An early surge in respiratory illness, including pneumonia, is what prompted the health authority to introduce mandatory masking in all health care settings effective today.

Clinical Chief of Infection Prevention and Control for the Eastern Zone, and pediatric diseases specialist, Dr. Natalie Bridger says health officials have noticed a big spike in respiratory illnesses in circulation including a rise in the number of people presenting in ERs with COVID and flu-like symptoms earlier in the year than usual.

The latest COVID dashboard shows that 13 people are currently hospitalized with the virus in NL, one of whom is in critical care.

Dr. Bridger says those numbers don’t tell the full story.

“There are lots of people coming in with sore throats, runny noses, coughs, headaches, lots of people with pneumonia. We’ve been seeing more pneumonia earlier in the season than we usually do.”

Those who are presenting with pneumonia are usually swabbed, showing an increase in mycoplasma pneumonia—or “walking pneumonia.”

“That may be partially responsible for what we’ve been seeing on people’s chest X-rays.”

While the province’s COVID and flu vaccine program won’t protect you from pneumonia, masking can.

According to the latest COVID dashboard, only 1 per cent of the population has been vaccinated so far this season. The province rolled out its COVID and flu vaccine program earlier this month.