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.The effects of masking on the transmission of COVID-19 are strong, the brief from late November notes.
"It is also uncertain whether potential decreases in transmission are sufficient to reduce pediatric emergency department visits, hospitalization, and ICU admission to preserve capacity within the health-care system.""The body of evidence for strictly implementing a mask mandate wasn't there," Dr. Moore told The Canadian Press in a recent interview.
On Nov. 14, Moore held a news conference where he "strongly" recommended the public wear masks in indoor settings to protect children from circulating respiratory viruses. He said he was discussing and reviewing the possibility of mandating masks in schools again.
The effects of masking on the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 -- the virus that causes COVID-19 -- is much stronger, the document notes, including evidence by the province's now-defunct science table. They found a Forum Poll conducted on Nov. 8 that showed 53 per cent of respondents agreed that a mask mandate should be re-implemented in Ontario. They also found a Nanos Research poll conducted for CTV News from Oct. 30 to Nov. 2 that found 69 per cent of respondents would support the return of mask mandates to some extent.Public Health Ontario took a week to decide whether to release it, and the agency said it ultimately did in the interest of transparency.
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Masking alone wouldn't have eased respiratory virus surge in the fall: PHO documentIntroducing 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.
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Masking alone wouldn't have eased respiratory virus surge in the fall: PHO documentIntroducing 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.
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