Ontario reported 3,009 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday and 3,089 cases on Friday, marking the two highest single-day case counts since Jan. 17.
Saturday’s new cases include 954 in Toronto, 434 in Peel Region, 348 in York Region, 205 in Ottawa and 146 in Hamilton.
On Jan. 17, the province had reported 3,422 cases, marking the last time the daily case count topped 3,000.
Since Friday, the province’s network of labs completed more than 59,100 tests, bringing the test positivity rate to 5 per cent. Friday’s case count comes after more than 62,300 tests were completed.
The seven-day rolling average now stands at 2,552 daily cases, an increase from 1,944 the same time last week.
Ontario’s health ministry did not update the daily case count on Friday because Good Friday is a statutory holiday.
At 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, the province entered a month-long “emergency brake” shutdown, which means personal care services, gyms and indoor dining must shut down, but schools and most retailers can stay open with specific capacity limits in place.
In-person shopping: 50% capacity limit for supermarkets, grocery stores, convenience stores, indoor farmers’ markets, other stores that primarily sell food & pharmacies, and 25% for all other retail incl big box stores, along with other <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/PublicHealth?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#PublicHealth</a> & workplace safety measures. <a href=”https://t.co/VJnj6wra1G”>pic.twitter.com/VJnj6wra1G</a>
Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced the shutdown on Thursday, saying it was necessary due to surging numbers of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations across the province.
The shutdown means tighter restrictions on gatherings and restaurants and it comes after the province allowed outdoor restaurant patios to reopen just two weeks ago.
As well, owners of personal care services had been told they would be allowed to reopen on April 12, but that start date has been delayed because new restrictions will be in place for at least 28 days.
“We are facing a serious situation and drastic measures are required to contain the rapid spread of the virus, especially the new variants of concern,” Ford said in a statement on Thursday.
Shutdown restrictions include:
No indoor organized public events and social gatherings allowed, and a limit on the capacity for outdoor gatherings to a five-person maximum — except for gatherings with members of the same household, or gatherings of members of one household and one other person who lives alone.
Limits on in-person shopping: a 50 per cent capacity limit for supermarkets, grocery stores, convenience stores, indoor farmers’ markets, other stores that primarily sell food and pharmacies; and a 25 per cent limit for all other retail outlets, including big box stores.
No personal care services.
No indoor and outdoor dining. Take out, delivery and drive-thru options are allowed.
No use of facilities for indoor or outdoor sports and recreational fitness, with very limited exceptions.
Closure of day camps.
Limited capacity at weddings, funerals, and religious services to 15 per cent occupancy per room indoors, and to the number of people who can maintain two metres of physical distance outdoors. The limit does not include social gatherings associated with these services such as receptions, which are not permitted indoors and are limited to five people outdoors.
‘The emergency brake will not work,’ ICU doctor says
On Saturday, Ontario’s health ministry reported 796 patients in hospital with COVID-19, with 451 of those people in intensive care units and 261 on ventilators.
Currently, the number of ICU patients is more than at the worst point of the pandemic’s second wave in mid-January, when a total of 420 people were in the ICU.
WATCH | Dr. Michael Warner of Michael Garron Hospital speaks to CBC News Network about Ontario’s latest plan to tackle the pandemic:
Dr. Michael Warner, medical director of critical care at Michael Garron Hospital in Toronto, says the current restrictions are not enough to protect people who are getting sick in the third wave of the pandemic. Warner says the provincial framework won’t stop young people from getting sick and ending up in intensive care units. With permission, Dr. Warner spoke of one patient in particular who was very ill. She has since died. 5:23
Dr. Michael Warner, medical director of critical care at Michael Garron Hospital in Toronto, says the current restrictions are not enough to protect people who are getting sick in the third wave of the pandemic. He said the stay-at-home order, imposed in January, was the only thing that worked during the second wave.
“The emergency brake will not work,” he said in an interview on CBC News Network on Saturday.
“The patients I have in my ICU right now, many of them are younger than me, and unless we take much more drastic action to cut this off, it’s just going to get worse and worse.”
On Thursday, provincial modelling showed that a stay-at-home order could significantly curb the surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. However, even with a four-week stay-at-home order, admissions to intensive care will likely top 800 this month, experts said.
This number would be nearly double the number seen during the second wave of the pandemic. According to Adalsteinn Brown, co-chair of Ontario’s COVID-19 science advisory table, it is a “definite possibility” that physicians would need to begin implementing a triage protocol if admissions reached this level.
Before Ford’s announcement on Thursday, 153 ICU physicians wrote an open letter to the province, arguing that the current framework will not be enough to curb rising number of cases, given the variants of concern. They urged the province to implement stricter public health measures.
