Most of the masking requirements implemented at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic for health-care facilities in Manitoba are set to be lifted next week.
Shared Health, which co-ordinates many health services in the province, says the change will apply to most visitors and patients who are going into acute and long-term care settings.
Monika Warren, the chief operating officer of provincially coordinated health services at Shared Health, says the changes in masking requirements are based on advice from infection experts.
Workers, visitors and patients will still be required to wear masks in environments with vulnerable groups, including cancer and transplant patients.
Medical masks will still be available at facilities, and health-care workers will still have access to medical masks and N95 respirators.
Some individual health-care clinics may still require people to wear masks indoors.