The Health Ministry of British Columbia, Canada, announced this week the reinstatement of sanitary mask mandates in healthcare facilities and assisted-care facilities, reportedly in response to a rise in documented cases of respiratory disease.

Officials cited influenza, Wuhan coronavirus, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections as the most alarming and most rapidly spreading in the province. All three cause varying respiratory symptoms. In sensitive patients – such as young children, the elderly, and the immunocompromised – all three viruses are known to have the potential to cause pneumonia and other severe complications. Rarely, patients have died as a result of these complications.