Timmins hospital the latest in northern Ontario to close its COVID testing centre – CBC
Most hospitals in the northeast now only require masks in certain patient areas
May 26, 2023
We are still officially in a pandemic, but there are more signs that COVID-19 is fading in northeastern Ontario.
The latest is the closing of testing clinics and the loosening of masking rules at the region’s major hospitals.
“COVID’s over,” said Paul Heinrich, the president
at the North Bay Regional Health Centre.
“Technically the virus is still with us, but it really is important for the entire health system to move on. Have to get back to providing as much possible service as they can to the people who need it.”
Heinrich says he has “shocked” people by saying that it’s time to move on from COVID, but says that he’s not being “flippant” just concerned that the health system is stuck in the past and not serving patients as well they could be.
He says the North Bay hospital was one of the first to close its COVID testing clinic in March and re-deploy those staff to other departments and to bring back some “humanity” with the dropping of some masking restrictions.
