With Mother's Day coming up on Sunday May 11, Ontario NDP leader Marit Stiles is calling on the Ontario government to take more action against the outbreak of measles.
“Ontario should be leading the way when it comes to tackling public health crises, but instead, measles cases have increased by more than 340 in the past two weeks, bringing us to 1,383 confirmed cases in the province, far outpacing the United States,” said Stiles, in a news release.
“Mother’s Day is coming this weekend, and families are worried about accidental exposure for vulnerable kids and loved ones. But in the face of the worst outbreak in decades, the government’s approach is clearly not working," said Stiles.
"We need real leadership and a serious plan to protect people, with a robust public education campaign on the effective and free MMR vaccine, and a funded, coordinated strategy to support public health units," she added.
Public Health Ontario said in an update on Tuesday that the outbreak is impacting multiple health units across the province.
The provincial agency said numerous recent cases of measles have been reported to Health Units across the province. This includes the North Bay Parry Sound public health unit and the Algoma public health unit, along with one recent case (May 5) of a passenger on the Ontario Northland Bus departing Sudbury to Sault Ste. Marie.