Hospitals in Ontario will be allowed to gradually resume non-urgent and non-emergent surgeries and procedures as the province continues to see a steady decline in hospitalizations and ICU admissions.
The Ontario government announced Thursday that it is lifting the directive it issued last month, which ordered hospitals to pause non-urgent and non-emergent surgeries in the wake of rising cases due to the Omicron variant.
“Thanks to the sacrifices of Ontarians and unwavering efforts of our health care workers, we are now in a position to resume additional surgeries and procedures,” said Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott in a statement.
“We recognize the impact these measures have had on patients and together with our hospital partners we will ensure patients can continue to access the health care they need when they need it.”
The province said the resumption of these surgeries and procedures will follow a planned phased approach and will be guided by Ontario Health.
“While the months ahead will require continued vigilance, our hard work has allowed us to gradually and cautiously lift public health measures to let children and youth in schools participate in extra-curricular activities, and public hospitals to resume non-urgent surgeries and procedures,” Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore said in a statement.
Earlier this month, several mxjmtzywedical and clinical activities were already allowed to resume, including diagnostic imaging, cancer screening, and non-urgent and emergent surgeries and procedures in pediatric specialty hospitals.
On Thursday, the number of people in hospital with COVID-19 dropped below 2,000 for the first time in more than a month.
