The Ontario chief doctor says he is planning a new round of COVID-19 booster doses to be introduced this fall, as the province is ready to cancel most mandates for high-risk masks on Saturday.
The mandates of the provincial masks for public transport and health facilities expire this weekend – although hospitals say they will continue to require masks.
Masking will still be required in long-term care homes and retirement homes and is still recommended in more risky living conditions, such as shelters and group homes.
In an interview Friday, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kieran Moore said preparations for the fall strategy for COVID-19 were under way, including vaccinations and employees were going through various scenarios such as an aggressive flu season and new variants of COVID.
LISTEN | Ontario should have extended mandates for high-risk masks: the head of the scientific community
Metro Morning8: 42 As disguise mandates in most high-risk situations expire this weekend, Dr. Fahad Razak wants to see a universal disguise policy in Ontario hospitals
Dr. Fahad Razak is the Scientific Director of the Scientific Advisory Board for COVID-19 in Ontario and an internist at St. Michael’s Hospital.
Moore says there will be another booster dose for people at greatest risk, with the potential to be open to the general public afterwards.
He says he expects a new generation of vaccine to be available in the autumn, targeting both the original COVID strain and a more current one circulating, such as Omicron.
Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kieran Moore said preparations for the fall strategy for COVID-19 were under way, including vaccinations, and employees were going through various scenarios such as an aggressive flu season and new variants of COVID. (Nathan Dennett / Canadian Press)
Moore says that if another wave of COVID-19 threatens the health system and its ability to cope with surgical delays, he may return the mandates for masks, but says he does not think other public health measures will ever be needed to virus again.
Although the province is abolishing hospital disguise policies, the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) says it is not aware of any provincial hospitals that will end their disguise requirements on Saturday.
OHA President Anthony Dale said the organization representing state hospitals in the province had recommended extending the province’s order requiring disguise in hospital settings.
Another 10 deaths have been reported
Ontario, meanwhile, reported 536 COVID-19 hospitalizations and 10 more deaths on Friday.
Reported hospitalizations on Friday fell slightly from 549 on Thursday and from 669 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 those in hospital, 110 needed intensive care, down from 118 on Thursday, but less than 117 this time last week. Fifty-two patients need ventilators to breathe.
About 66% 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 835 new cases of COVID-19 every Friday, with 9,192 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 tests passed for the whole province is 7.3 percent.
The sewage survey designed to detect COVID-19 suggests a continuing overall decline in infection rates in most of the province, except northern Ontario, according to the Ontario COVID-19 scientific table.
The latest data show a decline in the discovery of wastewater as of May 31, with estimates that this trend will continue in June.
New deaths reported on Friday increased the number of pandemic victims in the province to 13,324.
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