Ontario will lower the limits on social gatherings in a bid to stem a recent increase in COVID-19 cases, but isn’t yet saying when the new health guidelines will be available.
The current limit on social gatherings is 50 people indoors and 100 outdoors.
As for the specifics around the measure, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he will be discussing the issue with his cabinet and will be talking with local mayors and medical officers before going ahead with the plan.
“I’ll always follow the guidelines of health and science,” said Ford.
“There’s going to be some severe, severe fines” for those who choose not to follow the guidelines, he said, noting that details could come as soon as Thursday. “They will be the highest in the country.”
Provincial health officials have attributed the spike in cases largely to people not following public health guidelines at social gatherings.
Ford has promised to take action in the regions where most of the cases have emerged — Toronto, Peel, and Ottawa.
He has also not ruled out further lockdowns in those areas if virus case numbers aren’t brought under control.
Ontario reported another 315 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday — more than half of which are in people under 40.
In a series of tweets, Health Minister Christine Elliott said 64 per cent of Wednesday’s cases were in that age bracket.
Of the province’s 34 health units, 25 reported five or fewer cases, and 12 regions saw no new cases at all.
The majority of the cases are now concentrated in five different health units.
Toronto, Ottawa and Peel continue to record the highest number of daily case counts with 77, 61, and 54 cases respectively. York Region also reported 37 cases today, while Durham Region reported 24.
Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health Dr. Eileen De Villa later updated that figure, saying the city saw 86 new cases Wednesday. Due to a lag time in reporting new cases, local health units often have more up-to-date numbers than the province.
All of the figures used in this story are found in the Ministry of Health’s daily update, which includes data from up until 4 p.m. ET the previous day. The number of cases for any particular region on a given day may differ from what is reported by the local public health unit, which often avoid lag times in the provincial system.
At a news conference Wednesday, Ford announced the launch of a new interactive screening tool for students, parents, and staff to help gauge whether to attend school each day.
Ford was also asked Wednesday about a photo making the rounds on social media showing him and other elected officials at MPP Stan Cho’s wedding under a marquee tent, with some of the attendees not wearing masks.
The premier maintained everyone present had their temperature taken and was wearing masks, and that the photo in question was taken when people stood to welcome the bride and groom.
Long lines at testing centres
With the numbers continuing to trend upward, lines outside testing centres have grown longer in recent days.
At St. Joseph’s Health Centre in Toronto, some were waiting nearly three hours to get a test.
WATCH | Man waits 2 hours for COVID-19 test so he can accompany wife on hospital visit:
James Koziak arrived at the St. Joseph’s Health Centre at 6:45 a.m for a test and still had to wait two hours. 0:35
It took James Koziak two hours to be tested, and he was one of the lucky ones.
Koziak’s wife is in a long-term care facility. He’s been tested six times before, but arrived early at 6:45 a.m. to beat the crowd so he could produce a negative test in order to accompany her on an upcoming hospital visit.
“I came here yesterday afternoon, saw the bloody lineup and I knew I had to be here really early.
“I just cannot believe in Canada that someone would have to go through this,” he said, his voice breaking.
At his news conference Thursday, Ford insisted “we weren’t caught off guard” with the recent increase in demand for COVID-19 tests, saying the province is aiming for a new daily testing target of 50,000 per day.
The province is currently processing around 25,000 to 30,000 tests per day, the health minister said.
The premier said the province is “working out a few details with the private sector” to make testing available at various retailers including pharmacies. Ford said there will be “a couple thousand” such sites, specifically to test people without symptoms. Those with symptoms should still go to traditional testing centres.
“It’s going to be very, very soon,” Ford said. “I can’t give you exact date … but we’re ready, they’re ready and we’re just going to ramp up the testing like you’ve never seen before.”
Ontario cases rising since mid-August
Cases have been on an upswing since mid-August, with numbers topping 200 a day since Sept. 12. Wednesday’s update brings the province’s total to 45,383 cases of the virus since the outbreak first began in late January.
Ontario also recorded an additional two deaths, bringing the province’s official toll to 2,822. A more up to date death toll, according to data collected by CBC News from the province’s local health units, stands at 2,862.
Hospitalization numbers remain relatively similar to Tuesday’s with 44 patients currently admitted for the novel coronavirus.
Twenty of those patients are being treated in intensive care and 12 are on a ventilator. In total, the province currently has 2,316 active, confirmed cases of COVID-19.
Almost 29,000 tests for the virus were processed on Tuesday in Ontario’s network of labs.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — The Miami Dolphins will bring in another quarterback while starter Tua Tagovailoa deals with his latest concussion, coach Mike McDaniel said Friday.
For now, Skylar Thompson will be considered the Dolphins’ starter while Tagovailoa is sidelined. Tagovailoa left Thursday night’s 31-10 loss to Buffalo in the third quarter with the third known concussion of his NFL career, all of them coming in the last 24 months.
“The team and the organization are very confident in Skylar,” McDaniel said.
McDaniel said the team has not made any decision about whether to place Tagovailoa on injured reserve. Tagovailoa was expected at the team facility on Friday to start the process of being evaluated in earnest.
“We just have to operate in the unknown and be prepared for every situation,” McDaniel said, noting that the only opinions that will matter to the team will be the ones from Tagovailoa and the medical staff.
McDaniel added that he doesn’t see Tagovailoa playing in Miami’s next game at Seattle on Sept. 22.
“I have no idea and I’m not going to all of a sudden start making decisions that I don’t even see myself involved in the most important parts of,” McDaniel added. “All I’m telling Tua is everyone is counting on you to be a dad and be a dad this weekend. And then we’ll move from there. There won’t be any talk about where we’re going in that regard … none of that will happen without doctors’ expertise and the actual player.”
Tagovailoa was 17 for 25 passing for 145 yards, with one touchdown and three interceptions — one of which was returned for a Buffalo score — when he got hurt. Thompson completed eight of 14 passes for 80 yards.
Thompson said he feels “fully equipped” to run the Dolphins’ offense.
“What’s going to lie ahead, who knows, but man, I’m confident, though,” Thompson said after Thursday’s game. “I feel like I’m ready for whatever’s to come. I’m going to prepare and work hard and do everything I can to lead this team and do my job.”
TORONTO – Unifor says workers at a Walmart warehouse in Mississauga, Ont., have voted to join the union.
The union says it’s Walmart’s first warehouse to unionize in Canada.
Unifor national president Lana Payne says the employees stood up for their rights and the union is excited to get to work on their first collective agreement.
Unifor’s campaign at Walmart’s facility began in December 2023.
The vote was held from Sept. 10 to 12.
Unifor represents 315,000 workers across the country.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 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.
