Introducing a mask mandate when respiratory viruses surged in the fall may not have eased the crush on pediatric hospitals, a Public Health Ontario science brief obtained by The Canadian Press concludes.
The brief – which was not proactively made public, unlike the reports done by the now-defunct science table predecessor – provides a glimpse of the evidence on which Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore made his decision to go no further than a “strong” recommendation on masking in mid-November.
"Given the number of respiratory viruses currently in circulation, there is less certainty about the potential magnitude of the effect on transmission. The surge forced children's hospitals in Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton and London, Ont., to cancel surgeries in order to free up staff and beds to deal with the problem.
"However, widespread mask use in general or targeted populations may be expected to reduce the rate of transmission of viral respiratory pathogens in the community." The scientists also looked to Google to find any polling done on the public acceptability of mask mandates.
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