Ontario's top doctor warns of more recommendations to public on masking ahead of 'difficult' winter

Ontario’s top doctor said he will make more recommendations on masking ahead of a "quite complex and difficult winter" battling COVID-19.

Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore told CP24 on Thursday COVID-19 hospitilizations in the province have been increasing in the past several weeks.

"We will be making more recommendations of wearing masks to cut down the risk of all these viruses that are transmitted through personal contact," Moore said. "(It) could be a quite complex and difficult winter."

CTV News Toronto spoke with the Ministry of Health who clarified Moore's recommendations would be to the public, and not the government to reinstate any public health measures.

Moore said he is urging all Ontarians who are eligible to get their booster shot.

"Thirty-thousand just yesterday came forward to get vaccinated. I'd love to see those numbers higher. We have the vaccine, we have vaccinators, we have capacity for roughly 80,000 individuals per day," Moore said.

Moore said he is also concerned about the impact of influenza on Ontario's healthcare system this winter and is asking people to stay up to date on all their vaccines.

As of last week, the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 reached a two-month high in Ontario.

The latest data released by the Ministry of Health suggests there were 1,465 people testing positive for COVID-19 in Ontario hospitals, up from 1,265 the previous week and 1,141 on Sept. 22.

It is the highest number of people in hospital with COVID-19 since Aug. 4 and is approaching the peak of the summer wave on July 28 when 1,492 people were hospitalized.

“My recommendation would be anyone at risk to this virus continue to mask as you’re going in doors in at-risk public settings,” Moore said. “We will make recommendations to the public to mask up as we get further along.”

Ontario residents aged 12 and above can now book a bivalent COVID-19 booster as shipments of Pfizer’s newly approved vaccination series are set to arrive in the province this week.

On Friday, Health Canada approved the Pfizer bivalent vaccine targeting the BA.4 and BA.5 strains of the Omicron variant. Previously, only Moderna’s bivalent booster – available to those 18 years of age and older – was approved and available in Ontario.

The province also announced today Ontarians can receive their flu shots from local health providers beginning Nov. 1.