by hour, but our goal is to make sure the resources are there and the right patient care has access to the right set of equipment," said Dr. Zain Chagla, co-medical director of infection control at St. Joseph's Healthcare.