TORONTO - Health Minister Dr. Eric Hoskins rejects suggestions from nurses who say Ontario is not ready to deal with suspected cases of Ebola.
And, he insists the risk of contracting the deadly virus here remains very low.
Hoskins says extra training of front-line health care workers is already underway, and he will release updated guidelines to help them deal with Ebola by tomorrow.
The Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario says it hasn't seen any sign of a provincial strategy for coping with Ebola, but Hoskins says the province is more than ready to treat anyone with symptoms of the virus.
He says the best way to protect the public from Ebola is to have the right procedures in place to protect health care workers.
Hoskins also says Ontario adopted some of the most stringent and effective prevention control measures in the world after the SARS outbreak in Toronto in 2003.
So far, there have been eight suspected cases of Ebola in Ontario, but every one of them has turned out to be negative for the deadly virus.
Registered Nurses spokeswoman Doris Grinspun says nurses at two Ontario hospitals that had suspected cases of Ebola said they had received no instructions or education about dealing with the virus.
