Will mask mandates return amid surges in kids hospitals? Trudeau, Ford won’t say

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he is 'extremely worried' about children and families across Canada as high levels of respiratory illness continue to swamp pediatric hospitals.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he is “extremely worried” about the realities facing children and families across Canada as high levels of respiratory illness among kids continue to swamp pediatric hospitals across the country.

The situation is so dire in parts of Ontario that the Red Cross is coming to the aid of the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO), which had to open a second intensive care unit last month to treat what it called an unprecedented number of critically ill babies and children.

“As a father, but also as a leader, I’m extremely worried about what Canadian kids are facing right now — families really worried about whether or not they’re going to be able to get their kids to hospitals, not just at CHEO in Ottawa but right across the country,” Trudeau told reporters during an event in Ingersoll, Ont., Monday.

At the national level, influenza activity has continued to increase steeply after having been declared an epidemic by Health Canada in mid-November.

Children and teens are being hit particularly hard by the early onset of the flu over the last few weeks.

The IMPACT network of 12 pediatric hospitals in Canada continues to report elevated levels of flu-associated hospitalizations among children aged 16 years and younger.

For the week ending Nov. 26, 223 influenza-associated pediatric hospitalizations were reported in these hospitals — a number that is “above levels typically seen at the peak of the influenza season,” which is usually in January or February, according to the latest available FluWatch report.

This is in addition to viral outbreaks of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) among children and babies across Canada and ongoing transmission of COVID-19.