The COVID-19 pandemic continues to take a toll on Canada’s health-care workers, with nearly 95,000 cases and 43 deaths reported since the start of the pandemic.
The latest figures, as of June 15, 2021, were released by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) on Thursday.
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Data collected by CIHI showed a 43 per cent jump in cases among health-care staff across the country since January. But the share of cases out of Canada’s total tally among the general population has continued to decline — reaching roughly seven per cent — amid greater vaccination coverage, CIHI reported.
“It’s been a significant impact on health-care workers who provide care to Canadians and we’re seeing that in a number of aspects, including the total COVID-19 cases and deaths that have been experienced,” said Lynn McNeely, manager of health workforce information at CIHI.
Beside the physical impact, McNeely said the pandemic has also presented mental health challenges for health-care workers grappling with long hours and COVID-19 fatigue.
“There’s no doubt health-care workers have been working tirelessly for the past year and a half under some really challenging conditions,” she told Global News.
Personal support workers (PSWs) were at the greatest risk of contracting the disease compared with physicians and nurses, data from Ontario, Manitoba and British Columbia showed.
Because PSWs tend to work on a part-time basis at multiple facilities, that puts them at an increased risk of exposure, McNeely said.
Of all the provinces, Quebec was the hardest hit, reporting 45,320 cases and 13 deaths among the health-care workers. Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, came in second place with 23,557 infections and 17 deaths.
With the country in the midst of a fourth wave of COVID-19 fuelled by the highly transmissible Delta variant, there is a greater push to make vaccinations mandatory for health-care workers.
In Quebec, health-care workers will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Oct. 1, Premier Francois Legault said Tuesday.
The Ontario government will also be requiring hospitals and home and community care service providers in the province to enact COVID-19 vaccine policies by Sept. 7. Individuals will need to provide proof of full COVID-19 vaccination, a medical reason for not having COVID-19 vaccines, or they will need to complete a COVID-19 vaccine educational session, the province said in a statement.
Meanwhile, on Aug. 12, British Columbia became the first province to order people working in long-term care and assisted living to get fully vaccinated as a condition of employment.
While the COVID-19 pandemic saw an increase in the overall supply of selected health-care professionals last year, staffing shortages remain a major concern for provinces — prompting hospitals to postpone surgeries, close emergency beds and offer incentives.
Nurse practitioners made the biggest gains with a roughly eight per cent increase followed by physiotherapists and licensed practical nurses, the CIHI report showed.
Nearly 6,000 nurses, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and pharmacists re-entered the workforce to provide COVID-19 support across the country.
“Canada’s supply of health-care workers increased as a result of workers who returned to help respond to the pandemic, as well as new entrants to the professions,” CIHI said in its report.
“Despite the increase in supply and the ability to call on those not working in profession-specific roles, health-care worker infections and exposure to the virus contributed to shortages.”
With increasing pressure on the country’s health-care system and backlog created by the pandemic, McNeely stressed the need to provide mental health support to the staff.
According to a Statistics Canada survey released in February 2021, 77 per cent of health-care workers who worked in direct contact with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 reported worsening mental health compared with before the pandemic.
It’s an area that will need attention in the months and years ahead, said McNeely.
“We’re going to have to continue to monitor and closely watch that burnout, as well as staff shortages among those who have been dealing with — not only through work, but through their own personal lives — the impact of the pandemic.”
© 2021 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
PORT ALBERNI, B.C. – RCMP say the body of a second person has been found inside their vehicle after a road washed away amid pouring rain on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
Police say two vehicles went into the Sarita River when Bamfield Road washed out on Saturday as an atmospheric river hammered southern B.C.
The body of the other driver was found Sunday.
More coming.
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The B.C. Greens say Sonia Furstenau will be staying on as party leader, despite losing her seat in the legislature in Saturday’s provincial election.
