Ontario's Ford reiterates he won't make COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for health-care workers | FULL

Ontario Premier Doug Ford reiterated his stance Monday that while he encourages all health-care workers to get a COVID-19 vaccine, he had no intention on making it mandatory.

The question came during an announcement on hospital funding in Ottawa.

Ford was also asked about the University Health Network (UHN), one of Ontario's biggest hospital systems, requiring unvaccinated workers to provide a COVID-19 test at least 48 hours before showing up for work. He said he supported the policy, but said he would not "dictate" to other hospitals to implement the same.

He also spoke about protocols that will be in place for once the province reaches thresholds to move past Step 3 of the province's COVID-19 restrictions, saying the plan would be coming out soon from chief medical officer of health Dr. Kieran Moore. He added he expects most of the protocols would be "gone" with the exception of a few that Moore believes need to stay in place.

The premier also spoke briefly about the wildfires raging in northern Ontario, saying they were "throwing" all possible resources to the areas impacted, but stopped short of saying he would declare a state of emergency nor answering why he had yet to do so despite calls from opposition parties.

As of Monday, Ontario is reporting 119 new COVID-19 cases, the lowest daily increase seen in two weeks, bringing the provincial total to 549,447. The death toll in the province now stands at 9,316 as three new deaths were recorded.

For more info, please go to https://globalnews.ca/news/8059694/ontario-covid-19-cases-july-26-coronavirus/

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