"We have not seen any cases to date in 2024," says Dr. Summers with the MLHU regarding numbers for London.
The Middlesex London Health Unit (MLHU) supports the new masking recommendations from Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Kieran Moore.
For the next few weeks, it’s really important for all of us to mask more often.
– Dr. Alex Summers
These recommendations are being made to slow the spread of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), Influenza, and COVID-19 among children specifically. Pediatric hospitals around the province are being overwhelmed and forced to postpone procedures to deal with overflowing emergency rooms.
The Medical Officer of Health of the MLHU, Dr. Alex Summers says, the pediatric hospital crisis is partially being caused by the children’s lack of exposure to common respiratory diseases over the last few years.
“The reason they haven’t been exposed to those viruses is because of all the public health measures over the last few years… Essentially the rollback of those public health measures and the return to in person activity means that all these kids are being exposed all at once to viruses that they don’t really have a lot of immunity to and therefor they’re getting sick all at once.”
With all three diseases circulating at the same time and the cold temperatures coming, Dr. Summers is not only strongly encouraging all to mask indoors, but he is also recommending getting vaccinated against both Covid and the Flu. These measures are part of the plan to slow the spread enough for hospitals to catch up.
“We’re not trying to stop the transmission of these viruses in the long run. We’re trying to slow it just to make sure that all the kids aren’t getting sick at once, and therefor our hospital capacity isn’t being stretched.”
Because of this aim to just slow the spread, Dr. Summers believes these masking recommendations will be temporary.
“I think we’re in the three-to-four-week zone at least, and then we’ll have to reassess”
The MLHU is not calling for the return of mandates, instead it is asking Londoners to do their part by following the recommendations.
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