The letter warned that doctors are seeing younger patients, including parents of school-aged children, and entire families infected by the more transmissible variants of concern.
According to Critical Care Services Ontario (CCSO), a government agency that puts together daily internal reports for hospitals and health organizations, the number of patients in ICU with COVID-19-related critical illnesses stands at 447.
Anthony Dale, president and CEO of the Ontario Hospital Association, says 25 per cent of all open ICU beds in Ontario are now occupied by COVID-19 patients.
April 3 – 447 patients now in ICUs with COVID related critical illness on a total census of 1,782. 43 new admissions yesterday. <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/onhealth?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#onhealth</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/onpoli?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#onpoli</a> <a href=”https://t.co/nbtegGIQFZ”>pic.twitter.com/nbtegGIQFZ</a>
For his part, Warner called the term “emergency brake” meaningless because it simply means shifting the whole province into the grey-lockdown zone of the province’s colour-coded framework. Toronto and Peel Region, the areas that have continuously seen the highest number of infections throughout the pandemic, have been under this zone since March 8.
“I haven’t heard the premier say anything about the people who are actually getting infected. My patients. What is he going to do for my patients who are still going to factories without adequate protection, who are not vaccinated, who do not have paid sick leave and they continue to die?” Warner said.
‘Take the vaccine to the workplaces’ Unifor president says
Unifor National President Jerry Dias says essential workers are still having to decide between going to work feeling sick or staying at home and receiving no money. He said lack of access to vaccines as well as no paid leave are major contributors to their plight.
“We’re frustrated,” he said in an interview on CBC News Network. “If you’re going to send people to work, then you better make sure they can go to work safely.”
Dias said he represents 55,000 essential workers in Ontario, most of whom are minimum wage workers and can’t afford to take off work if they’re sick.
“People have gone to work that have tested positive for COVID. Why? Because they have financial responsibilities at home. They cannot afford not to have a roof over their children’s head.”
Unifor National President Jerry Dias says essential workers are still having to decide between going to work feeling sick or staying at home and receiving no money. (CBC)
He said everybody understands this except for the government, who in 2019 amended the Employment Standards Act and repealed two paid personal emergency leave days and replaced them with three unpaid days for personal illness.
“When workers are sick, tell them to stay at home, but make sure they’re paid. It’s the only way that they’re going to stay at home,” Dias said.
As of Saturday, Ontario’s health ministry says more than 2.4 million vaccine doses have been administered in the province, adding that over 80 per cent of individuals aged 80 years and older have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
The two-day accumulation of new deaths pushed the total number of COVID-19-related deaths to 7,428.
TORONTO – A justice with Ontario’s Appeal Court has dismissed an application for bail from Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard as he tries to appeal his sexual assault conviction at the country’s top court.
Justice Jill Copeland heard arguments at a bail hearing for Hoggard earlier this week, not long after the Hedley frontman began serving his five-year sentence.
Hoggard, who was found guilty in June 2022 of sexual assault causing bodily harm against an Ottawa woman, filed an application last week for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court and sought bail at Ontario’s Appeal Court.
His application to the Supreme Court argues that the Appeal Court – which recently upheld his conviction – failed to apply the proper test in determining whether an error made by the trial judge constituted a “harmless error.”
Copeland says at this stage, where Hoggard’s conviction has been unanimously affirmed by the Appeal Court and it “appears unlikely” he will be granted leave to appeal by the Supreme Court, she is satisfied that the public interest in enforcing the musician’s sentence outweighs his interest in a second review of his conviction.
She says that if the Supreme Court grants leave to appeal, a reassessment of Hoggard’s bail status may be warranted.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says it’s up to Air Canada and the union to reach an agreement to avoid disrupting travellers and businesses.
Speaking at an event in Saint-Anne-de-Bellevue, Que. on Friday, Trudeau said he wouldn’t tip the scales towards either party, while dodging the question of whether he would force pilots back to work.
The airline and pilots will be in a position starting Sunday to issue 72-hour notice of a strike or lockout.
The airline has said the notice would trigger its three-day wind-down plan and start the clock on a full work stoppage that could come as early as Sept. 18.
The airline says the union is being inflexible with “unreasonable wage demands.”
The union has said that it is corporate greed that’s holding up talks, as Air Canada continues to post record profits while expecting pilots to accept below-market compensation.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
For over a decade, S.J. Green was the enemy of Hamilton Tiger-Cats fans.
He should receive a warmer reception Saturday when recognized as a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. Then again . . .
“I’ll be honest, if I get a boo or two I won’t be surprised,” Green said with a chuckle. “It’s fun, I’m looking forward to everything that comes with this weekend.”
Joining Green in the Class of 2024 are former players Chad Owens, Weston Dressler, Vince Goldsmith and Marvin Coleman. Former CFL coach Ray Jauch and amateur football icon Ed Laverty (posthumously) were named as builders.
