As cases skyrocket, no more mask mandates for Canada because they don't work.




Ontario’s top doctor rules out new mask mandates as COVID-19 infections skyrocket
There will be no new mask mandates in Ontario chief medical officer Dr. Kieran Moore said.





Expanding PCR testing to the people most vulnerable to COVID and making Paxlovid more widely available will help stem the rate of illness and hospitalizations, Moore said Monday.


Starting immediately, PCR tests that have been limited since Christmas are available to: anyone 70 and older, anyone 60 and older with fewer than three doses of vaccine; anyone 18 and older who is immunocompromised; anyone 18 or older who has had fewer than three doses of vaccine and has at least one chronic medical condition putting them at higher risk from COVID.


Paxlovid will be available at select pharmacies across the province beginning Tuesday with the goal of making it easier to get the drug into the hands of the infected within the first five days of symptoms.


A list of pharmacies will be posted Tuesday morning on the government’s website.


“I’m a little bit disappointed that we don’t have any details,” said New Democrat MPP and health critic France Gélinas (Nickel Belt), who noted that it can take longer than five days for people in remote and rural parts of Ontario to get a doctor’s appointment.


Moore advised anyone in the higher risk groups with symptoms of the virus to immediately contact their health-care provider or to visit a COVID assessment centre.


“You need to get assessed within five days of your initial symptoms,” he said.


Given that some people cannot have Paxlovid because of interactions with other drugs, he also urged anyone at high risk to consult their doctor “in advance” to see if they would be eligible should they contract COVID. Paxlovid is used to prevent serious illness from COVID-19.