This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. permissions/licensing, please go to:Dr. David Williams will finish his five-year term as Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health (CMOH) next February. Businesses big and small remain open; unnecessary social contacts continue.The medical officers of health should “act together” and use their legal authority to require closures.Asked for comment on his email, a spokesperson for the Haldimand Norfolk Health Unit said Nesathurai “is in constant dialogue with the province’s other medical officers, who as a group are regularly discussing a wide range of items related to COVID-19 containment. However, Dr. Williams’ approach been marked by inaction and passivity. Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams speaks at Queen's Park in Toronto on Wednesday March 25, 2020. But like most licensed professions, they won’t criticize or even contradict each other publicly, let alone call for the dismissal of one of their own. Nesathurai recognizes the social disadvantage of enhanced self-distancing strategies, however in the context of this public health emergency, he believes that enhanced, assertive policies are necessary to control this pandemic.”Last year, the Ford government proposed a $13-million cut to Public Health Ontario. expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto De Villa told reporters two days ago that Toronto was investigating 11 cases of community transmission.The same afternoon, the province’s top public health officials were holding their own news conference. Fiscal challenges are “resulting in increased operational pressures at PHO’s testing sites.”The Ford government’s budget brought the agency to its lowest funding level since 2010-11. He writes that “many” other medical officers of health, who are leading the regional response to the pandemic, believe Ontario needs to take a more assertive response.Nesathurai called on his colleagues to use their legal authority to require businesses to close and people to stay home.“We do not have the luxury of time,” wrote Dr. Nesathurai, the medical officer of health for Haldimand Norfolk Health Unit.As the coronavirus pandemic continues to sweep the globe, there is hope that Canada is better positioned to confront this crisis than many other Western nations. Toronto Star articles, please go to:Never miss the latest news from the Star, including up-to-date coronavirus coverage, with our email newslettersThe Toronto Star and thestar.com, each property of Toronto Star \n","heading":"","fullWindow":false,"fullBleed":false,"showFullBleedOnMobile":false,"headColor":"","type":"html5mobile","textColor":"","mobileImageUrl":"","bgColor":"","imageUrl":"","registeredOnly":false,"linkUrl":"","internalScroll":false,"displayStyle":"small-up"},{"text":" This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. Dr. David Williams will finish his five-year term as Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health (CMOH) next February. Williams and Yaffe to beg them both to step down.
All crucial equipment that he feared would quickly run out as the virus’ spread begins to pick up speed.“We will run out of beds, we will run out of ventilators, we will run out of doctors, we will run out of nurses,” he said. “This is unacceptably dangerous for health care workers and, in turn, the public.”The Ministry of Health did not respond to questions about the email, funding levels for the public health lab and doctor’s concerns about protective equipment.Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. However, Ontario's chief medical officer of health wasn't entirely surprised or alarmed. These changes were announced to “ … clarify that the CMOH is the central authority during times of potential health emergencies, free to act on his/her own initiative based on assessed risk … This amendment removes authority for these powers from the minister and vests them with the CMOH.” Ontario’s CMOH has the power and the obligation to act independently and quickly in an emergency. Public health policy distils slowly from research over years. The provincial Chief Medical Officer of Health is Dr. David Williams..