Registered nurses are concerned about the Saskatchewan government removing the mandatory masking requirement in Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) facilities.. Tracy Zambory SUN .Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN) President Tracy Zambory said the change makes nurses “very concerned” for the most vulnerable patients..Zambory said it is a “shocking and disappointing turn of events.”.SUN was not consulted about removing the masking requirement, but Zambory said Saskatchewan’s Health Minister Paul Merriman spoke with the Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab and some healthcare workers..READ MORE Minister says Sask to drop COVID-19 masking policies at healthcare facilities.Zambory said the ongoing COVID-19 threat should be the “most important consideration” when considering removing the masking requirement at SHA facilities..“It really seems for it to be a stretch to be based in science,” said Zambory..COVID-19 statistics for Saskatchewan showed 821 COVID-19 deaths in 2022, with an average of 68 deaths per month. In 2023, the province averaged 40 deaths per month..Zambory is concerned with Merriman putting COVID-19 in the same category as other respiratory illnesses..Zambory said it is “frankly frightening because COVID has never been like any other respiratory illness.”.Saskatchewan is the first province to remove masks in healthcare facilities and Zambory said it is disappointing, as added protection in healthcare facilities is reasonable..“The least we can do to help protect the vulnerable residents that are there … is for us to wear a mask while we’re there,” said Zambory..“For reasons truly unknown, other than maybe discomfort, we’ve decided that we no longer need to be masking in a clinical setting.”
