Kia ora Primary Care providers,

Please find attached and linked the Te Whatu Ora June – August 2023 national infection prevention and control guidance for mask use within hospitals and other health and disability care settings.  

This guidance is an update on the February – May 2023 edition and has been developed based on current transmission rates of COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses in New Zealand. It provides the minimum recommendations that should be followed for mask use for employees, volunteers and contractors of healthcare facilities, and patients/clients and visitors of a broad range of healthcare settings.  

We encourage you to refer to this guidance to inform your own facility policies and recommend you should develop further mask settings for various areas of your health facility or group of facilities. Decision-making should be dependent on factors including patient vulnerability, environmental considerations, and local epidemiology. 

This national mask guidance will continue to be reviewed regularly according to changes within the national situation, current epidemiology and other factors such as facility-based outbreak/s and staff resourcing. 

Mask use by healthcare workers is one of a number of IPC measures that limit the spread of COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases in healthcare. These include: 

• adhering to standard and transmission-based precautions for all patient/client and resident care 
• undertaking a risk assessment for respiratory infections  
• having clean indoor air through good ventilation 
• access to testing  
• having occupational health processes that promote staff vaccination and enable staff to stay home from work when unwell. 
• If you have any questions about this guidance, please email ipc@health.govt.nz.  

Ngā mihi

COVID Communications

waea pūkoro: 021 318 692

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