Top doctors in Toronto, Peel Region, Ottawa ask Ontario for stay-at-home order to slow COVID-19
Medical officers of health in Toronto, Peel Region and Ottawa urged the province on Monday to impose stronger public health measures immediately, saying a provincial stay-at-home order is needed now to curb COVID-19.
In a Sunday letter to Dr. David Williams, Ontario's chief medical officer of health, Dr. Eileen de Villa, Dr. Lawrence Loh and Dr. Vera Etches said stricter restrictions are required to "reverse the surge" of cases in their respective public health units.
"A stay-at-home order issued by the province through an Emergency Order is necessary to prevent and mitigate large scale morbidity and mortality and irreparable strain on the health-care system," the letter reads.
Schools in Peel and Guelph switching to remote-only learning this week
Schools in Peel Region will switch to remote-only instruction as of tomorrow and students in the Guelph area will follow suit on Wednesday.
Peel Region’s Medical Officer of Health Dr. Lawrence Loh has used his discretionary powers under Section 22 of the Health Protection and Promotion Act to issue an order requiring the closure of all schools in Brampton, Caledon and Mississauga for in-person learning as of April 6.
The order will remain in effect for at least two weeks, meaning schools will not be able to reopen until after the delayed March break now scheduled for next week.
The moves comes just days after Education Minister Stephen Lecce told reporters that the Ford government had no plans to close schools amid surging COVID-19 case numbers and would instead have students return to “elevated” infection prevention and control measures and asymptomatic testing following the break.
“This closure is a necessary step to protect staff and students in Peel Region,” Loh said in a news release. “With increasing case counts and the presence of variants of concern, we need to break chains of transmission and keep our schools safe. I know this will be challenging for parents to navigate and we appreciate all the sacrifices parents continue to make as we continue to fight COVID-19 in our community.”
20 Toronto schools being closed Tuesday due to COVID-19
Twenty Toronto schools are being closed due to COVD-19 investigations as the city's public health unit defends their decision to keep facilities open to in-person learning.
The Toronto District School Board made the announcement Monday night on Twitter.
"On the advice of @TOPublicHealth students and staff at the following schools are being dismissed effective tomorrow, Tuesday, April 6 to allow (Toronto Public Health) additional time to investigate COVID cases," the school board said.
Ford often reminds me of an old saying, closing the barn door after the animals are gone.
Always reactive, never proactive, and often negligently slow in reacting.
When you have over 50 schools that have had to shut down, you don`t just wait until you get around to testing more of them.