The Toronto Board of Health decided to submit the request to Dr. Eileen de Villa on Tuesday during his meeting. Board members, by a five-to-one vote, approved the following motion: “To limit the spread of respiratory viruses and protect the capacity of pediatric health care services, the Board of Health requests the Medical Officer of Health to urgently investigate all paths to redress – mandating masks, starting in schools.” Kate Mulligan, public health board member, moved the motion. Mulligan, an assistant professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, said she is a parent of three young children and told the board she had her own “scary” moment when she had to rush one of them to the emergency room. of hospital incidents when the child had difficulty breathing. “I shudder to think if this resource wasn’t available,” he said. In an interview later Tuesday, Mulligan said hospitals are struggling as large numbers of children go to emergency rooms with illnesses such as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). “We’ve heard so much in the news about kids coming down with respiratory viruses, COVID, RSV, flu and flooding in the emergency room, and we’re really seeing pediatric health care being taxed and strained right now,” he said. In a statement Tuesday, Toronto Public Health said de Villa was unavailable for comment, but said levels of COVID-19 are slowly rising in the city. “Right now, the public is encouraged to use layers of protection. They should go out and get that bivalent booster shot and be up to date with those shots, cover up if they’re going into a crowded environment, and stay home if they’re sick.” , the announcement states. Speaking in Vancouver, Health Minister Sylvia Jones said Toronto is one of 34 public health units the province will receive feedback from, but Ontario will continue to rely on the expertise of Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore. TPH said it will seek guidance from the Ontario government if Toronto sees a “surge” in the number of COVID-19 cases. “This COVID environment is still new and something we haven’t seen before. The need for strict measures will depend on what we see at the time,” the statement said.
