The winter holiday season has arrived just as Ontario is dealing with a new variant of the novel coronavirus and a rise in new infections.
But unlike this time last year, when COVID-19 cases were soaring and vaccine coverage was near zero, politicians and public health officials are not discouraging travel and holiday gatherings this time around.
Still, while there may not be cause cancel your plans just yet, infectious disease experts say continued community spread and uncertainty around the emergence of the omicron strain mean people should exercise caution.
“People are going to have different risk tolerances and … there’s a lot of different things that we can do to mitigate risk,” said Dr. Sumon Chakrabarti, an infectious diseases physician at Trillium Health Partners in Mississauga.
“Vaccination, of course, is the biggest one. There’s also … masking, distancing, being outdoors, improving ventilation.”
Dr. Sumon Chakrabarti, an infectious diseases physician in Mississauga, Ont., says people should conduct their own individual risk assessments when making holiday plans. (CBC)
Better shape than last year
While Ontario is seeing a rise in cases — the seven-day average jumped 20 per cent this week compared to last — and new cases of the omicron variant are being identified daily, the province is in much better shape than last year because 77 per cent of the population is now fully vaccinated.
The number of people in hospital due to COVID-19 is much lower than it was in 2020 mainly because of vaccination, experts say, meaning the health-care system has some available capacity.
“The risk has become so much smaller of severe disease,” said Chakrabarti.
“If you’re vaccinated, the chance of you being hospitalized is extremely small at this point.”
In Ontario, the capacity limit for private gatherings, such as a holiday party inside a home, is 25 people. That’s also the limit for indoor public events.
Private outdoor gatherings can have up to 100 people and events in venues where people have to show proof of vaccination have no limits. Places of worship have the option to check proof of immunization documents and shed capacity and physical distancing rules.
Dr. Anna Banerji, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Toronto, encourages people to keep their holiday gatherings small to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission. (CBC)
But Dr. Anna Banerji, an infectious disease specialist with the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health, said just because Ontarians are allowed to gather with that many people, that doesn’t mean they should.
“If you are going to have a gathering, try to make it a small, reasonable number of people,” said Banerji.
“Just a small group of intimate friends or immediate family because we want to see those grandparents next year and the year after — we don’t want anyone who’s vulnerable to get sick.”
Banerji said it’s safer to gather with smaller groups of vaccinated people. To improve ventilation in indoor spaces, she said hosts should consider purchasing a HEPA air filtration device or, weather permitting, open windows to improve air flow.
She added that anyone who is eligible for a third dose of vaccine should get one as soon as they can.
Travel rules in flux
Experts say people travelling within Canada are much more likely to experience a smooth trip than if they’re heading to international destinations. That’s because travel restrictions and testing requirements have been in flux ever since news of the omicron variant emerged.
“If you haven’t booked any [international] trips yet, it might be better to do things locally,” Banerji said.
A traveller is seen at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport during the COVID-19 pandemic last Friday. New travel testing and restrictions have been put in place due to the newly discovered B.1.1.529 coronavirus variant, now known as Omicron. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press)
Air travellers will now be swabbed upon arrival and required to quarantine until they receive a negative result. That’s in addition to the existing pre-departure requirement of a negative PCR test within 72 hours of arrival in Canada.
The new measures caused confusion and frustration, with some Canadians — including Canada’s junior women’s field hockey team and others trying to get home for the holidays — speaking out about the clashing restrictions they said made it effectively impossible to return home.
Over the weekend, the government tweaked travel rules for Canadians trying to return from South Africa, but criticism of the wider travel ban continues.
Dr. Zain Chagla, an infectious disease physician for St. Joseph’s Healthcare in Hamilton, Ont., says people planning to travel internationally could be affected by travel restrictions that have been in flux since news of the omicron variant emerged. (Craig Chivers/CBC)
The U.S. government has also announced that Canadians and other foreign visitors must now provide a negative COVID-19 test taken within 24 hours of departure, regardless of vaccination status, to enter the country as of Monday.
