Doctors to Ontarians: Please take COVID rise seriously, stay home and physically distance

TORONTO, Nov. 13, 2020—Ontario’s doctors say we all need to resume the good hygiene practices and physical distancing we embraced last spring to stop the record numbers of people getting sick with COVID-19.

Doctors are worried about projections there could be 6,500 cases a day in the weeks before Christmas. Flattening the curve is a shared responsibility and we all need to take this pandemic seriously.

“We know that everyone is weary of being cooped up in their homes and missing friends and family, especially as the holiday season approaches,” said Dr. Samantha Hill, president of the Ontario Medical Association. “As Premier Ford has said, to defeat this pandemic, we need to all work together – patients, doctors on the front line and the government. This pandemic will pass. The decisions we make and the actions we take will determine who will be alive and what our society will look like then. Together we can create a better future and frankly we must.”

Take your doctor’s expert advice and do these five things to reduce the spread of COVID:

• wash your hands regularly
• wear a mask or face covering at all times unless you are at home with housemates or outdoors with guaranteed two metres distance from others
• stay away from crowded places
• celebrate or gather only with members of your household. Don’t invite others into your home
• prepare for contact tracing if you get COVID – download the COVID-19 app and/or keep track of where you go and when

Ontario’s doctors are also calling on the government to fix the new framework for when regions can tighten and loosen pandemic restrictions. The framework allows too many businesses to remain open even when many people in their communities have the virus. We strongly recommend regions in the “restrict” and “control” categories should close bars and indoor dining altogether.

Hotspots, particularly Toronto and neighbouring Peel Region, should stop all non-essential services including all public events to gain control of the spread while strengthening public health measures. The government need to ensure testing, contract tracing and isolation.

“We appreciate that the government is trying to balance managing the pandemic and the economy, both of which impact everyone’s health and livelihoods,” said OMA CEO Allan O’Dette. “The OMA shares Premier Ford’s objectives. All Ontarians are in this together.”

About the OMA

The Ontario Medical Association represents Ontario’s 43,000-plus physicians, medical students and retired physicians, advocating for and supporting doctors while strengthening the leadership role of doctors in caring for patients. Our vision is to be the trusted voice in transforming Ontario’s health-care system.

For more information, please contact:
Aleks Dhefto, OMA Media Relations
media@oma.org