Ontario Is Reportedly Telling Hospitals To Prep More Beds For A COVID-19 Emergency Spike

Ontario's public health agency reportedly sent a memo to the CEOs of every Ontario hospital today, ordering them to start preparing for COVID-19 surges.

According to a CBC article published today, Ontario Health reportedly told hospitals to activate their emergency capacity plans within 48 hours as the province enters a critical phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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The CBC story also claims that the memo said Ontario is now seeing "widespread community transmission" and that the actions taken now would "set the stage" for how well hospitals could continue to handle the COVID-19 crisis.

Hospitals have been warning the public about capacity problems for some time now.

Last week, the CEOs of three hospitals in the York Region released an open letter saying they were at the "tipping point" for being able to manage COVID-19 patients in the hospital.

"Our staff, physicians and volunteers are doing everything they can to continue providing exemplary care to patients and their families, but the mounting pressure of COVID-19 is taking a toll on many," they wrote.

Narcity has reached out to Ontario Health for comment.