Health officials in Atlantic Canada say hospitals are nearing or exceeding capacity as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to grow.
Nova Scotia reported 1,145 new lab-confirmed cases on Saturday. The province is issuing abbreviated updates over the weekend that do not include current hospitalization numbers.
Dr. Kirk Magee, who oversees emergency care at Halifax-area hospitals, said although the Omicron variant might not be sending more people to hospital, it has left the health system “stretched to its limits,” largely because of the hundreds of hospital staff who have been reallocated or sidelined due to COVID-19 infection or the need to isolate.
Nova Scotia Public Health says it is now limiting contact tracing to long-term care settings, health-care facilities, correctional facilities, shelters and other group environments.
“Omicron is having a significant impact on our health-care workforce,” Dr. Robert Strang, the province’s chief medical officer of health, told a news conference on Wednesday, referring to the more contagious variant of coronavirus. “Our hospitals are over capacity, and for Nova Scotians that means waiting too long for care or having long-awaited tests or procedures cancelled.
“The reality is there’s very little flex in our health system right now.”
Meanwhile, in New Brunswick, the province updated figures on Saturday to indicate that it had 421 new confirmed cases and one new death.
The number of people in hospital rose from 69 to 80, with 17 of those in intensive care and 11 on ventilators.
WATCH | Homeless shelters feel the strain of COVID-19 amid Omicron outbreaks:
Homeless shelters feel the strain of COVID-19 amid Omicron outbreaks
2 days ago
Duration 2:01
Homeless shelters across Canada are feeling the strain of COVID-19 as outbreaks of the Omicron variant bring to light growing concerns around resident safety. 2:01
Dorothy Shephard, New Brunswick’s health minister, said on Friday that she believes it’s likely the health system will soon be “tested like never before,” as close to 350 health workers in the province are off work due to the virus.
The Vitalité Health Network has stated that half of its hospitals have an occupancy rate of more than 100 per cent. The Miramichi Regional Hospital is also operating at over capacity, with other hospitals in the Horizon Health Network saying their capacity levels ranged from 90 to 97 per cent.
What’s happening across Canada
With lab-based testing capacity deeply strained and increasingly restricted, experts say true case counts are likely far higher than reported. Hospitalization data at the regional level is also evolving, with several provinces saying they will report figures that separate the number of people in hospital because of COVID-19 from those in hospital for another medical issue who also test positive for COVID-19.
For more information on what is happening in your community — including details on outbreaks, testing capacity and local restrictions — click through to the regional coverage below.
The number of people hospitalized as a result of the virus now totals 2,419, down slightly from Saturday’s pandemic high of 2,594. However, that number is potentially lower than reality given that not all provincial hospitals report figures on weekends. The number of people in intensive care units as a result of COVID-19 is now 412, up from 385 on Saturday.
In Quebec,the number ofCOVID-19-related hospitalizations rose by 163 for a total of 2,296 on Saturday. Health officials reported 245 patients in intensive care, an increase of 16 from Friday.
People take part in a demonstration against the Quebec government’s measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 in Montreal on Saturday. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press)
The province also reported 44 more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus on Saturday, the highest daily death toll in nearly a year.
In British Columbia, officials announced children will return to in-class learning on Monday under enhanced safety measures, despite a surge in transmission caused by Omicron.
In the Prairies, the Saskatchewan government is declining to limit gatherings despite a warning from the chief medical health officer; more than 900 health-care workers in Manitoba tested positive over the holidays, according to the provincial health organization; and projections from Alberta Health Services’ early warning system suggest the current wave could, within a couple of weeks, send more people to hospital than at any point in the pandemic.
In the Atlantic provinces, visitor restrictions have been expanded to in-patients and long-term care residents at several hospitals in Nova Scotia‘s northern zone. The new restrictions in the province come as Prince Edward Island announced an outbreak at a care facility in Miscouche that has so far affected three staff and eight residents. Meanwhile, labour groups in Newfoundland and Labrador are demanding 10 days of mandatory paid sick leave for workers as thousands across the province are sick with COVID-19 or self-isolating.
