Ontario has made a formal request to the Canadian Armed Forces to help deal with a surge in critical-care cases associated with COVID-19’s third wave, just days after it rebuffed an offer by the federal government to send in extra personnel.
In a statement Monday, a spokesperson for Solicitor General Sylvia Jones said the province has “made a request for the assistance of those identified resources, many of whom reside, for example, within the Canadian Armed Forces and Canadian Red Cross organizations.”
“In addition to health human resources, we are requesting logistical and operational support as we seek to augment our response to COVID-19,” the statement from Jones’s press secretary, Stephen Warner, said.
The Canadian Armed Forces will deploy three medical assistance teams to help support critical health-care facilities in Ontario, CBC News has learned.
The province registered 3,510 new cases of COVID-19 and 24 additional deaths on Monday. As well, Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott confirmed that nine health-care professionals from Newfoundland and Labrador would arrive in the province on Tuesday — including Premier Andrew Furey’s wife, Dr. Alison Furey.