• Peel's transition

News release: November 9, 2020

Press conference and Q&A discussing Letter of Instruction

Brampton, ON – November 9, 2020 – This morning, Regional Chair Nando Iannicca, Dr. Lawrence Loh, Peel Medical Officer of Health, and Dr. Naveed Mohammed, William Osler Health System shared an update and responded to a media question and answer period, to discuss the recently announced Letter of Instruction and provide additional information about new restrictions now in effect, and what they mean for Peel residents.

The update can be viewed at the Region’s YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/ZcoMgUaDWOk

The Region of Peel continues to see a worsening pandemic picture. Dr. Lawrence Loh, Medical Officer of Health for the Region of Peel, issued directives to the community that are stricter, building on those required for the Red-Control stage issued by the province of Ontario and reflecting Peel's unique community situation.

These directives have been introduced because indicators that track the pandemic in Peel are trending in the wrong direction. Case counts and test positivity rates remain high, public health capacity is stretched thin, and hospitals are at capacity with some procedures cancelled, and patient transfers occurring.

The measures will remain in effect until further notice, except where noted, and will be re-evaluated every 14 days as the pandemic picture evolves.

Quotes:
“COVID-19 is significantly threatening our lives, livelihoods, and our healthcare system – that’s why I’ve brought together Dr. Loh our Medical Officer of Health, and Dr. Mohammed from William Osler Health System, to share and clarify the most recent directives, and call for action in the community to keep each other safe,” said Chair Iannicca. “You’ve heard from the experts, you’ve heard the facts, you’ve heard the science, you’ve heard the state of affairs. We must all pull together now, to bring down these numbers, because as you’ve learned, our lives depend on it. The restrictions as set forth by myself and Dr. Loh are to be necessary at this time.”

“I know this year has been difficult and everyone has sacrificed so much in order to save lives, protect the healthcare system, and minimize the impacts of this disease on our community. I want you to know that my team at Peel Public Health and I do not make these recommendations lightly,” said Dr. Loh. “In creating the restrictions, our priorities are to ensure our hospitals can cope, keep COVID-19 out of long-term care homes, and keep schools safe and open. That means we need to stop spread in our communities and bring our case numbers down. We’ve done it before, and I am confident, that together, we will do it again.”

“In recent days, Osler has faced new challenges as a result of COVID-19,” said Dr. Mohammed. “As the number of COVID-19 cases in the community continues to rise, we have seen a corresponding increase in the number of patients seeking care in our hospitals. This sharp increase has resulted in Osler experiencing significant capacity pressures.”

Links:
https://peelregion.ca/news/archiveitem.asp?year=2020&month=10&day=7&file=2020107.xml
The update can be viewed at the Region’s YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/ZcoMgUaDWOk

Residents can stay up-to-date on COVID-19 in Peel by visiting peelregion.ca/coronavirus asnd following us on Twitter and Facebook at @regionofpeel and Instagram @peelregion.ca.

Media contact

Ashleigh Hawkins
Communication Specialist
Region of Peel