Doctor urges Canadians to ‘avoid getting infected’ and mask up amid viral surge
Global News
“If you can avoid getting infected, you should avoid getting infected,” Isaac Bogoch, infectious diseases specialist at Toronto General Hospital told the 'Roy Green Show.'
With respiratory illnesses raging across the nation and pediatric hospitals facing increased patient volumes – all as COVID-19 continues to circulate – Canadians are being urged by a doctor to mask up to stay protected and do what they can to try not to get sick.
“If you can avoid getting infected, you should avoid getting infected,” Isaac Bogoch, infectious diseases specialist at Toronto General Hospital, told the Roy Green Show.
Although masks aren’t perfect at a population level, they do reduce the risk of infection, according to Bogoch.
In Ontario, where the number of children requiring intensive care in hospitals outpaced the available number of pediatric hospital beds as of late last week, new recommendations are soon expected from the province’s top doctor.
On Monday, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore is reportedly planning to make an announcement where he will recommend the public regularly wear masks.
Also on Monday, SickKids hospital will begin canceling non-urgent surgeries as it redeploys staff to deal with a flood of very sick children in the emergency department, the pediatric wards and intensive care.
Many children have been coming into the hospital sick with RSV, officially known as respiratory syncytial virus. The virus is a common fall and winter illness that saw an unusual late summer emergence this year and still continues to slam hospitals today.
Symptoms of the virus can include fever, cough and shortness of breath, according to Bogoch.