The Ontario government is poised to impose a provincewide lockdown starting Christmas Eve, sources confirm, as the province logs more than 2,000 new cases of COVID-19 for the sixth consecutive day.
A 28-day lockdown for the southern portions of the province, south of Sudbury, Ont., will begin at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday, sources confirm.
Meanwhile, the northern parts of Ontario will be under a 14-day lockdown, sources say.
The restrictions will look similar to the shutdown in March, with only essential businesses remaining open.
On Sunday, the province recorded 2,316 new cases of the virus.
Sources say the government is still “fine-tuning” the list to provide maximum clarity and note that the decisions made were based on modelling data.
Premier Doug Ford is expected to announce more public health rules on Monday, following a weekend of emergency talks.
Lockdown orders in Toronto and Peel Region that were set to expire this week are being extended, Ford said in an announcement on Friday.
GTA Hospitals calling for ‘stronger’ restrictions
Hospitals in the Greater Toronto Area are also calling on the Ontario government for “stronger” lockdown measures amid the surge of COVID-19 cases.
Hospitals across the GTA say they are fearful if restrictions aren’t tightened, a surge in cases will follow.
The joint statement was released on Sunday by hospitals in Toronto and neighbouring regions of Durham, Halton, Peel and York.
The letter, in collaboration with the Ontario Hospital Association, is urging the Ford government to implement tightened restrictions during the holidays, as hospitals deal with growing numbers.
Winter break would be extended for elementary students for a period of one to two weeks, sources tell CBC News.
Under any scenario, Ontario would see 300 people in ICU by the end of the month.
At the current rate of transmission, that would mean upwards of 700 people in the ICU by the end of January, and the number of new cases would grow to 10,000 per day.
‘Level of strain simply not sustainable for much longer’
Staff are grappling with increasing numbers of COVID-19 patients in hospitals while also assisting in other settings such as long-term care homes, the statement says.
“These trends show no sign of slowing — in fact, a surge in cases following the holiday season is expected to make the situation even worse,” it reads.
“We recognize that lockdown measures are challenging for many members of our communities, but we cannot afford to put patients and health-care workers at further risk.”
The statement says hospitals are seeing increasing numbers of staff falling ill and becoming unable to work both with COVID-19 and other illnesses.
“For many months now, these front-line health-care workers have been devoting enormous energy and skill to caring for their patients, at the very epicenter of the pandemic,” it notes. “They are stressed and overstretched. This level of strain is simply not sustainable for much longer.”
An urgent joint statement in support of further <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/COVID19?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#COVID19</a> lockdown measures from hospitals in the City of Toronto and Regions of Durham, Halton, Peel and York, supporting stricter public health measures. <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/onpoli?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#onpoli</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/onhealth?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#onhealth</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/StopTheSpread?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#StopTheSpread</a> <a href=”https://t.co/29r8knRaMm”>https://t.co/29r8knRaMm</a> <a href=”https://t.co/a1WIAvmuEj”>pic.twitter.com/a1WIAvmuEj</a>
Locally, there are 486 new cases in Toronto, 468 in Peel, 326 in York Region, 151 in Windsor-Essex County and 128 in Niagara.
All of those regions are currently under lockdown due to rising case counts, except for Niagara, which is moving to the red alert level of the province’s pandemic plan on Monday.
Elliott said more than 69,400 tests completed over the last 24 hours, a record for the province. The previous record of 68,246 tests were completed on Friday.
There are currently 54,546 tests under investigation in the province.
There were 2,275 new cases on Tuesday, 2,139 on Wednesday, 2,432 on Thursday, 2,290 on Friday, and 2,357 on Saturday.
There are currently 18,567 active cases of COVID-19 in Ontario.
More than 50 new cases of the virus were recorded in the following areas:
Halton Region: 97.
Waterloo Region: 91.
Hamilton: 88.
Durham Region: 82.
Middlesex-London: 80.
Simcoe Muskoka: 62.
There are currently 875 people hospitalized with COVID-19. Of this number, 261 are in intensive care units across the province, and 156 are breathing with the help of a ventilator.
Elliott said the safest way to celebrate this holiday season is at home with the people you live with.
“Connect virtually to keep in touch with extended family and friends,” the health minister said in a tweet.
“If you live alone, consider exclusively celebrating with one additional household.”
This <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/holiday?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#holiday</a> season, the safest way to celebrate is at home with the people you live with. Connect virtually to keep in touch with extended family and friends. If you live alone, consider exclusively celebrating with one additional household. Learn more: <a href=”https://t.co/ZRCURjRGfW”>https://t.co/ZRCURjRGfW</a>. <a href=”https://t.co/QuC8AVyeIF”>pic.twitter.com/QuC8AVyeIF</a>
Twenty-five additional deaths have been linked to the virus, bringing the province’s death toll is now 4,150. Of the deaths confirmed on Sunday, 18 were residents of long-term care homes.
There are 162 active outbreaks at long-term care homes in the province.
Sunday’s case count brings the total number of lab-confirmed cases in Ontario to 155,930, including deaths and recoveries.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is expected to announce more public health rules on Monday. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press)
Hamilton enters grey lockdown phase Monday
Today is the last day before Hamilton enters the grey “lockdown” phase of the province’s pandemic response plan.
Hamilton is joining Toronto, Peel, York and Windsor-Essex in lockdown mode.
The stricter public health protocols — which restrict restaurants to offering takeout and delivery only, and close non-essential stores — kick in at 12:01 a.m. on Monday.
Ontario is providing details on 17 hospitals that will be distributing the COVID-19 vaccine in the coming weeks to health-care workers. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)
Meanwhile, Ontario is providing details on 17 hospitals that will be distributing the COVID-19 vaccine in the coming weeks to health-care workers. The facilities include hospitals from Windsor to Thunder Bay.
The hospitals will join the University Health Network in Toronto and the Ottawa Hospital in giving the vaccine to workers. The province expects to receive an additional 90,000 doses.
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.
