Dr. Ronald Cohn, president and CEO of SickKids Hospital, made the remark in an interview with CP24 on Saturday, after two government sources told The Canadian Press that Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr.  Kieran Moore will ask the audience to wear a mask.  starting on Monday.
While the sources said it will just be a blanket recommendation to wear masks, especially in crowded areas, Cohn believes the reinstatement of the mask mandate will help ease the “unprecedented” burden children’s hospitals are currently facing.
“We’re really seeing these pressures across the province, and we would certainly support a universal cover-up mandate,” Cohn told CP24.
“I think we can all do the right thing here. Get vaccinated, wear a mask and please stay home (if you’re sick).”
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On Friday, SickKids announced it would limit surgeries starting Monday to maintain intensive care capacity.  The move, in which the hospital will prioritize “urgent, urgent and most time-sensitive” surgeries, comes as the ICU has been operating at least 127 percent above capacity in recent days.
Cohn called the move “heartbreaking” and admitted it will further exacerbate the pandemic-induced surgery backlog.  But he said he will make sure the children get the care they need.
“We’re really seeing a multiple number of different viruses that affect the respiratory system infecting children right now. And we’re just at the beginning of RSV and flu season, and that’s leading to these unprecedented volumes of children coming to our emergency rooms. Many of those requiring admissions to our pediatric wards and our ICU,” Cohn said.
“In order to create capacity for many of these children who are seriously ill and need care, we had to make this difficult decision.”
Cohn noted that he is working “like never before” with other children’s hospitals and community partners to build more capacity so sick children can have a place to get treatment.
He also said that he and other hospital employees have ongoing discussions about the problems they face.
“There’s a lot of thinking going on right now with Dr. Moore, and a lot of others. So we have to wait until Monday,” Cohn said.


“NOW IS THE TIME TO ACT” 
There has been a growing call from the medical community to re-require mask use because of what is happening in children’s hospitals.
At one point this week, there were 122 children in pediatric ICUs and only 112 pediatric intensive care beds.
Emergency physician Dr.  Raghu Venugopal is urging the provincial government to step up and take unpopular decisions, which include reintroducing mask mandates as a way to help ease the strain in children’s hospitals.
“I don’t know what more hospitals can do. I don’t know what more frontline nurses and doctors can do,” he told CP24.
“I don’t like mask mandates any more than you do or anyone else. But we need to start immediately with mask mandates in places like schools because the health care system has no other options.”
He said the situation has become so dire that pediatric wards are being converted into pediatric ICUs to create capacity.
When asked what Ontarians can do to help, Venugopal said they should get vaccinated, wear masks indoors and stay home if they are sick.
“Now is the time to act,” he said.  “And we need to act in a way that protects the hospital from further degradation.”
– With files from the Canadian Press