Ontario reported a record high 1,581 COVID-19 cases and 20 new deaths on Saturday.
Health Minister Christine Elliott said 497 of those cases were found in Peel Region, 456 in Toronto, 130 in York Region and 77 in Ottawa. More than 44,800 tests were completed, she said.
Ontario is also reporting 1,003 more cases marked as resolved.
Currently, there are 452 people in hospital, with 106 of those in intensive care units. Of those in intensive care, 67 are on ventilators.
More regions placed in the red zone
On Friday, Ontario placed more regions in the red-control zone, a change that means increased restrictions for those areas.
The move comes as critics say Premier Doug Ford’s colour-coded system is too lenient.
Elliott announced the following cities and regions will move into the red-control zone of the province’s framework on Friday:
Hamilton.
Halton.
Peel.
Toronto.
York.
Elliott said anyone living in a red-control region should only leave their home for essential purposes. The minister also announced the following regions will move to the orange-restrict zone:
Brant.
Durham.
Eastern Ontario.
Niagara.
Ottawa.
Waterloo.
Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph.
The following regions are moving into the yellow-protect zone:
Haldimand-Norfolk.
Huron-Perth.
Middlesex-London.
Sudbury.
Simcoe-Muskoka.
Southwestern.
Windsor-Essex.
The changes come into effect on Monday, Nov. 16, at 12:01 a.m., with the exception of Toronto, which moved to the red zone on Saturday, Nov. 14, at 12:01 a.m.
“I know this will be difficult. You’ve already sacrificed so much,” Ford said on Friday.
“We’re staring down the barrel of another lockdown. And I will not hesitate for a second if we have to go further.”
The province has made the thresholds for restrictions more strict, after they faced criticism that the criteria for more severe health measures was too high.
The red zone, which is the most strict zone before a total lockdown, now includes a positivity rate of 2.5 per cent and a weekly incidence rate of above 40 per 100,000 people.
In the red zone, gatherings are confined to 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors. Religious services, weddings and funerals are confined to 30 per cent capacity indoors and 100 people outdoors.
The maximum number of patrons permitted to be seated at a bar or restaurant indoors is 10. Outdoor dining, take out, drive-thru and delivery are all permitted.
New modelling released Thursday showed the province could face more than 6,000 COVID-19 cases per day by mid-December if it didn’t add more public health restrictions.
Officials issue statements on Diwali, Bandi Chhor Divas celebrations
Ahead of religious celebrations over the weekend, several officials made statements to give best wishes to communities while reminding the public about gathering restrictions.
Toronto Mayor John Tory issued a statement Saturday where he wished the Hindu and Sikh communities in Toronto a happy Diwali and Bandi Chhor Divas.
Tory also released video messages where he urged residents to celebrate the occasions only with members of their own households and to avoid gathering in large groups. He encouraged the public to celebrate virtually instead.
NDP federal leader Jagmeet Singh also issued a video statement on Twitter where he asked those celebrating to stay at home.
As you celebrate Diwali, Deepawali & Bandi Chhor Divas this weekend – I extend my warmest wishes<br><br>I know this year will be tough<br><br>But, I encourage you to respect guidelines, stay home & help overcome this pandemic<br><br>And, I promise we’ll celebrate together in the years to come <a href=”https://t.co/lh3ohkeMs1″>pic.twitter.com/lh3ohkeMs1</a>
“I know you may think it’s just a casual visit to one your friend’s homes, to one of your relatives homes. But that casual visit could mean someone falls sick to COVID-19,” said Singh, stating that hospitalizations are rising and the healthcare system risks being overwhelmed due to the virus spread.
Similarly, Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s top doctor, also said on Twitter that like many other special occasions and celebrations that have been impacted by COVID-19 this year, she asked that Canadians celebrate virtually.
2/2 I recognize the emotional difficulty of keeping physically apart from family and friends, especially during traditional cultural celebratory times likes these, and thank you on behalf of all Canadians, for your diligence.<a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Diwali2020?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Diwali2020</a>
Intensive care units see rising numbers, as long-term care deaths climb
As Saturday’s record-breaking numbers were reported, hospitals and intensive care units (ICUs) are seeing more COVID-19 patients be admitted. The increased numbers may soon prompt hospitals to pause surgeries or other procedures not deemed as urgent.
In Ontario, there are 452 people in hospital, with 106 of those in intensive care units. Of those in intensive care, 67 are on ventilators.
As of Saturday, 79 people this week have died in Ontario’s long-term care homes due to COVID-19.
At a press conference Friday, Elliott said Ontario has “significantly invested” in protecting those in long-term care and is building an “iron ring” around them. Those measures include ensuring there is personal protective equipment for staff there, that residents are protected from transmission and testing staff and residents on a regular basis, she said.
WATCH | How COVID-19 is impacting long-term care homes during the fall surge of infections:
By far most Canadian COVID-19 deaths have been in long-term-care homes, where residents and staff have faced unsafe conditions. New figures show it could be about to happen all over again. 1:59
“We’re also going to move in some of the new rapid tests that we have recently received so that people can receive answers faster, whether it’s family members or staff, to make sure they can go in to see their family members, to make sure that they are safe and don’t have COVID-19,” she said.
Dr. Nathan Stall, a geriatrician who works at Toronto’s Mount Sinai Hospital, said Friday that he and other health professionals are concerned about the elderly in long-term cares during the fall surge of COVID-19 cases. He’s been critical of the province, accusing them of failing older residents in the homes during the first and second waves of the virus.
