COVID-19 Update: CMOH releases Directive #2 - no change to current RCDSO guidance

The Chief Medical Officer of Health has released Directive #2 for Health Care Providers. The Directive addresses “the need to ramp down non-emergent and non-urgent surgeries and procedures in order to preserve system capacity to deal effectively with COVID-19”.

Our understanding, as confirmed in discussions with other regulatory partners, is that this version of Directive #2 is not intended to stop all non-urgent health care services. The Ministry of Health Emergency Operations Centre says this version of Directive #2 is intended to preserve health human resources for redeployment to intensive care where needed and to stop procedures that could tax intensive care resources (e.g., procedures that carry higher risks of hospitalization or utilize health human resources that could be redeployed to intensive care).

This is different from March 2020 when the intent was to stop people from moving around – and by extension directing that all non-urgent care cease - and being exposed when modes of COVID-19 transmission were still unclear.

The College has asked for clarification of the Directive as it is not yet clear how it will affect dentistry. For now, there will be no change or restriction to the current scope of practice described in COVID-19: Managing infection risks during in-person dental care.

We will share further information with you when we receive it.