Posted: Apr 14, 2021 8:47 PM ET | Last Updated: April 15
Children leave school on Apr. 6, 2021, after Toronto Public Health ordered all schools in the city to close amidst a surge in COVID-19 cases in Toronto. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)
Ontario doctors say some children and teenagers are suffering from social malnutrition during the COVID-19 pandemic because they are physically isolated from their peers due to provincial restrictions.
Dr. Saba Merchant, a pediatrician based in Vaughan, Ont., said she has seen significant changes in children s lives since the pandemic hit Ontario more than a year ago. Children have been unable at times to attend day care, school and extracurricular activities and that has meant a disruption in routines and structure. All of the changes have led to social isolation, she said.