In the North, there’s a mixture of relief, resignation and disappointment from students, parents and teachers as schools across the Northwest Territoriesreturn to online learning this week.
What’s happening around the world
As of Sunday morning, more than 305.3 million cases of COVID-19 had been reported worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University’s coronavirus tracking tool. The reported global death toll stood at more than 5.4 million.
In Asia, the major port of Tianjin may be facing China’s first outbreak of Omicron of any size, less than four weeks before the Winter Olympics open in nearby Beijing.
People line up to get a COVID-19 test in Tianjin, in northern China, on Sunday. (AFP/Getty Images)
The city began mass testing of its 14 million residents on Sunday after a cluster of 20 children and adults tested positive for COVID-19, including at least two with the Omicron variant. Officials said the virus has been circulating, so the number of cases could grow.
China has stepped up its strict zero-tolerance strategy in the run-up to the Olympics, which open Feb. 4. The Chinese capital is 115 kilometres northwest of Tianjin, and many people regularly travel back and forth by car or on a high-speed rail link that takes less than one hour.
In Europe, British Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi on Sunday said that reducing the self-isolation period for people who test positive for COVID-19 from seven days to five would help British workforces that have been hit hard by absences.
As Omicron continues to spread in Britain, many businesses, schools and hospitals are struggling with staff shortages, fuelling calls for the rules on isolation after a positive test to be reduced further.
Italy, meanwhile, will tighten its COVID-19 restrictions for the unvaccinated on Monday. Anyone who wants to eat in a restaurant, take a public bus or go skiing will have to show proof of vaccination or that they’verecently recovered from the illness.
People line up to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in Naples, Italy, on Saturday. (Ciro De Luca/Reuters)
In the Asia-Pacific region, the Australian government claims it had not given tennis star Novak Djokovic an assurance that a medical exemption he said he had to enter Australia without a COVID-19 vaccination would be accepted, government lawyers said in a court filing on Sunday.
The filing ahead of a court hearing on Monday was in defence of the government’s decision to bar entry to the world No. 1 player over his COVID-19 vaccination status.
Djokovic is hoping to win his 21st Grand Slam tournament at the Australian Open, starting in Melbourne on Jan. 17. But instead of training, he has been confined to a hotel used for asylum seekers. He is challenging the decision to cancel his visa after being stopped on arrival at Melbourne Airport early on Thursday.
A vocal opponent of vaccine mandates, Djokovic had declined to reveal his vaccination status or reason for seeking a medical exemption from Australia’s vaccine rules. But his legal team said in a filing to the court on Saturday that the Serbian had been granted an exemption due to contracting and recovering from the virus in December.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A linebacker at Division II West Virginia State was fatally shot during what the university said Thursday is being investigated by police as a home invasion.
The body of Jyilek Zyiare Harrington, 21, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was found inside an apartment Wednesday night in Charleston, police Lt. Tony Hazelett said in a statement.
Hazelett said several gunshots were fired during a disturbance in a hallway and inside the apartment. The statement said Harrington had multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said they had no information on a possible suspect.
West Virginia State said counselors were available to students and faculty on campus.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Jyilek’s family as they mourn the loss of this incredible young man,” West Virginia State President Ericke S. Cage said in a letter to students and faculty.
Harrington, a senior, had eight total tackles, including a sack, in a 27-24 win at Barton College last week.
“Jyilek truly embodied what it means to be a student-athlete and was a leader not only on campus but in the community,” West Virginia State Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Nate Burton said. “Jyilek was a young man that, during Christmas, would create a GoFundMe to help less fortunate families.”
Burton said donations to a fund established by the athletic department in Harrington’s memory will be distributed to an organization in Charlotte to continue his charity work.
