Lawrence Loh | |
|---|---|
| Peel Medical Officer of Health[1] | |
| In office July 2020 – September 2022 | |
| Interim March 2020 – June 2020 | |
| Interim March 2017 – September 2017 | |
| Peel Associate Medical Officer of Health | |
| In office January 2016 – March 2020 | |
| Public Health Physician,Public Health Ontario | |
| In office January 2015 – December 2015 | |
| Premier | Kathleen Wynne |
| Senior Medical Consultant,Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care | |
| In office January 2015 – December 2015 | |
| Premier | Kathleen Wynne |
| Medical Health Officer,Fraser Health Authority | |
| In office August 2013 – January 2015 | |
| Medical Specialist,Public Health Agency of Canada | |
| In office September 2012 – August 2013 | |
| Prime Minister | Stephen Harper |
| Personal details | |
| Born | |
| Alma mater | University of Western Ontario,BSc University of Western Ontario,M.D. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health,MPH University of Toronto,FRCPC |
| Occupation | Physician |
Lawrence C. Loh is a Canadian physician best known for having served asMedical Officer of Health for theRegional Municipality of Peel during theCOVID-19 pandemic.
He was also the sixth Executive Director andChief Executive Officer of theCollege of Family Physicians of Canada.
Loh grew up inLondon, Ontario toMalaysian parents of Chinese descent. He grew up speaking English at home and not Mandarin.[2] When Loh was 14, the family briefly moved back to Malaysia inPetaling Jaya for five years. After relocating back to London, Ontario Loh attendedUniversity of Western Ontario for his undergraduate degree and also medical school.[2] He subsequently completed residency at theUniversity of Toronto in Public Health andPreventive Medicine.[2]
Loh practicedfamily medicine inBrampton before specializing in public health.[2] He subsequently worked in public health agencies at all three levels of government in two different provinces before being offered the job of Associate Medical Officer of Health for Peel Region in 2016 byEileen de Villa (then Medical Officer of Health for Peel, who later joinedToronto Public Health).[2][3]
Loh is an adjunct professor at theUniversity of TorontoDalla Lana School of Public Health.[1]
Loh was the Medical Officer of Health forPeel Region throughout the first two years ofCOVID-19 pandemic in the Regional Municipality of Peel.[2][4] In April 2021, Loh notably broke from the approach taken by the province and orderedPeel Region schools closed,[5] as well as anAmazon Fulfillment Facility closed, both of which were accomplished through section 22 orders.[6][7]
During Asian Heritage Month in May 2021, Loh was recognized in theSenate of Canada by SenatorVictor Oh. In his intervention, Senator Oh hailed Loh as a hero in the community, citing that Loh's "forward thinking and resolve [...] were instrumental in containing COVID-19 transmission in one of the country's hardest Regions."[8]
TheKey to the City ofMississauga was presented to Loh on March 3, 2022, by MayorBonnie Crombie to recognize his role in the city's pandemic response.[9]