Toronto's top doctor echoes advice to mask up indoors

Toronto’s top doctor is amplifying the advice provided by her provincial counterpart a day earlier asking people to mask up indoors, especially around young kids if you are sick, and to get vaccinated in order to help curb a wave of respiratory illness among children that has overwhelmed pediatric intensive care units.

“I think we can all agree that none of us wants to see our kids in hospital, struggling to breathe. This is exactly what we do not want to see,” Medical Officer of Health Dr. Eileen de Villa told CP24 in an interview Tuesday. “Hence we know what we need for people to do is to actually use all the knowledge and tools that we have gained over the past couple of years to good effect.”

What that means at the moment, she said, is taking advantage of vaccines as a key tool, including COVID-19 fall boosters and fall flu shots, as well as wearing masks in indoor settings.

“And yes, this does include schools and childcares and malls,” de Villa said. “Making sure we're checking ourselves and our children for symptoms of illness and keeping them home when they're sick, making sure that we're washing our hands, making sure that we're wiping down and cleaning high touch surfaces – it's all of these actions taken together that we heard the chief medical officer of health speak to and is what will get us through this very, very challenging time.”

Children's hospitals around Ontario have been warning that they are overcapacity amid a surge in respiratory illnesses. While it's not clear exactly what is driving the higher rate of infection this season, it comes at a time when the health-care system is already strained and amid a shortage of children's pain relief medications.

Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore announced a number of recommendations yesterday to help curb the spread of illness, most notably masking up in indoor settings, especially around children if you have any symptoms.

While Moore stopped short of implementing a mandate for masks, he said the province is continuing to consider whether that might be appropriate for some settings, such as schools.

While De villa, as the city’s medical officer of health, has the authority to implement a mask mandate for schools in Toronto, she did not indicate Tuesday that she plans to do so, instead imploring people to follow the latest health advice.

“We need to make sure that we're using all of these things together, more consistently, if we are to actually make a difference, preserve the health of our community and frankly, preserve our health-care system,” de Villa said.

She said a communication strategy is how the city plans to do that for now and added that she has "every confidence" that Toronto residents can come together to do their part.

Speaking at an event earlier in the day, Mayor John Tory said that he continues to follow advice from both Dr. Moore and Dr. de Villa and he encouraged people to get whatever shots they are eligible for.

“I really would urge people to take a look at what vaccinations they have received and to make sure that they get those vaccinations to the maximum they're allowed to happen, and that they get flu shots,” Tory said.

The mayor said he plans to get his tomorrow to set a good example.

Free COVID-19 booster shots and flu shots are now widely available through pharmacies and city-run clinics.