The head of the Ontario Pandemic Expert Advisory Panel says that while key indicators show that COVID-19 in the province is improving, he would like to see all remaining mandates for high-risk masks in effect for a little longer.
On Wednesday, the province’s chief medical officer announced that most rules on mandatory masks would expire on Saturday, including in transit and hospitals. Masks will still be required at long-term care homes and nursing homes in Ontario after Saturday,
Dr Fahad Razak, the new scientific director of the Ontario COVID-19 Scientific Advisory Board, told CBC Radio’s Metro Morning that the province’s requirement could be extended by at least another four weeks to help alleviate some of the the pressure on hospitals, which will now have to impose their own rules on masks.
“I am glad to see that many hospitals have already announced that they will continue to require them,” Razak said on Thursday. – I suspect that you will see that most institutions will require it.
Razak, who is also an intern at Unity Health Toronto, said that while key indicators, including wastewater data, positive rates, hospitalizations and the number of intensive intensive care units, suggest that the situation with COVID-19 in the province is improving. there is still a lot of pressure on hospitals with staff who are sick or burnt out.
Extending the rules on masks would continue to provide an “additional buffer” for protection, he said.
Razak said that while many health experts wanted to see the extension extended, the decision to overturn it was mainly a “sentence” from the province.
“This decision had to be made at some point… I have to fully admit that there is no exact number you can hang your hat on,” he said.
“It’s impossible for anyone to say that today or tomorrow is the exact day.”
Masks are “highly recommended” in some settings
Dr Kieran Moore, the province’s chief medical officer, said on Wednesday that he had made the decision based on the high vaccination rate and improvements in the province’s COVID-19 situation.
Provincial camouflage requirements in areas such as public transport, health facilities, long-term care homes and retirement homes were originally scheduled to expire on April 27, but that deadline was extended earlier this year to June 11.
“The province will continue to monitor any significant changes, including any new concerns, to ensure that we adapt our response to protect the health and safety of all Ontarians,” he said.
The rules, which require people to wear masks on public transport and most health facilities, expire at 12 noon on Saturday. Mask requirements were removed in most other places in March, along with essentially all other public health measures aimed at halting the spread of COVID-19 in the province.
The masks are still “highly recommended” in high-risk congregations such as group homes and shelters, the statement said.
Hospital networks to continue the policy of disguise
The province said organizations can make their own mask policies and that people should continue to disguise themselves if they are at high risk of disease, recovering from COVID-19, have symptoms or have been in contact with someone who has the disease.
The directives on mask requirements for health professionals will also expire on Saturday and will be replaced by guidelines from the Ministry of Health, which outline when masks should be worn in hospitals and other health workplaces.
The directives on the requirements for masks for health professionals expire on Saturday and will be replaced by guidelines from the Ministry of Health, which outline when masks should be worn in hospitals and other health workplaces. (Evan Mitsui / CBC)
Some hospitals, including the University Health Network in Toronto and the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, said Wednesday that they would maintain the rules of disguise.
Meanwhile, the Toronto Transit Commission, which manages public transportation in Ontario’s most populous city, said the masks would remain mandatory for staff and customers of its affordable Wheel-Trans transit service and are still highly recommended for riders. the wider system.
Another 10 deaths, 549 hospitalizations were reported
Ontario, meanwhile, reported 549 hospitalizations with COVID-19 and 10 more deaths on Thursday.
Reported hospitalizations on Thursday rose from 522 on Wednesday to down from 670 on the same day last week.
According to the Ministry of Health, 42% of those hospitalized were admitted specifically for the virus, while the rest were admitted for other reasons and then tested positive.
Of the sick, 118 needed intensive care, a slight increase from 114 on Tuesday, but a decrease of 119 this time last week. Forty-four patients need the help of ventilators to breathe.
About 64% of people in the intensive care unit were admitted because of the virus, while the rest were admitted for other reasons and then tested positive.
Meanwhile, the province reported at least 907 new cases of COVID-19 every day on Thursday, with 9,777 tests completed in the last 24 hours. However, due to the limitations of the tests, officials say the actual number of daily new cases is likely to be much higher than reported.
The percentage of positive tests for the whole province is 6.6 percent.
New deaths reported on Thursday increased the number of pandemic victims in the province to 13,314.
Add Comment