#newfoundland

An infectious disease specialist in Newfoundland and Labrador says re-establishing a mask mandate in health-care facilities is a tool to get ahead of a surge in respiratory illness — which includes a notable increase in the amount of people presenting with symptoms of pneumonia.

"All the different pathogens that have been circulating have been part of the decision to get the masks back into health-care facilities for the time being. It seems like every few months something is popping up that's a newish pathogen [with a surge] that we haven't seen before," Dr. Natalie Bridger, clinical chief of infection prevention and control for the eastern zone of N.L. Health Services, told CBC News Monday.