The Simcoe Muskoka region could find itself under added restrictions under the direction of the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit as reported cases of COVID-19 continue to remain high.
The Health Unit reported a total of 16,350 cases as of December 15 – that was up 639 over the previous week.
This included 282 people who have died from the virus including two over the past week. T
here are currently 28 residents hospitalized with COVID-19 with five in intensive care.
Dr. Charles Gardner, Medical Offi cer of Health, said during a December 15, news conference, “I have very serious concerns about what will come in the days that follow,” adding “this is the eighth week in a row we’ve had above the provincial rate.”
There are currently 37 outbreaks recorded in the region including 13 new outbreaks over the past week.
The region is approaching the 1 million mark of vaccinations given to residents. Cases of the Omicron variant are doubling every three days in the province and provincial officials are warning it could become the dominant strain of the virus within a few weeks.
The speed at which it is progressing has many hospitals concerned.
“In reaching out to the CEOs of our hospital corporations throughout Simcoe Muskoka, I have been informed that they are very concerned about their capacity at this time,” Dr. Gardner said. “Although the number of cases admitted to hospital are about half of what they were at the height of the second and third wave, their capacity is not what it used to be with the loss of some human health resources.”
The Omicon variant, Dr. Gardner said, “heightens the need for us to reduce our level of social contact substantially at this time.”
With Omicron variant, he said, you cannot rely on two doses of the vaccine to be effective. As result, Dr. Gardner penned a letter to the minister of health calling on the province to put restrictions on the capacity of businesses and public spaces to 50 per cent to all for more physical spacing between people and reduce the number of people in social settings.
“As the medical officer of health for Simcoe Muskoka I am prepared to issue a letter of instruction requiring a reduction in capacity limits to 50 per cent in business settings and other gatherings and facilities in our communities and a reduction down to no more than ten socially gathering together in order to safeguard our communities,” adding, “Most notably, the potential for a very large wave coming in short order because of the Omicron variant, I am prepared to proceed with this type of order, in fact I am prepared to do so within this week unless the province so proceeds instead.”
That decision came down Wednesday afternoon from the Province, taking effect on Sunday.
The 50 per cent capacity limit impacts many indoor public settings. These include restaurants, bars, and other food or drink establishments and strip clubs; personal care services; personal physical fi tness trainers; retailers (including grocery stores and pharmacies); shopping malls; non-spectator areas of facilities used for sports and recreational fi tness activities, such as gyms; indoor recreational amenities; indoor clubhouses at outdoor recreational amenities; tour and guide services; photography studios and services; and marinas and boating clubs. These limits do not apply to any portion of a business or place that is being used for a wedding, a funeral or a religious service, rite or ceremony, the Government noted.
In another bid to help reduce the spread, the Government will limit the number of patrons sitting at a table to 10 people, with patrons required to remain seated in restaurants, bars and other similar settings.
Bars and restaurants will be required to close by 11 p.m., with longer hours for take out and delivery.
Dancing will not be allowed except for workers or performers.
Food and drink services will be prohibited at sporting events, concert venues, theatres and cinemas, casinos, bingo halls and other gaming establishments; elsewhere, the sale of alcohol will be restricted after 10 p.m. and the consumption of alcohol in businesses or settings after 11 p.m.
Additionally, for informal social gatherings, just in time for the holiday season, there will be limits on social gatherings to 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors.
“This was not an easy decision to make before the holidays, but the evidence is clear that further public health measures are required to slow the spread of Omicron and prevent our hospitals from being overwhelmed,” said Health Minister and Deputy Premier Christine Elliot
VANCOUVER – Mayors and other leaders from several British Columbia communities say the provincial and federal governments need to take “immediate action” to tackle mental health and public safety issues that have reached crisis levels.
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim says it’s become “abundantly clear” that mental health and addiction issues and public safety have caused crises that are “gripping” Vancouver, and he and other politicians, First Nations leaders and law enforcement officials are pleading for federal and provincial help.
In a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier David Eby, mayors say there are “three critical fronts” that require action including “mandatory care” for people with severe mental health and addiction issues.
The letter says senior governments also need to bring in “meaningful bail reform” for repeat offenders, and the federal government must improve policing at Metro Vancouver ports to stop illicit drugs from coming in and stolen vehicles from being exported.
Sim says the “current system” has failed British Columbians, and the number of people dealing with severe mental health and addiction issues due to lack of proper care has “reached a critical point.”
Vancouver Police Chief Adam Palmer says repeat violent offenders are too often released on bail due to a “revolving door of justice,” and a new approach is needed to deal with mentally ill people who “pose a serious and immediate danger to themselves and others.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024
The Canadian government says it will donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to fight the mpox outbreak in Congo and other African countries.
It says the donated doses of Imvamune will come from Canada’s existing supply and will not affect the country’s preparedness for mpox cases in this country.
Minister of Health Mark Holland says the donation “will help to protect those in the most affected regions of Africa and will help prevent further spread of the virus.”
Dr. Madhukar Pai, Canada research chair in epidemiology and global health, says although the donation is welcome, it is a very small portion of the estimated 10 million vaccine doses needed to control the outbreak.
Vaccine donations from wealthier countries have only recently started arriving in Africa, almost a month after the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
A few days after the declaration in August, Global Affairs Canada announced a contribution of $1 million for mpox surveillance, diagnostic tools, research and community awareness in Africa.
On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said mpox is still on the rise and that testing rates are “insufficient” across the continent.
Jason Kindrachuk, Canada research chair in emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba, said donating vaccines, in addition to supporting surveillance and diagnostic tests, is “massively important.”
But Kindrachuk, who has worked on the ground in Congo during the epidemic, also said that the international response to the mpox outbreak is “better late than never (but) better never late.”
“It would have been fantastic for us globally to not be in this position by having provided doses a much, much longer time prior than when we are,” he said, noting that the outbreak of clade I mpox in Congo started in early 2023.
Clade II mpox, endemic in regions of West Africa, came to the world’s attention even earlier — in 2022 — as that strain of virus spread to other countries, including Canada.
Two doses are recommended for mpox vaccination, so the donation may only benefit 100,000 people, Pai said.
Pai questioned whether Canada is contributing enough, as the federal government hasn’t said what percentage of its mpox vaccine stockpile it is donating.
“Small donations are simply not going to help end this crisis. We need to show greater solidarity and support,” he said in an email.
“That is the biggest lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic — our collective safety is tied with that of other nations.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.
The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.
Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.
“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”
The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.
A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.
Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.
“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.
Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.
The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.
“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
