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Families of people living in long-term care are relieved Ontario’s chief medical officer of health will recommend masks remain in those settings beyond April 27.
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“It’s terrifying. I’m just pleased. It feels much safer. It feels like that buys us some time,” said Denise Schon, of the Family Councils Action Coalition (FCAC).
“We can get an understanding of what the shape of the sixth wave looks like.”
Dr. Kieran Moore told the Canadian Press Thursday he will be submitting a proposal for a four-week extension beyond the current expiration date.
It would apply to long-term care facilities, hospitals, and public transit – the latest places set to have their provincial mask mandates dropped on April 27.
“I think that will get us down the epidemic curve to further protect those that are living and working in those vulnerable sectors,” Moore told the Canadian Press.
Premier Doug Ford said this week he would have “no problem” extending the remaining mask mandates beyond the end of the month if that is Dr. Moore’s recommendation.
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The coalition of family councils says long-term care residents have borne the brunt of the pandemic.
Government figures show 4,313 residents and 13 staff members have died from COVID since 2020.
Just this week, 13 residents died from COVID, according to provincial data up to Wednesday.
Schon said keeping masks mandatory will protect the vulnerable – something she has done when she visits her mother Barbara.
“It’s better than them opening at the end of the month,” said Schon, who is also chair of the Family Council at Lakeside Long-term Care in Toronto.
“That felt quite scary. And now we have another month to look and see at what’s going on.”
The latest modeling from the Science Advisory Table shows the province is “well into wave six of the pandemic” spurred by the infectious BA.2 Omicron sub variant, waning immunity and the lifting of most public health measures.
Wastewater signals suggest transmission may have peaked in Ontario, but the advisers said it’s unclear what will follow the apparent crest.
The new modeling suggests hospitalizations and ICU admissions will continue to rise, with uncertain timing and height of the peak.
But the group noted that it’s unlikely they will reach levels seen earlier this year during the fifth wave.
Estimates for hospital occupancy range from just over 2,500 hospitalized patients to around 4,000, possibly peaking in the middle of May.