Ontario’s best doctor says he plans a new round of COVID-19 booster doses to be rolled out this fall, as the province is set to lift most masks on high-risk environments on Saturday.
Provincial mandates for masks for public transportation and healthcare will expire this weekend, although hospitals say they will continue to require masks.
Masking will still be needed in long-term care homes and retirement homes and is still recommended in higher-risk grouped living environments, such as shelters and group homes.
In an interview on Friday, Health Medical Director Dr. Kieran Moore said preparations for a fall COVID-19 strategy are already underway, including vaccinations, and officials are going through a variety of scenarios such as a aggressive flu season and new variants of COVID.
LISTENING | Ontario should have expanded the mandates for high-risk configuration masks: head of scientific board
Metro Morning8: 42As masked mandates in most high-risk settings expire this weekend, Dr. Fahad Razak wants to see a universal masking policy in Ontario hospitals
Dr. Fahad Razak is the Scientific Director of the COVID-19 Scientific Advisory Board in Ontario and an intern at St. Paul’s Hospital. Michael.
Moore says there will be another booster dose available for people at higher risk, with the possibility of opening it to the general public.
He says he anticipates that a new generation of vaccine will be available in the fall for both the original COVID strain and a more up-to-date one, such as Omicron.
Health Medical Director Dr. Kieran Moore said preparations for a fall COVID-19 strategy are underway, including vaccinations, and officials are going through various scenarios such as an aggressive flu season and new ones. variants of COVID. (Nathan Denette / The Canadian Press)
Moore says that if another wave of COVID-19 threatens the health care system and its ability to cope with the surgical delay, it may regain the mandates of masks, but says it does not believe any other public health measures will ever be necessary. for the virus. .
Although the province lifts hospital masking policies, the Ontario Hospitals Association (OHA) says it has no knowledge of any hospitals in the province that will end its masking requirements on Saturday.
OHA President Anthony Dale said the organization representing public hospitals in the province had recommended an extension of the provincial order that required masking in the hospital setting.
10 more deaths have been reported
Meanwhile, Ontario reported 536 hospitalizations for COVID-19 and 10 more deaths on Friday.
Hospitalizations reported on Friday fell slightly from 549 on Thursday and 669 on the same day last week.
According to the Ministry of Health, 42% of those admitted were admitted specifically for the virus, while the rest were admitted for other reasons and then tested positive.
Of those hospitalized, 110 required intensive care, a drop from 118 on Thursday, but a drop from 117 this time last week. Fifty-two patients need the help of ventilators to breathe.
About 66% of people in intensive care units were admitted due to the virus, while the rest were admitted for other reasons and then tested positive.
Meanwhile, the province reported at least 835 new daily cases of COVID-19 on Friday, with 9,192 tests completed in the past 24 hours. However, due to the limitations of the evidence, officials say the actual number of new daily cases is likely to be much higher than reported.
The province-wide test positivity rate is 7.3 percent.
Sewage monitoring for established COVID-19 data suggests a continuing general decline in infection levels in most of the province except northern Ontario, according to the COVID-19 Scientific Advisory Board. 19 of Ontario.
The latest data show a decline in wastewater detection from May 31 with estimates that this trend will continue in June.
New deaths reported on Friday put the number of deaths in the province’s pandemic at 13,324.