Renaldo Agostino has gotten used to the roller coaster ride that is the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Windsor entrepreneur, owner of Turbo Espresso Bar and events company Element Entertainment, is familiar with the negative impacts lockdowns have on his businesses, and the benefits loosened restrictions bring.
But with the Omicron variant spreading in Canada, and with some jurisdictions moving to impose restrictions to limit its impact, Agostino is readying to ride another wave.
“When the highs are high, we’re going to be out there having fun, making money. When the lows are low, we’re going to watch our spending (and) shut everything down. … It’s been so long now that it’s no longer a question of, ‘What if?’” he told Global News.
“I already know what’s going to happen. … It’s not like I’m inexperienced in shutting down. … It’s so ingrained in how we do business these days, it’s almost the new normal.”
Omicron restrictions
Cases of Omicron in Canada are rising, which has public health officials questioning whether to impose restrictions to limit community spread.
In Windsor, where Agostino’s businesses are, the public health unit re-introduced gathering restrictions last week and has ordered restaurants and bars to bring indoor capacity limits down again to 50 per cent.
2:02 Trudeau says feds ‘very concerned’ over Omicron COVID-19 outlook
Trudeau says feds ‘very concerned’ over Omicron COVID-19 outlook
Back in Ontario, Kingston officials have introduced a number of measures intended to last until Dec. 20. They include personal gathering limits of up to five people indoors and outdoors, and restaurants not being able to offer indoor dining between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. Take-out is still permitted.
Chad Comfort, co-owner of Mermaid Avenue Sandwich Factory in Kingston, told Global News it has already seen dine-in business drop since Omicron’s arrival.
The business will be mostly relying on takeout now, he said, acknowledging the experience of going in and out of restrictions has prepared the shop for moments like these.
“We used to buy quite a bit of stock and supplies and always had a healthy amount on hand, (but now) we’re buying more often and a lot less because we don’t want anything to go bad on us in case there is a lockdown,” Comfort said.
“We want to keep everything going on a small scale.”
Are new restrictions coming to Canada?
On Monday, Canada’s chief public health officer warned that community spread of Omicron could ramp up in the coming days, potentially outpacing the Delta variant for the dominant strain of the virus in the country.
With those numbers in play, Dr. Isaac Bogoch feels more jurisdictions will impose restrictions.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if across the country you start to see more and more of that as we see greater community transmission and case numbers rise,” the infectious disease specialist at Toronto General Hospital told Global News.
“I think the writing’s on the wall that the public health teams are thinking about that.”
However, with 76 per cent of the population fully vaccinated, Canadian regions might not see full-scale lockdowns unless hospital systems overflow with patients, said Matthew Miller, associate professor of biochemistry and biomedical sciences at McMaster University.
While lockdowns are effective at reducing community transmission, governments should focus on getting booster shots into high-risk populations quickly, such as the immunocompromised and seniors, he said.
“We’re in a very different place now than we were a year ago in the sense that last year at this point, almost no one had been vaccinated,” Miller said.
“The question will really be: How do we protect our hospital capacity? Certainly, third doses in the highest-risk populations are going to be very helpful for that. We really need to make sure we’re ramping up and getting those doses into everyone 50-plus as quickly as possible.”
In addition to booster shots, governments should be making COVID-19 rapid testing more available to the public, said Nitin Mohan, assistant professor in the global health systems program at Western University.
“Rapid testing needs to be affordable, and in some cases just made free because I think our main focus should be protecting our health systems and communities right now,” he said.
1:40 Rapid COVID-19 testing in Manitoba sees increased demand
Rapid COVID-19 testing in Manitoba sees increased demand
Bogoch agrees, adding rapid testing can be used for indoor functions as an extra layer of protection in addition to vaccination and improved ventilation, for example.
“‘If everyone tests negative before they come, that will add an additional level of safety,” he said. “They’re not perfect, but they’re really good.”
Only time will tell what will happen over the holidays, but protecting hospitals must be a priority, Mohan said.
“Our hospital systems have been stretched beyond their capacities for over a year and a half now,” he said.
“Asking them to prepare for another wave would have negative impacts on our society as a whole.”
‘We have to learn how to pivot’
Back in Windsor and Kingston, both Agostino and Comfort are adjusting to business under restrictions once again.
“We have to learn how to pivot,” Agostino said.
“I’m a career nightclub owner who shifted into the coffee business because of COVID. It’s either you shift or you find something else to do with your life.”
1:41 Money experts offer their tips to combat inflation
Money experts offer their tips to combat inflation
As for Comfort, he worries about how the rising cost of food will impact his sandwich shop this time around.
“We’ve been through this before, but it’s the inflation that’s really scaring me because the price jump … it’s really cutting into your bottom dollar,” Comfort said.
“Inflation is sending some of these prices sky-high, (and) you’re not going to maybe be offering a full menu as you were before because you’re not going to be buying roast beef if it’s costing an arm and a leg.”
EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.
The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.
Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.
TAKEAWAYS
Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.
Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.
KEY MOMENT
New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.
KEY RETURN?
Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.
OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN
The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.
The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.
UP NEXT
Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.
Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.
Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.
Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.
It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.
Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.
Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.
The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”
Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.
The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.
Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.
UP NEXT
Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Darcy Kuemper made 16 saves for his first shutout of the season and 32nd overall, helping the Los Angeles Kings beat the Nashville Predators 3-0 on Monday night.
Adrian Kempe had a goal and an assist and Anze Kopitar and Kevin Fiala also scored. The Kings have won two of their last three.
Juuse Saros made 24 saves for the Predators. They are 1-2-1 in their last four.
Kopitar opened the scoring with 6:36 remaining in the opening period. Saros denied the Kings captain’s first shot, but Kopitar collected the rebound below the goal line and banked it off the netminder’s skate.
Fiala, a former Predator, made it 2-0 35 seconds into the third.
The Kings held Nashville to just three third-period shots on goal, the first coming with 3:55 remaining and Saros pulled for an extra attacker.
Elsewhere in the NHL on Monday:
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DEVILS 3 OILERS 0
EDMONTON, Alta. (AP) — Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his NHL career, helping the New Jersey Devils close their western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored. The Devils improved to 8-5-2. They have won three of their last four after a four-game skid.
Calvin Pickard made 13 saves for Edmonton. The Oilers had won two straight.
