Three local health officials wrote a joint letter to Ontario’s chief physician asking him to return the mandates for masks in schools and other public places indoors.
Dr. Mustafa Hirji, Niagara Region Medical Officer, Dr. Shanker Nesaturai, Windsor-Essex County Medical Officer, and Dr. Thomas Pigot, Peterborough Medical Officer, wrote the letter and sent it to Dr. Kieran Moore. Ontario’s chief medical officer on Wednesday.
They praised Moore for extending mandates for masks in hospitals, long-term care homes, transit and other high-risk places by June and called on him to expand it further to include indoor public places, including jobs, schools, universities, colleges and basic services places such as pharmacies and groceries.
“In order to be fully effective and clear in our communication with the people of Ontario, we believe that this is necessary at the provincial level, not the local level,” the letter said.
“Like you, we hoped that since camouflage and other protections were no longer a requirement, we would be able to get through this wave without much suffering or long-term disruption. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to have happened the way I hoped. “
In March, the Ford government revoked the mask mandate for most settings. That decision, according to a Ontario Public Health (PHO) briefing, contributed to the province’s sixth wave, which reported about 100,000 to 120,000 daily cases at one point in April.
The increase has led to repeated calls for the government to reintroduce camouflage, especially in schools. But the province has repeatedly insisted that it is not necessary.
In their letter, the three doctors noted that hospitalizations with COVID-19 in their regions continue to exceed the figures from previous pandemic waves. That prompted Niagara’s main hospital to reduce operations to 70 percent, they said, adding that earlier this week, 100 patients were admitted without a bed.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has clearly had a disproportionate impact on individuals and communities with the worst social determinants of health. “The current high-level transmission of COVID-19 exacerbates inequalities in our society.”
“This exposes people with inequality to more infections, more hospitalizations, more isolation from work and school, more lost income due to isolation and a higher risk of long-term disability with post-acute COVID syndrome (also known as Long COVID).”
In the letter, doctors stressed the importance of masking to reduce COVID-19 infections, asking Moore to reconsider mandates.
“Returning masking can help protect people with inequalities and vulnerabilities, ease the pressure on our hospitals and, most importantly, protect the health of the people we serve,” they said.
Ontario reported another 32 deaths from COVID-19 on Thursday, declining hospitalizations during the day.
Dr Peter Juni, scientific director of the scientific advisory table for COVID-19 in Ontario, said earlier this week that hospitalizations also appeared to have peaked in 1700. He added that the decline in wastewater COVID is likely to be followed by a reduction in hospitalizations in the coming weeks.
So whatever you do in terms of your behavior – with contacts, masking, etc. “Keep doing this for a few more weeks,” he said. “But I think we’re on the right track now.”
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