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COVID-19 Information

Information about COVID-19 and where to find more information.

At Mackenzie Health, the safety of our patients, staff and visitors is our top priority. 

The province’s dedicated COVID-19 website is your best source of information about COVID-19, how you can protect yourself, what to do if you suspect you may be at risk, how to access testing and information about the COVID-19 vaccine. 

While masks may no longer be required in other indoor public settings, patients and their families trust us to care for them when they are at their most vulnerable and we must ensure that patients receive care in a safe environment. That’s why masks will continue to be required in high-volume and high-risk areas including the Emergency Department, Urgent Care Centre, Chemotherapy Clinic and Dialysis units. Mackenzie Health remains a mask-friendly environment and we encourage everyone to wear a mask if they feel more comfortable doing so. Masks continue to be available for everyone at all main entrances and at the elevator banks on each floor of our hospitals.

Thank you for your co-operation, patience and understanding.

COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic at Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital closed

Mackenzie Health was proud to support the province and York Region as part of the largest vaccination program in recent history. Mackenzie Health administered more than 97,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine between December 2020 and July 2021 and was the first to administer a COVID-19 vaccine in York Region.

The Mackenzie Health COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic at Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital closed to the public on July 11, 2021 once Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital opened as a full-service hospital for the community.

Where to get a COVID-19 vaccine

The provincial government recommends receiving a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in the fall to ensure the best protection during respiratory illness season. For more information about the COVID-19 booster, take a look at this fact sheet from Ontario Health.

COVID-19 vaccines continue to be available at a number of pharmacies in the community. For a comprehensive list of locations, please visit the provincial government's website at ontario.ca/vaccine-locations.  

Please visit york.ca/COVID19Vaccine or call Access York at 1-877-464-9675 for additional information about vaccinations in York Region.

For more information about the provincial government’s vaccination program, please visit the Ministry of Health’s dedicated COVID-19 vaccine website.

Thank you to everyone who stepped up and did their part by getting the COVID-19 vaccine. Data suggests the COVID-19 vaccine is effective in protecting against the variants and helps to prevent serious disease and hospitalization.

 

Information about visitor guidelines at both Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital and Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital is available on our Visitor Information page. 

 

On April 1, 2023, the Assessment Centre at Mackenzie Health permanently closed. With changes to COVID-19 testing requirements for staff and the public and increased opportunities for testing available in the community, there was no longer a need for a dedicated testing centre at Mackenzie Health. To find your nearest testing location, visit the provincial government's website. 

In the three years that Mackenzie Health’s Assessment Centres operated at both Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital and Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital, our dedicated team of staff and physicians provided close to 370,000 COVID-19 tests and thousands of clinical assessments. We’re proud to have had the opportunity to provide such a necessary service to our community during the pandemic.

As of April 1, 2023, those eligible for a COVID-19 test can visit a community testing centre to obtain a test.

 

At Mackenzie Health, over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, we took a number of steps to create capacity and ensure we had the resources we needed to effectively respond to the pandemic and keep our patients and staff safe. Some of these steps included:

  • Opened Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital on February 7, 2021 exclusively as a system solution to fight COVID-19. As of June 6, 2021, Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital became a full-service hospital, providing care to our community; 
  • Operated two COVID-19 Assessment Centres to support the community and provide access to COVID-19 testing. In the three years of operation, our dedicated team of staff and physicians provided close to 370,000 COVID-19 tests and thousands of clinical assessments. 
  • Operated a COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic at Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital to support the rollout of the provincial vaccine program by administering more than 97,000 vaccines to eligible York Region residents, including the first COVID-19 vaccine in York Region;
  • Rescheduled non-urgent clinical activity in the hospital that had been temporarily reduced in an effort to build capacity for acute care and critical care beds if and when we needed them;
  • Created dedicated COVID-19 inpatient units to help maintain the safety of our clinical team and minimize capacity pressures in our Emergency Departments and inpatient areas. This also helped decrease the demand on supplies by reserving key materials for COVID-19 patients;
  • Expanded our critical care space to accommodate additional COVID-19 patients if and when needed;
  • Implemented the universal masking of all inpatients to further align with public health guidance to wear a mask when in shared indoor spaces with people outside your immediate household;
  • Supported long-term care homes, congregate care settings, schools and the school board in our community with testing and infection prevention and control best practices; and
  • Prepared contingency plans to address situations where physicians may need to self-isolate to ensure continuity of care and access to care for those who need it. This included using specialists with similar skill sets to step in when needed.

It’s more important than ever to work together to keep each other safe. The most important thing you can do is to get vaccinated against COVID-19. The COVID-19 vaccine has proven to be effective at preventing severe illness and hospitalization and is the best tool available to us to end the pandemic. 

In addition to getting the COVID-19 vaccine, including keeping up to date with booster shots, it’s important to take steps to keep the most vulnerable among us safe. Please continue to wear a mask, wash your hands regularly and keep a safe physical distance from others to stop the spread of COVID-19.

The Ontario government and York Region Public Health have some helpful tips available on their websites where you can find out how you can do your part in the fight against COVID-19. 

Share messages of support with our staff

Share a message of appreciation for our frontline workers by emailing us at publicaffairs@mackenziehealth.ca. Your thoughtful sentiments will help them stay motivated while reinforcing the incredible work they do each and every day to keep us all safe and healthy.  

Make a donation to Mackenzie Health Foundation

We’re so grateful for our community’s thoughtfulness and willingness to help our frontline staff and everyone at our hospital as they work tirelessly to care for our community. Please consider making a donation to support Mackenzie Health's highest-priority needs. If you would like to make a donation, please visit the Mackenzie Health Foundation website or contact our Mackenzie Health Foundation team at foundation@mackenziehealth.ca

 

For information on the signs and symptoms of COVID-19 and what to do, please visit the Government of Canada‘s website, the Province of Ontario’s website or York Region Public Health's website.

Members of the community can also call Health811 by dialing 811 or  1-866-797-0007. York Region Public Health’s Health Connection line is also available at 1-800-361-5653 or via live chat at york.ca/NurseChat.