Ontario Premier Doug Ford on Wednesday said the number of COVID-19 tests carried out in the province has been “unacceptable” since the beginning of the pandemic.
Premier Ford made the comments during a daily briefing on the province’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, alongside Health Minister Christine Elliott and Labour Minister Monte McNaughton.
Ford acknowledged that health officials were plagued by a lack of reagent and other problems that resulted in a testing backlog, but said those issues are now resolved and that the province needs to ramp up testing immediately.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford renewed his call for medical supplies on Saturday, saying that while officials at Health Canada are doing “everything they can” it may be time to “rattle some cages.”
Ford responded to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s earlier comments that Canada is set to receive “millions” of medical masks from China, suggesting that Ontario should receive 40 per cent of the shipment because the province makes up 40 per cent of Canada’s population.
The premier also took aim at U.S. President Donald Trump for his order asking medical supply company 3M to halt exports of N95 masks to Canada, calling it “unacceptable.”
