There were 72,000 fewer surgeries performed in Ontario during a six-week period of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to a year prior, according to data released by the province’s central health-care agency. There were also more than 130,000 fewer CT scans and MRIs done for diagnosing cancer and other ailments.
The data was included in the framework Ontario Health released to hospitals last week to help them prepare for the resumption of scheduled surgeries and procedures. The province’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. David Williams, directed hospitals in mid-March to ramp down elective surgeries and procedures — an order that remains in place today — to create capacity for the surge in COVID-19 cases that was expected.
