Ontario reported 2,453 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, the highest single-day total in more than two months.
The province also reported 16 more deaths.
New daily cases include 814 in Toronto, 411 in Peel Region, 263 in York Region, 156 in Hamilton, 139 in Durham and 115 in Ottawa, according to Health Minister Christine Elliott.
Saturday’s daily case count comes before the province moves two regions into more restricted areas of its colour-coded reopening framework on Monday. As well, five regions in the province’s grey lockdown zone will see some restrictions loosen on Monday and later in April.
Meanwhile, the daily case count is the highest since 2,662 cases of COVID-19 were recorded on Jan. 22.
Ontario is reporting 2,453 cases of <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/COVID19?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#COVID19</a> and over 61,000 tests completed. Locally, there are 814 new cases in Toronto, 411 in Peel, 263 in York Region, 156 in Hamilton, 139 in Durham and 115 in Ottawa.
Saturday’s total marks the third straight day that the daily case count has topped 2,000.
The new cases come as the province’s network of labs completed 61,005 tests for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and registered a test positivity of 4.5 per cent, an increase from 3.8 per cent on Friday.
The seven-day rolling average of daily cases across the province rose to 1,944, an increase from 1,855 on Friday. The average has increased every day for the last 12 days.
The health ministry reported 985 people in hospitals across the province with the virus. This total marks the highest number of hospitalizations since Feb 6., when the province reported 1,021 people in hospital.
Public health units recorded another 16 new deaths on Saturday, bringing Ontario’s cumulative total of virus-related deaths since the pandemic began to 7,308.
Ontario reported that 77,740 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine were administered since the last daily update. A total of 1,916,332 vaccines have been given in the province so far.
The province says 308,301 people have been fully vaccinated.
Hospital CEO calls for new measures as case numbers rise
One hospital president is speaking out about the rise in numbers on Saturday.
Eric Vandewall, president and CEO of Joseph Brant Hospital in Burlington, said on Saturday that critical care occupancy will hit the highest ever number this weekend as the variants of concern become the majority.
Again, we are at a crossroad, VoC the norm in a matter of weeks, Critical Care COVID occupancy the highest ever by the end of this weekend, requiring reductions in scheduled care , immediate measures for at least 3 weeks is required now to protect Ontarians!
Dr. Barbara Yaffe, the province’s associate medical officer of health, said variants of concern are driving up case counts and admissions to hospitals and critical care.
“Daily cases are increasing, hospitalizations are increasing and ICU admissions are increasing,” Yaffe told reporters on Thursday. “As [variants] take over to be the predominant strains, the concern is that the infection rate will increase.”
According to Saturday’s numbers, Ontario is reporting another 931 cases that have screened positive for a mutation that indicates the presence of a variant of concern. A total of 17,611 cases have now screened positive for the mutation.
A genetic sequencing process is required to pinpoint which variant of concern is present in a sample.
Ontario’s COVID-19 science advisory table says variants of concern currently account for about 55 per cent of all new infections in the province.
One government agency that tracks hospitalizations and admissions to intensive care units is also flagging that the province’s ICU capacity is reaching a critical level.
The Ontario Hospital Association said the number of severely ill patients is approaching a previous peak. On Friday, it said 401 people with COVID-19 were in intensive care units across Ontario and the number may yet surpass an earlier record of 420 people.
Rules tighten in some areas, loosen in others on Monday
Starting on Monday at 12:01 a.m., Hamilton will move into the grey-lockdown zone, while the Eastern Ontario Health Unit will move into the red-control zone.
The province announced the tightening of restrictions for these two regions on Friday, citing “concerning trends in key health indicators” in some regions, according to Elliott.
Also on Monday, the province will allow outdoor fitness classes, outdoor training for team and individual sports and outdoor personal training in grey-lockdown zones, but these activities will be limited to a maximum of 10 patrons with physical distancing and screening measures in place.
As of April 12, personal care services in grey-lockdown zones, including hair and nail salons, barber shops and body art establishments, will be allowed to open at limited capacity by appointment only. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)
And as of April 12, some personal care services in grey-lockdown zones will be allowed to open at limited capacity by appointment only. These services include hair and nail salons, barber shops and body art establishments.
Regions currently in grey-lockdown include Toronto, Peel Region, Lambton, Sudbury and District, and Thunder Bay District.
Starting on Monday in all levels of its framework, the province will adjust capacity limits for services such as weddings and funerals to ensure more people can gather so long as they can maintain two metres of physical distance. The province did not specify what those capacity limits will be.
Toronto residents aged 70+ can book COVID-19 vaccines
Toronto residents aged 70 and older can start booking COVID-19 vaccinations at city clinics on Saturday.
Mayor John Tory announced on Friday that the city was expanding the eligibility to the age group, urging people to get the vaccine.
Tory said the number of elderly residents signing up for the shot has been decreasing since March 22, when bookings opened to those aged 75 and older.
He said the city has almost 30,000 appointments available over the coming week.
Great news! 4,332 people booked <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/COVID19?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#COVID19</a> vaccine appointments at <a href=”https://twitter.com/cityoftoronto?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@cityoftoronto</a> clinics in the first hour that registration was open to people born in 1951 or earlier. If you’re eligible or know someone who is, please book an appointment & get vaccinated <a href=”https://t.co/z64oL4Vbkd”>https://t.co/z64oL4Vbkd</a> <a href=”https://t.co/7Tq7Bs2vr4″>pic.twitter.com/7Tq7Bs2vr4</a>
Starting on Saturday, individuals born in 1951 and earlier can schedule their shots through the province’s booking portal.
On Saturday morning, Tory tweeted that over 4,300 people had booked a COVID-19 vaccine appointment at a city clinic in the first hour that registration was open to the 70-plus age group.
The city said appointments will be available at three of Toronto’s mass immunization clinics on Saturday and at two additional clinics as of Monday
To date, Toronto Public Health says 453,932 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in the city.
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
