Hamilton parent, teacher call for masks in schools as Ontario stops short of imposing wider mandate

Joanne Witt says her five-year-old son is in a "lucky but unlucky" situation.

The Hamilton mother said her son, Hudson Maycock, lives with a congenital heart defect, which generally means whenever he needs to visit a hospital, it's treated as a priority — but given how overwhelmed the pediatric health-care system is, she wonders if a day will come where he has to wait to get urgent care.

"I have a little worry," Witt said.

Along with a bit of fear comes a ton of frustration, Witt said, after Ontario's chief medical officer strongly recommended but didn't mandate indoor masking on Monday.

"What will it take before they take this as seriously as parents are?" she asked, adding that without masks, her son may be exposed to a virus at school he can't afford to catch. 

The ongoing circulation of COVID-19, influenza and the earlier than normal rise in respiratory syncytial virus have put "extraordinary pressures" on the provincial health system, Dr. Kieran Moore said during a Monday press conference.

Late last week, McMaster Children's Hospital, part of Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS), said it was seeing inpatient occupancy rates of 140 per cent and was looking into having youth take up adult inpatient and intensive care unit beds.

Province 'not OK' with status quo, but no mandate

HHS president and chief executive officer Rob MacIssac tweeted on Friday to thank Premier Doug Ford for asking about how the hospital network is coping.

A spokesperson for the Minister of Health told CBC Hamilton Monday the ministry has offered "full support" to pediatric hospitals, and listed measures such as encouraging hospitals to have surge plans in place, using adult hospital beds and "adding over 3,500 new critical care, acute and post-acute hospital beds" throughout Ontario. It is unclear when exactly those measures were taken. 

"We know emergency department volumes have been increasing year over year. We are not okay with the status quo," said the spokesperson in an email.

WATCH: Dr. Kieran Moore recommends masking in all indoor public settings:

Dr. Kieran Moore wants Ontarians to wear masks in indoor public settings amid ‘worsening’ virus trends

2 years ago

Duration 1:50

As children’s hospitals across Ontario battle against rising RSV, COVID-19 and flu cases, the province’s top doctor is recommending Ontarians get back to using protective measures including self-screening for symptoms and wearing masks in indoor public settings.

With no provincial mandate, local schools and public health seemingly have no plans to impose their own mask mandates.

Hamilton's public and Catholic school boards, along with McMaster University, Mohawk College and Redeemer University all told CBC Hamilton they aren't changing their current masking policies. Most of those institutions encourage masks but do not require them.

Hamilton public health also encourages masking but isn't mandating it.

Meanwhile, Dr. Mustafa Hirji, Niagara's acting medical officer of health, said there should be a mandate in place.

"Public health supports organizations choosing to create policies requiring mask-wearing in their premises, and would similarly support any schools or school boards who choose to do likewise," he said in an emailed statement on Monday.

'Please find a way' to impose mask mandate

Tanya Collins, a former teacher who lives in Dundas, said she considered getting back into the classroom earlier this year but said she can't right now.

"I'm way too scared of the COVID situation," she said.

Collins wrote an open letter to Hamilton public school board trustees asking them to consider requiring indoor masking.

She's hoping trustees will put forward a motion, similar to a newly elected school board trustee in Ottawa, after they are sworn in on Nov. 21. 

Hamilton's public school board previously continued imposing a mask mandate for a week after the province ended its indoor masking requirement.

"I'm pleading with you to do everything in your power to slow the transmission of respiratory viruses amongst HWDSB students," Collins wrote.

"Please find a way. Do not be limited by bureaucracy, disinformation or wishful thinking."