Variants of concern now account for more than half of all COVID-19 cases in Ontario — and as people grow tired of more than a year of public health measures, officials are concerned about a dramatic rise in infections as they become the predominant strains of the novel coronavirus.
That was the message from Associate Medical Officer of Health Dr. Barbara Yaffe at a provincial news conference Thursday.
There are now 1,563 confirmed variant of concern cases in Ontario, the majority of which are the B117 variant first identified in the U.K. Another 51 are confirmed to be the variant first identified in South African and 54 are the variant first identified in Brazil.
Ontario’s current seven-day average per cent positivity rate is 4.2. However, when it comes to variants of concern specifically, that number skyrockets to 50.5 per cent — up from 43.8 per cent just one week ago.
“Daily cases are increasing, hospitalizations are increasing and ICU admissions are increasing,” Yaffe told reporters. “As [variants] take over to be the predominant strains, the concern is that the infection rate will increase.”
Ontario reported another 2,380 cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, though the Ministry of Health said 280 of the cases are attributable to a “data catch-up process” in the province’s system.
Excluding those cases, it is still the highest daily count since Jan. 24, or about two months.
The ministry did not specify when or where those extra 280 cases are from, or why they were missed earlier.
Today’s total includes 1,016 cases in Toronto, 294 in Peel Region, 244 in York Region and 152 in Ottawa.
Record day for vaccinations
They come as Ontario saw another record day for COVID-19 vaccinations. Public health units collectively administered 79, 446 doses yesterday. Some 304,386 people in the province have now had both shots of a vaccine.
Ontario has now given out more than 98 per cent of the 1,780,135 doses of vaccines it has received thus far from the federal government.
Meanwhile, labs completed 60,077 tests for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and logged a test positivity rate of 3.8 per cent.
The seven-day average of daily cases climbed to 1,794. It has been steadily rising for the last 10 days.
Critical Care Services Ontario (CCSO), a government agency that compiles a daily report for hospitals and health organizations, said the number of patients with COVID-19 requiring intensive care rose to 380. Admissions to ICUs peaked in mid-January at around 420, according to CCSO.
They say their observations could be, in part, due to the prevelance of variants of concern in the province.
As of yesterday, a total of 15,657 test samples that tested positive for COVID-19 had also screened positive for a telltale mutation that indicates the presence of a variant of concern.
Ontario’s COVID-19 science advisory table, a group of experts that helps guide the province’s pandemic response, estimates that variants of concern now account for about 58 per cent of all new cases.
Public health units also recorded the deaths of 17 more people with the illness, bringing the official toll to 7,280. The seven-day average of daily deaths is currently just more than 10, considerably lower than its second-wave peak of more than 60 during mid-January.
Cost of COVID hospital stays
Data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) shows COVID-19-related hospitalizations in Canada cost $23,000 per stay — about four times as much as the average.
CIHI said the average length of stay for a COVID-related hospitalization in Canada was two weeks.
The agency examined data from from January to November 2020, but did not include Quebec.
In that time period, the estimated total cost of COVID-19-related hospitalizations in Canada was more than $317 million.
There were nearly 14,000 hospital stays for patients with a diagnosis of COVID-19 in Canada between last January and November, along with more than 85,400 emergency department visits for COVID-19.
Of the 13,906 COVID-related hospitalizations analyzed, CIHI found that 57.1 per cent were discharged home while 18.7 per cent, or 2,605, died in hospital.
MONTREAL – One expert says entry-level pay under the tentative deal between Air Canada and its pilots could be a stumbling block ahead of a union vote on the agreement.
Under their current contract, pilots earn far less in their first four years at the company before enjoying a big wage increase starting in year five.
The Air Line Pilots Association had been pushing to scrap the so-called “fixed rate” provision entirely.
But according to a copy of the contract summary obtained by The Canadian Press, the proposed deal announced Sunday would merely cut the four-year period of lower pay to two years.
John Gradek, who teaches aviation management at McGill University, says as many as 2,000 of Air Canada’s roughly 5,200 active pilots may earn entry-level wages following a recent hiring surge.
After the airline averted a strike this week, Gradek says the failure to ditch the pay grade restrictions could prompt pushback from rank-and-file flight crew and jeopardize the deal, which is up for a vote next month.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
ROME (AP) — Salvatore “Totò” Schillaci, the Italy striker who was top scorer at its home World Cup in 1990, has died. He was 59.
Schillaci had been hospitalized in Palermo following treatment for colon cancer.
The Palermo Civico hospital said in a statement that Schillacci died on Wednesday morning after being admitted 11 days ago.
Schillaci scored six goals for Italy during the 1990 World Cup. He came on as a substitute during Italy’s opener against Austria, scored in a 1-0 victory, and went on to earn the Golden Boot awarded to the tournament’s top scorer. He only scored one other goal for Italy in his career.
Italian soccer federation president Gabriele Gravina announced that a minute of silence would be held in memory of Schillaci before all games in the country for the rest of the week.
“The uncontrollable celebrations, in which his face was the symbol of shared joy, will remain forever part of Italian soccer (history),” Gravina said. “Totò was a great player, a symbol of tenacious desire and redemption. … His soccer was full of passion. And that fearless spirit made everyone appreciate him and will make him immortal.”
Schillaci also won the Golden Ball award at the 1990 World Cup as the tournament’s top player ahead of Lothar Matthaus and Diego Maradona.
Schillaci played for Messina, Juventus, Inter Milan and Japanese team Jubilo Iwata during his club career.
“You made an entire nation dream during the Magical Nights of Italia ’90,” Inter said on its social media channels.
West Germany won the 1990 World Cup, beating Argentina in the final, while Italy beat England for third place with a winning penalty kick from Schillaci.
Roberto Baggio, who scored Italy’s opening goal in the third-place match, wrote on Instagram, “Ciao my dear friend.”
Having been born and raised in Palermo, the Palermo soccer team announced that it would hold a public viewing of Schillaci at its Renzo Barbera stadium ahead of the funeral, the Gazzetta dello Sport reported.
French soccer player Wissam Ben Yedder will stay free ahead of his trial on charges of sexual assault while intoxicated, one of his lawyers told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Marie Roumiantseva said Ben Yedder will remain under strict judicial supervision after a woman filed a lawsuit for sexual assault earlier this month.
The 34-year-old Ben Yedder, a prolific striker in the French league, was briefly detained then released after the alleged incident in his car on the French Riviera. Ben Yedder had been stopped by police after he first refused to do so. He was then put in a jail cell.
After he was summoned to appear in court on Oct. 15 and placed under judicial supervision, the Nice prosecutor’s office appealed the decision not to remand the player in custody. The investigative chamber of the Court of Appeal of Aix-en-Provence did not grant this request and kept Ben Yedder under judicial supervision.
Ben Yedder attended a hearing Tuesday during which he offered to go to rehab. He has admitted he drove while under the influence of alcohol but has denied any sexual assault.
In a separate legal case last year, Ben Yedder was charged with “rape, attempted rape and sexual assault” over another alleged incident in the south of France.
Ben Yedder has been without a club since his contract with Monaco expired at the end of last season.
