York hospitals among group calling for ‘stronger’ lockdown measures amid surging COVID-19 cases

Joint statement by GTA hospitals, Ontario Hospital Association released Sunday, Dec. 20 as region reports 346 single-day case count

Yorkregion.com
Dec. 21, 2020
Heidi Riedner

Markham-Stouffville Hospital and Mackenzie Health in Richmond Hill are among GTA hospitals calling for "stronger" lockdown measures from the province as new cases of COVID-19 continue to rise.

The joint statement released on Sunday, Dec. 20, by hospitals in Toronto and neighbouring regions of York, Durham, Halton and Peel, in collaboration with the Ontario Hospital Association, urges the Ford government to implement tightened restrictions during the holidays as hospitals deal with growing numbers.

"These trends show no sign of slowing -- in fact, a surge in cases following the holiday season is expected to make the situation even worse," the letter reads.

"We recognize that lockdown measures are challenging for many members of our communities, but we cannot afford to put patients and health-care workers at further risk."

Health Minister Christine Elliott said the province recorded 2,316 cases of the virus on Sunday.

Locally, York Region reported a single-day case count of 346 confirmed cases as of 5 p.m. Dec. 19 with 1,512 total cases reported in the past seven days.

Of the 76 hospitalizations in the region, 22 were in the intensive-care unit. The majority of those were at Mackenzie Health, which had 13 cases in ICU as of Dec. 16.

To date, York Region has had 14,768 confirmed cases of the virus, with 13,048 of those being classified as recovered and 333 deaths.

There are 1,387 active cases in the region as of Dec. 19.

This is the second time in a month York’s hospitals have issued a joint statement regarding surging case counts and the potential strain on health-care services.

CEOs from Mackenzie Health, Markham Stouffville and Southlake Regional hospitals sent out a joint statement Dec. 9 raising the alarm over significant increases in the number of patients being admitted for COVID-19 putting all three hospitals at what they termed a "tipping point."

The CEOs called on the entire community to step up to slow the spread amid concerns over the impact to scheduled surgeries and the toll on physicians, staff and volunteers from the mounting pressure from COVID-19.

Premier Doug Ford is expected to announce more public health rules tomorrow following a weekend of emergency talks.