Ontario’s chief medical officer “strongly recommends” that Ontarians wear masks in all indoor public settings, including schools and daycare settings, but has stopped short of recommending a return to the mask mandate in the province
At a news conference Monday, Dr. Kieran Moore said the province’s health system is facing “extraordinary pressures” with the ongoing circulation of COVID-19, the earlier-than-normal rise in respiratory syncytial virus ( RSV), as well as influenza.
“What we face is a triple threat that requires our action and collective action to protect the most vulnerable in our communities, the very young, the very old and those with underlying medical problems and to ensure that our healthcare system continue to be able to serve Ontarians when they need it,” said Moore.
Moore said Ontarians need to go back to using all the layers of protection that have proven to work during the pandemic.
“We should all be checking daily for signs of illness and staying home when you’re sick,” he said.
“I’m asking Ontarians, especially children six months and older, pregnant people, families and caregivers with young children, health care workers and seniors, and those with underlying health conditions, to get vaccinated against the flu as soon as possible. [to] to protect themselves and those around them,” Moore added.
Unprecedented increase in sick children
The recommendation to mask comes as Ontario’s pediatric hospitals have faced an unprecedented surge in sick children in recent weeks.
Moore said children ages two to five should only wear a mask with supervision if they can safely tolerate the mask and can put it on and take it off.
Moore has previously said there will be a resurgence of respiratory illnesses this fall and winter, and that he would recommend wearing masks in certain indoor settings if hospitals began canceling surgeries to deal with a surge in patients.
“The difficult and complex downturn that was predicted has materialized,” Moore said Monday.
“Covid-19, influenza and RSV – all three are actively circulating across Ontario in all of our communities … contributing to the pressures on our pediatric health system.”
Medical officials have also increasingly called for the public to wear masks after children’s hospitals across the province were overwhelmed with young patients in emergency departments, pediatric wards and intensive care units.
On Friday, Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children announced it would scale back surgeries to redeploy staff to those areas.
SickKids Executive Director Dr. Ronald Cohn said the cancellation of surgeries is a huge blow to children, their families and healthcare workers.
“It’s heartbreaking for families and children because, you know, the term ‘elective surgery’ doesn’t really exist in children,” Cohn told CBC Toronto, adding that it’s about finding the right time to schedule and perform surgery.
“It’s also incredibly morally distressing for all of us as health care professionals, recognizing that we can’t actually do these procedures for children, knowing they need them,” Cohn said.
Dr. Chris Simpson, executive vice-president, medical, of Ontario Health, left, and Dr. Moore, right, held a news conference Monday. (Clara Pasieka/CBC)
Dr. Chris Simpson, executive vice-president, medical, for Ontario Health, also spoke at Monday’s news conference. He said “an unusually high number of children are entering hospital emergency departments” for one or more viral illnesses, and the total number of these children requiring admission is “unusually high”.
Simpson said that while Ontario hospitals are preparing for “this triple threat,” they are seeing a large number of seriously ill children and they are seeing them earlier in the season than expected.
“While this current situation is unlike anything we’ve seen in the pediatric population in recent memory, we have strong systems and structures in place during the pandemic for our adult community,” Simpson said. .
On Sunday, Premier Doug Ford urged Ontarians to “Wear a mask whenever possible.” (Robert Krbavac/CBC News)
Meanwhile, speaking at an unrelated news conference Sunday, Premier Doug Ford urged members of the public to get flu shots and stay up to date on COVID-19 vaccines.
“Wear a mask whenever possible,” Ford said.
Ford did not respond to repeated questions Sunday about whether his government would require masks in any setting.
“I will follow Dr. Moore’s direction,” Ford said, a line he repeated several times when pressed on the matter.
Here is the Chief Medical Officer’s full presentation on November 14: