Internationally educated nurses are being recruited for help in hospitals and long-term care homes in Ontario.
Deputy Premier and Minister of Health Christine Elliott says more than 12,000 applicants have expressed interest in participating in the program.
They will be sent to locations where there are staffing shortages.
Nursing students as well as medical students will also be able to participate.
All the recruits will be paired with a registered healthcare provider which will start this week.
It is hoped they will begin to work in the next few weeks.
Meanwhile, Elliott says the province will be changing its reporting as of Wednesday for hospitalizations.
It will differentiate between those admitted because of COVID-19 and those admitted for other reasons but who have tested positive for the virus.
***With files from Casey Kenny