“There are many people speaking specifically about the state of our health-care system as it pertains to ICU beds and hospital capacity but it’s really, really critical to keep the focus as well on long-term care,” he said at a news conference hosted by the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO).
Major outbreak at long-term care home in east Toronto
A total of 112 residents and 60 staff members are infected with COVID-19 at a Scarborough long-term care home, according to the company that runs the facility.
Sienna Senior Living reported the numbers at Rockcliffe Care Community, 3015 Lawrence Avenue E., on Friday at 9:25 a.m. The company says the current outbreak at the home, which has 204 beds, began on Nov. 2.
“Sienna’s top priority is the health and safety of residents and team members — today more than ever,” the company says in a message on its COVID-19 updates page.
“We are proud of the dedication and extraordinary work going on 24/7 in our residences, and have confidence in our processes and collective expertise to manage through this situation and play our role in helping to flatten the curve.”
TORONTO – By ordering TikTok to shut down its Canadian operations but not banning the app, digital media experts say the federal government is sending mixed messages that make it too hard for the average user to decide whether they should remain on the platform.
Richard Lachman says the government’s messaging around the order was confusing because it conveyed to people that there is some trouble with TikTok, but didn’t give them enough information to know how alarmed they should be about the social media platform.
Without knowing more about what concerned the government, the associate professor at Toronto Metropolitan University’s Radio and Television Arts School of Media says all Canadians can do is make an uninformed decision.
Philip Mai, co-director of Toronto Metropolitan University’s Social Media Lab, agrees. He says without knowing more about what worried the government, Canadians must treat TikTok use as a personal choice.
The federal government said Wednesday that it wants TikTok to close its Canadian operations because of national security risks but has yet to detail its specific concerns with the platform.
Lawmakers and security experts in other countries have feared TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance could be compelled to assist the organization’s home country with intelligence gathering, putting other nations and their citizens at risk.
his report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
FREDERICTON – New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt announced today that medicare will now cover surgical abortions that are administered outside hospitals in the province.
Access to abortions in clinics has been restricted across New Brunswick because the government only covered the cost of the surgical procedures if they were performed in one of three hospitals.
Holt, whose Liberals came to power in an election last month, calls the change an important first step to improve abortion access.
She says New Brunswick will now be aligned with most other provinces by covering the cost of abortions whether they are administered in hospitals or clinics.
Her government’s next step is to work with groups, including the province’s medical society and regional health authorities, to establish how abortions will be provided in communities.
The previous Progressive Conservative government had refused to pay for surgical abortions outside hospitals, saying women across the province had access to medical abortions, which are administered with prescription medication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
OTTAWA – India’s consulate in Toronto is suspending some of its diplomatic visits to process paperwork at places like religious temples after violence between Sikh and Hindu people.
The violence started Sunday outside the Hindu Sabha Mandir in Brampton, Ont., where police allege people in the crowd were carrying weapons and throwing objects.
The next day there were tense protests outside the temple, leading to another police intervention and calls to ban protests at Brampton religious sites.
The clashes have involved Hindu groups clashing with Sikh separatists, who have protested visits by Indian consular officials to process paperwork for matters such as pensions.
The violence has further heightened tensions between Ottawa and New Delhi after Canada expelled six Indian diplomats last month when the RCMP flagged them as persons of interest in alleged crimes against Canadians.
India’s Toronto consulate says it’s suspending some of its announced site visits, but did not specify which ones have been cancelled.
“In view of the security agencies conveying their inability to provide minimum security protection to the community-camp organizers, (the Toronto) consulate has decided to cancel some of the scheduled consular camps,” the consulate said in a post on X.
The consulate’s website lists planned visits in places like Brampton, Mississauga, Halifax, Windsor and London, Ont.
India’s high commission in Canada did not immediately respond when asked if its Ottawa mission or Vancouver consulate had also suspended consular visits. Officials in those missions have announced what they call “consular camps” across the Prairies this weekend, as well as in Montreal and parts of British Columbia later this month.
Sikh separatists, who advocate for an independent country called Khalistan to be carved out of India, have alleged Indian diplomats use their temple visits to recruit informants to target Khalistan supporters.
While the Canadian government has refused to identify the diplomats it expelled, the federal government does maintain a database of diplomats who are accredited to Canada. That database was updated a week after the expulsions were announced on Oct. 14, and six names that were previously on the list had been removed.
That includes High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma and Toronto consul general Siddhartha Nath. The websites of each Indian mission now list interim replacements for both positions.
The database also previously included Bikram Pal Singh Bhatty, a first secretary at the Ottawa high commission, as well as Toronto consular officer Dheeraj Pareek, Vancouver consular officer Rahul Negi and a Vancouver consular employee named Kanwaljit Singh.
Global Affairs Canada would not confirm whether those were the names of the six diplomats who were expelled.
“We are not in a position to provide the names of the six Indian diplomats that are now considered persona non grata. We can confirm that they have left Canada,” wrote spokeswoman Clémence Grevey.
India’s foreign ministry listed the names and ranks of the six Canadian diplomats it also expelled; both countries claimed they had ordered expulsions first.
Yet the spokesman for India’s foreign ministry, Randhir Jaiswal, refused to identify the six diplomats Canada expelled, when asked at an Oct. 17 press conference.
“For various reasons, we don’t want to reveal their names to you,” he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
