11 Apr 2022 • 18 minutes ago • 3 minutes reading • Join in a discussion A N95 mask in a 3M lab. (Archive photo) Photo by Nicholas Pfosi / REUTERS
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Coverage requirements for all hospital admissions in southwestern Ontario – including those in Perth and Huron counties – will remain in place “indefinitely” regardless of changes in provincial policies, officials say.
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As COVID-19 hospitalizations have risen since Ontario lifted its mandatory indoor mask last month, hospital officials across the region made the announcement in a joint press release Monday afternoon. “Throughout the pandemic, as a hospital system, we are constantly evaluating what we believe to be responsible protections for our patients, our teams and those who visit our hospital facilities,” said Andrew Williams, CEO of the Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance . Press release. “As the pandemic continues to affect our communities, including the significant impact of our ability to staff programs and services due to the growing COVID-19 absences, it is prudent to maintain this level of protection in high-risk environments.” Although the views on the direction will always vary, our top priority is the safety of those we serve “. The Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance oversees four hospitals in Stratford, St. Louis. Marys, Clinton and Seaforth. The announcement also includes:
Alexandra Hospital Alexandra Marine & General Hospital Gray Bruce Health Services Hannover and District Hospital Listowel Wingham Hospital Alliance London Center for Health Sciences Middlesex Hospital Alliance St. Joseph’s Health Care London General Hospital St. Thomas Elgin South Bruce Gray Health Center South Huron Hospital Tillsonburg Regional Memorial Hospital Woodstock General Hospital
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Active control of all people entering hospital facilities will also be maintained, officials said. The same goes for mandatory vaccinations for young doctors, staff, volunteers and contractors. Ontario is expanding its suitability for COVID-19 PCR testing and antiviral therapies in the middle of a sixth wave, but the province’s top doctor said Monday that the broad mask order will not be restored, at least for now. During a press conference on Monday, the chief medical officer in charge of health, Dr. Kieran Moore said COVID-19 trends were on the rise and Ontarians should be prepared to reintroduce this mandate if a new variant of concern arises if the health care system is threatened. and probably during the winter months. Moore also said he strongly recommends that people continue to wear masks indoors. The press conference, Moore’s first in more than four weeks, follows a report by Public Health Ontario showing that COVID-19 cases, test-positive rates and hospitalizations have risen since March 21, when the province relax coverage requirements in most interiors. places. He proposes restoring indoor coverage and extending coverage orders to high-risk environments as possible elements of a “flat” strategy to mitigate the increase in cases. The report also warns that the number of Ontario children with severe COVID-19 disease is likely to increase due to increased transmissibility of the BA.2 subtype of the virus, the lifting of public health measures and the limited suitability of vaccines and two doses of coverage. in people under 12 years.
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The BA.2 subtype is now the dominant strain in the last wave of the pandemic, the document states. The percentage of samples identified as BA.2 rose from 12.3 percent in the week of February 13 to 54 percent in the week of March 13, he said. Dr Thomas Piggott, a physician in charge of Peterborough, OD, said the county should consider reinstating mask orders and reconsider its plan to lift the remaining public health measures later this month. “There are a lot of concerns right now, both with the lack of coverage in the current context and with the possibility of increased lifting in the coming weeks, and I hope that all of this will be reconsidered, as the sixth wave is much worse than the worst. “Modeling scenarios from the Ontario Science Board,” he said in an interview. “I think now is the time to think again.” The county has previously set April 27 as the date it plans to eliminate coverage requirements in other areas, including long-term care homes, hospitals and public transportation. Health Minister Christine Eliot said Ontario was “constantly evaluating” that date under Moore’s guidance. Sewage monitoring shows that cases are increasing from mid to late March. The scientific director of the Ontario COVID-19 Advisory Group said the latest sewage data suggests that the daily incidence is around 100,000 to 120,000. COVID-19 hospitalizations increased by 40% last week from the previous one. Last week, the county expanded its suitability for fourth doses of COVID-19 vaccine to people aged 60 and over, as well as to indigenous people and adult members of their households. Moore said he took his fourth dose on Sunday. -With files from the Canadian Press
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