Ontario’s top doctor ‘strongly’ recommends masking in indoor settings amid children’s hospital crisis

The province’s top doctor is “strongly recommending” Ontarians mask up once again in all indoor settings, including schools and childcare centres, in an effort to help overwhelmed children’s hospitals.

Dr. Kieran Moore stopped short of mandating masking but has previously said he would recommend masking in certain indoor settings if hospitals began cancelling surgeries.

“What we are facing is a triple threat,” said Dr. Moore of COVID-19, influenza and RSV at a news conference on Monday morning. “All three are actively circulating across Ontario in all of our communities.”

“This is different from COVID. This is about protecting our children,” he said when asked why he would not mandate masking, adding that the majority of those affected by these illnesses, children under the age of four, are not able to mask properly.

“Please, parents, grandparents, siblings, if you have respiratory symptoms, you must mask around those that are vulnerable,” said Dr. Moore.

“Masking may help decrease the risk at a community level, but I’m very concerned about protecting our children right now and it’s best that we protect them through masking in a home environment and in any social situation.”

Moore said this threat requires “collective action” to protect the most vulnerable in the province.

He added more than half of the children who are being tested for influenza in hospitals and emergency departments are testing positive. Over 20 per cent of children under the age of one are testing positive for RSV in hospital settings.

“It’s not COVID that’s affecting our children. It’s RSV and influenza combined that are driving our children to have to be admitted to hospital,” said Dr. Moore. He adds half the children in the ICU have RSV, and the other half have Influenza.

The top doctor said it was up to the school boards whether to mandate masks in the classroom.

The province will also be expanding pediatric capacity in hospitals to 150 per cent and request that people aged 14 and up requiring critical care be treated in adult critical care beds.

Measures to manage the pediatric respiratory virus season will also include reducing non-emergent surgeries, when necessary, in most pediatric centres to create capacity.

Dr. Moore also recommended staying up to date on vaccinations, screening for respiratory symptoms daily, practicing good hygiene and staying home if you are sick. Children aged two to five years old should also wear a mask when supervised.

Toronto’s SickKids hospital said starting on Monday, surgical care will focus on emergency, urgent and most time-sensitive cases as they reduce procedures to reserve critical capacity. McMaster Children’s Hospital is also diverting urgent surgeries due to the influx of pediatric patients

Recent data shows that the province is over capacity with pediatric ICU beds, with the number of children receiving care exceeding the number of available units.

Over the weekend, when asked about the expected masking recommendation, Premier Doug Ford said, “I encourage every single person when possible [to mask], especially people with respiratory problems.”

“Right from day one, all the way through the pandemic, I’ve always listened to the Chief Medical Officer of Ontario, and I’m gonna continue to listen to Dr. Moore. And we’ll see what he has to say tomorrow,” said Ford.

Epidemiologist Dr. Colin Furness told CityNews he doubts whether the advice to wear a mask will be enough to change people’s behaviour.

“What I’ve heard from so many people is if it were important enough, they would tell us that we need to do it as opposed to that we should do it. In other words, there are a lot of people who are waiting to be told that this is mandatory, and then they’ll comply.”

Last week, a new poll found a majority of Canadians are in favour of a return to mask mandates in indoor settings if deemed necessary by public health units and government officials.

In Toronto, the public health board passed a motion asking medical officer of health, Dr. Eileen de Villa, to “urgently explore all avenues toward re-issuing mask mandates, starting with schools.”

De Villa said Toronto Public Health (TPH) is currently following provincial guidelines — which do not require masks in most settings — but said the city could change course if the situation calls for it.

With files from Michael Ranger and Lucas Casaletto of CityNews; and The Canadian Press