The seven were scheduled to be formally inducted Friday night, and then honoured Saturday at halftime of the Hamilton-Ottawa game at Tim Hortons Field. Green now fully appreciates the magnitude of the honour.
“Being here and getting to see some of the other inductees has been the ground-breaking moment for me where it’s actually starting to set in, that it’s a real thing,” Green said. “To put it into the shortest phrase I can, it’s football eternity.
“Not everyone gets to play the game at a professional level … to be a part of this brotherhood and statistically elite group is amazing and very humbling.”
The six-foot-three, 216-pound Green was a fluid receiver with Montreal (2007-16) and Toronto (2017-19). Green, 39, registered 716 catches for 10,222 yards with 60 TDs.
He suffered a serious knee injury early in 2016 but registered career highs in catches (104) and yards (1,462) the next season with Toronto. The Argos would win the Grey Cup, Green’s third (2009-10 with Montreal).
Green’s pro career ended in the XFL in 2020 as the CFL didn’t play that season due to the global pandemic. However, Green’s contract was abruptly terminated when the league suspended operations.
He retired in 2022 after signing a one-day contract with Montreal. Green, who owns and operates a landscape business in Tampa, said his transition to life after football wasn’t seamless.
“I went through a period … I don’t want to call it depression but I don’t know what else to call it, where it was just hard to watch the CFL game,” Green said. “I felt like I didn’t get to end it how I truly wanted.
“I miss the game still to this day and it was hard to get over but eventually you grow up, right? This (induction) makes all the time worth it, it feels right.”
Green also appreciates being inducted with Owens. Both began their CFL careers as practice-roster players with Montreal.
“That makes it more special,” Green said. “We both came in from the perspective of being practice-squad guys, having to prove ourselves to get on the field.
“Unfortunately, Chad had to leave Montreal to show the league who he was as a player and person while I was able to stay in Montreal and reap the same benefits. To watch him go to Toronto and become the player he was made it all come full circle. It’s very rewarding to go in with Chad.”
The five-foot-eight, 180-pound Owens, dubbed The Flyin’ Hawaiian, spent 10 seasons with Montreal (2009), Toronto (2010-15), Hamilton (2016, 2018) and Saskatchewan (2017). He was a four-time all-star, the league’s top special-teams player (2010) and its outstanding performer (2012).
Owens, 42, claimed his first Grey Cup ring with Montreal. He earned a second with Toronto in 2012.
Owens recorded 521 career catches for 6,217 yards and 26 touchdowns. He also had 4,027 punt-returns yards (11-yard average, five TDs) and 5,479 kickoff-returns yards, amassing 16,698 combined yards.
Dressler, 39, played with Saskatchewan (2008-15) and Winnipeg (2016-18), registering 715 catches for 10,026 yards and 61 TDs. The five-foot-seven, 168-pound Bismarck, N.D., native was the CFL’s top rookie in ’08 and a two-time all-star who made two Grey Cup appearances, winning in ’13 in Regina with the Riders.
Goldsmith, 65, was a dominant defensive lineman with Saskatchewan (1981-83, 1988-90), Toronto (1984) and Calgary (1985-87). He was the CFL’s top rookie in 1981 with 17 sacks then posted a career-best 20 two years later.
Goldsmith had 10 or more sacks eight times and finished with 130.5 (eighth all-time). He won a Grey Cup in ’89 with Saskatchewan.
Coleman, 52, was another dual threat. The five-foot-nine, 170-pound cornerback played with Calgary (1994-2000) and Winnipeg (2001-03) and was a three-time league all-star with 28 interceptions (six return TDs) and 538 tackles.
Coleman stands fourth all-time in punt-return yards (5,211), seventh in kickoff-returns yards (11,545) and scored seven return TDs. He played in four Grey Cups, winning twice with Calgary.
Jauch, 86, played in the ’59 Rose Bowl as a running back with Iowa and was an AFL first-round pick by Buffalo, but opted for Winnipeg.
He suffered a career-ending torn Achilles in Winnipeg’s ’61 Grey Cup win over Hamilton. Jauch became Edmonton’s running back coach in 1966 before being promoted to head coach in 1970.
He served as head coach with Edmonton (1970-76), Winnipeg (1978-82) and Saskatchewan (1994-95). He recorded 127 regular-season wins (sixth all-time) and in ’75 led Edmonton to its first Grey Cup win since 1956.
Jauch was the 1980 CFL coach of the year.
Laverty served as president of the Ottawa Nepean touch football league from 1964 to 2015. He held a similar post with the Ontario Touch Football League for over 10 years and helped launch Touch Football Canada.
Laverty was inducted into the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame in 2014.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
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