There will be no mask mandate in Ontario.
At an announcement Sunday morning, Premier Doug Ford says Dr. Kieran Moore will be making an official announcement on Monday but Ford tipped his hand and said wearing a mask will be recommended “where possible.”
Ford says he has talked to the Chief Executive Officers of seven Ontario hospitals and says every “single stop” is being pulled out to help increase capacity at hospitals in the province. On top of recommending wearing a mask “wherever possible”, Ford reiterated to get a COVID-19 booster shot and a flu shot.
Children’s hospitals across the province have been overwhelmed with young patients crowding emergency rooms, ICUs, and pediatric wards.
He says the issue in Ontario hospitals comes down to, “We need more doctors, more nurses and we’re doing both making sure that we build the infrastructure that we’re doing. We’re are spending $40-billion dollars on 50 additions and I wish I could snap my fingers and add more hospitals immediately. But it was from decades of neglect that we’re in this position on capacity and we’re just going to continue building and that’s maybe going to take a couple of years.”
Also announced on Sunday, the gas tax reduction will be extended for another year. The 40 per cent reduction saves about $0.10 a litre at the pumps and with the extension will save an average Ontario family $195.00 a year.
