Toronto’s health official has been asked to “urgently” explore the idea of bringing back mask mandates, starting with schools, as local hospitals deal with a growing number of children suffering from respiratory illnesses.
The Toronto Board of Health decided to make the request to Dr. Eileen de Villa on Tuesday during its meeting.
Board members, by a vote of five to one, passed the following motion: “In order to reduce the spread of respiratory viruses and protect the capacity of pediatric health services, the Board of Health requires the Medical Officer of Health to urgently explore all avenues of recovery – issuing of mask mandates, starting in schools.”
Kate Mulligan, public health board member, moved the motion.
Mulligan, an assistant professor at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health, said she is a parent of three young children and told the board she had her own “terrifying” moment when she had to rush one of them into hospital emergency room resuscitation when the child had breathing problems.
“I shudder to think if this resource wasn’t available,” she said.
In an interview later Tuesday, Mulligan said hospitals are struggling because a large number of children are going to emergency rooms with illnesses such as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
“We hear so much in the news about children suffering from respiratory viruses, COVID, RSV, influenza and flooding emergency rooms, and we really see pediatric health care taxed right now and overwhelmed,” she said.
In a statement Tuesday, Toronto Public Health said de Villa was unavailable for comment, but said the levels of COVID-19 are slowly rising in the city.
“At this time, the public is encouraged to use layers of protection. They need to go out and get that bivalent booster shot and keep up with those vaccinations, mask up if they’re going into a crowded environment, and stay home if they’re sick,” it said.
Speaking in Vancouver, Health Minister Sylvia Jones said Toronto is one of 34 public health units from which the province will receive feedback, but Ontario will continue to rely on the expertise of the chief medical officer of health, Dr. r Kieran Moore.
TPH said it will seek guidance from the Ontario government if Toronto sees a “sharp increase” in the number of COVID-19 cases.
“This COVID environment is still new and something we’ve never seen before. The need for tough measures will depend on what we see at the time,” the statement said.
Add Comment