West Virginia State’s home opener against Carson-Newman, originally scheduled for Thursday night, has been rescheduled to Friday, and a private vigil involving both teams was set for Thursday night. Harrington previously attended Carson-Newman, where he made seven tackles in six games last season. He began his college career at Division II Erskine College.
“Carson-Newman joins West Virginia State in mourning the untimely passing of former student-athlete Jyilek Harrington,” Carson-Newman Vice President of Athletics Matt Pope said in a statement. “The Harrington family and the Yellow Jackets’ campus community is in our prayers. News like this is sad to hear anytime, but today it feels worse with two teams who knew him coming together to play.”
DETROIT (AP) — Joe Schmidt, the Hall of Fame linebacker who helped the Detroit Lions win NFL championships in 1953 and 1957 and later coached the team, has died. He was 92.
The Lions said family informed the team Schmidt died Wednesday. A cause of death was not provided.
One of pro football’s first great middle linebackers, Schmidt played his entire NFL career with the Lions from 1953-65. An eight-time All-Pro, he was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973 and the college football version in 2000.
“Joe likes to say that at one point in his career, he was 6-3, but he had tackled so many fullbacks that it drove his neck into his shoulders and now he is 6-foot,” said the late Lions owner William Clay Ford, Schmidt’s presenter at his Hall of Fame induction in 1973. “At any rate, he was listed at 6-feet and as I say was marginal for that position. There are, however, qualities that certainly scouts or anybody who is drafting a ballplayer cannot measure.”
Born in Pittsburgh, Schmidt played college football in his hometown at Pitt, beginning his stint there as a fullback and guard before coach Len Casanova switched him to linebacker.
“Pitt provided me with the opportunity to do what I’ve wanted to do, and further myself through my athletic abilities,” Schmidt said. “Everything I have stemmed from that opportunity.”
Schmidt dealt with injuries throughout his college career and was drafted by the Lions in the seventh round in 1953. As defenses evolved in that era, Schmidt’s speed, savvy and tackling ability made him a valuable part of some of the franchise’s greatest teams.
Schmidt was elected to the Pro Bowl 10 straight years from 1955-64, and after his arrival, the Lions won the last two of their three NFL titles in the 1950s.
In a 1957 playoff game at San Francisco, the Lions trailed 27-7 in the third quarter before rallying to win 31-27. That was the NFL’s largest comeback in postseason history until Buffalo rallied from a 32-point deficit to beat Houston in 1993.
“We just decided to go after them, blitz them almost every down,” Schmidt recalled. “We had nothing to lose. When you’re up against it, you let both barrels fly.”
Schmidt became an assistant coach after wrapping up his career as a player. He was Detroit’s head coach from 1967-72, going 43-35-7.
Schmidt was part of the NFL’s All-Time Team revealed in 2019 to celebrate the league’s centennial season. Of course, he’d gone into the Hall of Fame 46 years earlier.
Not bad for an undersized seventh-round draft pick.
“It was a dream of mine to play football,” Schmidt told the Detroit Free Press in 2017. “I had so many people tell me that I was too small. That I couldn’t play. I had so many negative people say negative things about me … that it makes you feel good inside. I said, ‘OK, I’ll prove it to you.’”
VICTORIA – British Columbia’s Environment Assessment Office has fined Coastal GasLink Pipeline Ltd. $590,000 for “deficiencies” in the construction of its pipeline crossing the province.
The office says in a statement that 10 administrative penalties have been levied against the company for non-compliance with requirements of its environmental assessment certificate.
It says the fines come after problems with erosion and sediment control measures were identified by enforcement officers along the pipeline route across northern B.C. in April and May 2023.
The office says that the latest financial penalties reflect its escalation of enforcement due to repeated non-compliance of its requirements.
Four previous penalties have been issued for failing to control erosion and sediment valued at almost $800,000, while a fifth fine of $6,000 was handed out for providing false or misleading information.
The office says it prioritized its inspections along the 670-kilometre route by air and ground as a result of the continued concerns, leading to 59 warnings and 13 stop-work orders along the pipeline that has now been completed.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
