Ontario Doctors Are Slamming Ford's COVID-19 Restrictions & Say More Needs To Be Done

Ontario doctors are now challenging the Ford government's latest stay-at-home orders.

Last week, Doug Ford announced that the stay-at-home order would be extended for an additional two weeks, and more restrictions, such as increased enforcement and the shuttering of golf courses would be put in place. 

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Dr. Carolyn Snider, Chief of Emergency Medicine at St. Michael's Hospital, took to Twitter to call the restrictions "deliberately harmful."

"I can't write anything tonight that will reflect the despair I feel about Ford Nation's gross mismanagement of this pandemic," Snider tweeted.

"I saw such clear systemic racism affecting our patients, vaccine shortages, outbreaks in shelters... I just can't. I am too angry."

Other doctors have also been speaking out

Michael Warner, medical director of critical care at Michael Garron Hospital, tweeted that "the restrictions announced by @ongov [...] are not sufficient to protect those who are actually getting sick."

Andrew Morris, a professor of medicine at U of T, also weighed in on the issue, criticizing Ford for failing to support essential workers and calling the restrictions "criminal." 

Dr. Lisa Salamon-Switzman followed, stating that, "my heart sank after listening to @fordnation announcement yesterday. He did nothing to protect #EssentialWorkers. Instead he caused fear."

What more can be done? 

In an interview with CBC, Dr. Snider claimed that the government should have never opened businesses before the third wave.

She also stated that paid sick leave is also something that residents need. 

On top of this, Kashif Pirzada, an emergency physician in Toronto, stated that some other steps that could have been taken were closing unsafe workplaces and requiring rapid tests to screen workers three times a week.