It’s shameful that Dr. Moore rebuked Dr. Hirji

Admonished by Kieran Moore, Niagara medical officer stands by his increased safety measures in schools, Jan. 20

Dr. Kieran Moore should be ashamed of himself for making sure his admonishment of Niagara’s acting officer of public health, Dr. Mustafa Hirji, went public.

It was a dirty, underhanded political trick to try to undermine Hirji’s decisions to strengthen the measures in place to keep our schools safe and healthy. “Sharing” his letter with Niagara’s regional council and school boards was childish and unworthy of Moore’s position as our “leader” of public health.

Hirji has had to make several difficult decisions throughout the last two years that have resulted in threats and people bothering him at his private home, decisions that the Provincial Office of Public Health and the premier didn’t have the guts to make. Moore and Premier Doug Ford have just made Hirji a target again.

That is reprehensible and shows that our provincial government does not really have public health at the forefront of their pandemic response decisions.

Terry Morocco, Welland

Chief medical officer of health of Ontario Dr. Keiran Moore says he wants “standardized” COVID-19 precautions in Ontario schools, but he wants them all to adopt a lower standard than that set by the Public Health Office of Niagara.

This is an astounding demand, and one that is unjustifiable. When Moore was medical officer of health in Kingston, he mandated masks before the province did.

It feels to me that he cared more about public health during his Kingston days, and now he cares more about politics.

Patricia Chartier, Toronto