Dr. Zain Chagla, an infectious diseases specialist at St. Joseph’s Healthcare in Hamilton, said travel within Canada is reasonable if people take the same precautions they would at home.
He said anyone planning to leave the country should keep in mind that they could be affected by new restrictions.
“Buyer beware: if you are planning on travelling internationally, leave a lot of time at the back end in case you get put in quarantine or have extra testing requirements or acquire COVID-19 while travelling,” Chagla said in an interview on CBC News Network.
“It’s such a dynamic situation that you have to be prepared that your trip may not go as planned both leaving Canada or coming back to it.”
TORONTO – Roots Corp. may have built its brand on all things comfy and cosy, but its CEO says activewear is now “really becoming a core part” of the brand.
The category, which at Roots spans leggings, tracksuits, sports bras and bike shorts, has seen such sustained double-digit growth that Meghan Roach plans to make it a key part of the business’ future.
“It’s an area … you will see us continue to expand upon,” she told analysts on a Friday call.
The Toronto-based retailer’s push into activewear has taken shape over many years and included several turns as the official designer and supplier of Team Canada’s Olympic uniform.
But consumers have had plenty of choice when it comes to workout gear and other apparel suited to their sporting needs. On top of the slew of athletic brands like Nike and Adidas, shoppers have also gravitated toward Lululemon Athletica Inc., Alo and Vuori, ramping up competition in the activewear category.
Roach feels Roots’ toehold in the category stems from the fit, feel and following its merchandise has cultivated.
“Our product really resonates with (shoppers) because you can wear it through multiple different use cases and occasions,” she said.
“We’ve been seeing customers come back again and again for some of these core products in our activewear collection.”
Her remarks came the same day as Roots revealed it lost $5.2 million in its latest quarter compared with a loss of $5.3 million in the same quarter last year.
The company said the second-quarter loss amounted to 13 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Aug. 3, the same as a year earlier.
In presenting the results, Roach reminded analysts that the first half of the year is usually “seasonally small,” representing just 30 per cent of the company’s annual sales.
Sales for the second quarter totalled $47.7 million, down from $49.4 million in the same quarter last year.
The move lower came as direct-to-consumer sales amounted to $36.4 million, down from $37.1 million a year earlier, as comparable sales edged down 0.2 per cent.
The numbers reflect the fact that Roots continued to grapple with inventory challenges in the company’s Cooper fleece line that first cropped up in its previous quarter.
Roots recently began to use artificial intelligence to assist with daily inventory replenishments and said more tools helping with allocation will go live in the next quarter.
Beyond that time period, the company intends to keep exploring AI and renovate more of its stores.
It will also re-evaluate its design ranks.
Roots announced Friday that chief product officer Karuna Scheinfeld has stepped down.
Rather than fill the role, the company plans to hire senior level design talent with international experience in the outdoor and activewear sectors who will take on tasks previously done by the chief product officer.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, are set to resume today as a strike that has stopped most services drags into a second week.
No timeline has been set for the length of the negotiations, but Joe McCann, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they are willing to stay there as long as it takes, even if talks drag on all night.
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people unable to navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last Tuesday, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
Hundreds of drivers rallied outside TransLink’s head office earlier this week, calling for the transportation provider to intervene in the dispute with Transdev, which was contracted to oversee HandyDART service.
Transdev said earlier this week that it will provide a reply to the union’s latest proposal on Thursday.
A statement from the company said it “strongly believes” that their employees deserve fair wages, and that a fair contract “must balance the needs of their employees, clients and taxpayers.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – Travel company Transat AT Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter compared with a profit a year earlier as its revenue edged lower.
The parent company of Air Transat says it lost $39.9 million or $1.03 per diluted share in its quarter ended July 31.
The result compared with a profit of $57.3 million or $1.49 per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue in what was the company’s third quarter totalled $736.2 million, down from $746.3 million in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Transat says it lost $1.10 per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of $1.10 per share a year earlier.
Transat chief executive Annick Guérard says demand for leisure travel remains healthy, as evidenced by higher traffic, but consumers are increasingly price conscious given the current economic uncertainty.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
