Eastern Ontario top doctor urges province to reinstate public health measures

The top doctor for an eastern Ontario health unit urged the Ontario government to reinstate province-wide public health measures to counter thealarming spread of Omicron.

Dr. Paul Roumeliotis, the medical officer of health for the Eastern Ontario Health Unit, urged the province to consider "immediate reinstatement" of workplace capacity restrictions and indoor and outdoor gathering limitsin a letter addressed to Ontario Minister of Health Christine Elliott on Tuesday.

The letter requested the provincial government strongly consider provincewide strategies to limit the spread of the Omicron variant in Ontario and called for "clear, consistent, and persuasive" communication from the Ford administration.

"We have made recommendations to [Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health] Dr. Moore, and those are being brought to the government," Roumeliotis said in a COVID-19 briefing on Wednesday. "I do suspect there will be some restrictions."

The letter commended the province's recent decisions to offer vaccine booster shots to everyone 50 years and older, expanding eligibility to children ages five to 11, as well as proof-of-vaccination requirements for non-essential activities.

The letter acknowledged the reinstatement of public health restrictions in some Ontario public health units, most recently Kingston, and said itis "only a matter of time" before other health units follow suit.

Omicron spreading rapidly

As of Tuesday, almost 70 per cent of Ontario's COVID-19 casesare suspected to be Omicron, says Roumeliotis, addingthe variant could account for every case in the provinceby early next week.

Public health officials are concerned about the rapid rate of transmission of the Omicron variantand its potential to escape vaccines. The Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table estimates the number of Omicron cases doublesevery three days.

Two dosesof an mRNA vaccine, Roumeliotis said in Wednesday's briefing,are 30-50 per cent effective against symptomatic Omicron infection.

Vaccination remainsfar more effective in preventing hospitalizations, and athirdmRNA dose boosts immunity to Omicron, he added.

Roumeliotis believes these additional public health responses could be on the horizon:

• Moving to an earlier interval for third vaccinedoses.
• Moving toan earlier interval between first and second vaccine doses for children five to 11.
• Decreasing age of booster eligibility.
• Enhanced protections for long-term care homes.