The party says in a statement that its two newly elected MLAs, Jeremy Valeriote and Rob Botterell, support Furstenau’s leadership as they “navigate the prospect of having the balance of power in the legislature.”
Neither the NDP led by Premier David Eby nor the B.C. Conservatives led by John Rustad secured a majority in the election, with two recounts set to take place from Oct. 26 to 28.
Eby says in a news conference that while the election outcome is uncertain, it’s “very likely” that the NDP would need the support of others to pass legislation.
He says he reached out to Furstenau on election night to congratulate her on the Greens’ showing.
But he says the Green party has told the NDP they are “not ready yet” for a conversation about a minority government deal.
The Conservatives went from taking less than two per cent of the vote in 2020 to being elected or leading in 45 ridings, two short of a majority and only one behind the NDP.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Toronto FC captain Jonathan Osorio is making a difference, 4,175 kilometres away from home.
The 32-year-old Canadian international midfielder, whose parents hail from Colombia, has been working with the Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization, a charity whose goal is to help disadvantaged youth in the South American country.
Osorio has worked behind the scenes, with no fanfare.
Until now, with his benevolence resulting in becoming Toronto FC’s nominee for the Audi Goals Drive Progress Impact Award, which honours an MLS player “who showed outstanding dedication to charitable efforts and serving the community” during the 2024 season.”
Other nominees include Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Sebastian Berhalter and CF Montreal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois.
The winner will be announced in late November.
The Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization (CCCO) is run entirely by volunteers like Monica Figueredo and Claudia Soler. Founded in 1991, it received charitable status in 2005.
The charity currently has four projects on the go: two in Medellin and one each in Armenia and Barranquilla.
They include a school, a home for young girls whose parents are addicted to drugs, after-school and weekend programs for children in a disadvantaged neighbourhood, and nutrition and education help for underprivileged youth.
The organization heard about Osorio and was put in contact with him via an intermediary, which led to a lunch meeting. Osorio did his due diligence and soon got back to the charity with his decision.
“It was something that I wanted to be a part of right away,” said Osorio, whose lone regret is that he didn’t get involved sooner.
“I’m fortunate now that to help more now that I could have back then,” he added. “The timing actually worked out for everybody. For the last three years I have donated to their cause and we’ve built a couple of (football) fields in different cities over there in the schools.”
His father visited one of the sites in Armenia close to his hometown.
“He said it was amazing, the kids, how grateful they are to be able to play on any pitch, really,” said Osorio. “But to be playing on a new pitch, they’re just so grateful and so humble.
“It really makes it worth it being part of this organization.”
The collaboration has also made Osorio take stock.
“We’re very fortunate here in Canada, I think, for the most part. Kids get to go to school and have a roof over their head and things like that. In Colombia, it’s not really the same case. My father and his family grew up in tough conditions, so giving back is like giving back to my father.”
Osorio’s help has been a godsend to the charity.
“We were so surprised with how willing he was,” said Soler.
The TFC skipper has helped pay for a football field in Armenia as well as an ambitious sports complex under construction in Barranquilla.
“It’s been great for them,” Figueredo said of the pitch in Armenia. “Because when they go to school, now they have a proper place to train.”
Osorio has also sent videos encouraging the kids to stay active — as well as shipping soccer balls and signed jerseys their way.
“They know more about Jonathan than the other players in Colombia,” Figueredo said. “That’s the funny part. Even though he’s far away, they’ve connected with him.”
“They feel that they have a future, that they can do more,” she added. “Seeing that was really, really great.”
The kids also followed Osorio through the 2022 World Cup and this summer’s Copa America.
Back home, Osorio has also attended the charity’s annual golf tournament, helping raise funds.
A Toronto native, he has long donated four tickets for every TFC home game to the Hospital for Sick Children.
Vancouver’s Berhalter was nominated for his involvement in the Whitecaps’ partnership with B.C. Children’s Hospital while Montreal’s Sirois was chosen for his work with the Montreal Impact Foundation.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
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