Ontario is dropping the mandatory five-day isolation period for those who test positive for COVID-19, the province’s top doctor announced Wednesday.
The move is part of the province’s broader plan to prepare for the fall respiratory illness season, and comes just as Ontario wastewater data is showing a slight uptick in the amount of COVID-19 in the province.
Dr. Kieran Moore said the COVID-19 pandemic has moved out of a “crisis phase” and become something that will require long-term management. The seventh wave has crested, he said, but the virus “remains in the community” and Public Health Ontario expects to see an increase in transmission as more people gather inside during the cooler fall months.
However, Moore said the province is moving away from COVID-19-specific guidance in favour of an “all-virus approach,” meaning the new isolation guidelines will apply to other illnesses such as the flu as well.
Here are the guidelines Moore outlined for the general public:
If you have symptoms of any respiratory illness, stay home until symptoms have improved for at least 24 hours.
If you have a fever, stay home until it’s completely gone.
If you have gastrointestinal symptoms, stay home until symptoms have improved for at least 48 hours.
After isolating at home, wear a mask in public for 10 days since the onset of symptoms.
If sick, avoid non-essential visits to vulnerable or older people for a full 10 days starting the day after symptoms appear — including visits to high-risk settings such as long-term care homes and hospitals.
If you’re in the same household as someone who is sick or tested positive for COVID-19, mask in public spaces, even if you feel better, and avoid vulnerable individuals and settings for 10 days after exposure. Isolate immediately if you develop symptoms.
“We’re trying to be practical and pragmatic in our approach and these recommendations may change if we see more impact of respiratory viruses on the health of Ontarians and our communities,” Moore said.
“This approach should decrease the risk of all respiratory viruses in our communities,” said Moore, noting other provinces have already taken this step.
Opposition wary of move
Ontario Liberal health critic Dr. Adil Shamji said he is “deeply concerned” about the move as some Ontario hospitals have experienced shut-downs throughout the summer as a result of health-care staff shortages,.
“This press conference started out by saying we’re trying to move out of crisis mode,” said Shamji, who’s also the MPP for Don Valley East
“We’ve got ERs closing, ICUs closing, nearly 1,400 people admitted in hospital with COVID-19, and we’re not even in respiratory [illness] season yet.”
Data published by the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table shows wastewater signals, an early trend indicator, have ticked up since mid-August after declining for three weeks.
Last week, the group said that it will be dissolved early next month after more than two years of helping inform Ontario’s response to the pandemic.
Data from the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table shows a slight rise in the presence of the virus in wastewater samples in recent weeks. (Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table)
Province expands booster eligibility to kids 5 to 11
The announcement also comes as students are set to return to schools for the first time without COVID-19 restrictions.
Moore said improvements such as better ventilation and environmental cleaning in schools, combined with the level of immunization across Ontario, mean “we now can have a more permissive approach to return.”
Children aged 5 to 11 who’ve waited six months following their most recent dose of COVID-19 vaccine will be able to book their first booster as of Thursday, Moore said. The boosters have been available to children 12 and up and adults in the province for several months.
Ontario has announced children between 5 years and older will be eligible for a COVID-19 booster as of Thursday. (Steve Russell/The Canadian Press)
The province states appointments will be available through its vaccine portal starting at 8 a.m. ET, and parents can also book through their local public health units, participating pharmacies or health-care providers.
Health Canada approved COVID-19 booster doses for children aged 5 to 11 on Aug. 19. While Saskatchewan and Alberta had since expanded eligibility to include the age group, Ontario has not until now, just days before children are set to return to school.
“I know it wasn’t quick enough for some individuals, but I appreciate people’s patience,” says Moore.
Moore outlines 3 steps to stay healthy this fall
As colder weather approaches, Moore is asking Ontarians to do three things: continue wearing a mask when “it’s right for you,” be up to date with all vaccinations, and stay home if sick.
“I’d like to remind Ontarians that wearing a good fitting mask does not only prevent the spread of COVID-19, but other respiratory illnesses as well, including the flu,” said Moore.
Moore says he’s concerned that people are behind on routine immunizations such as hepatitis B, meningitis and HPV vaccinations — particularly students who normally receive these vaccines at school.
“We have plans to deal with it this fall, and to get back into all schools and work with schools boards, public health agencies, as well as primary care.”
Moore says the province, like in previous years, will be prioritizing seniors and those in long-term care homes for the flu shot, but will be available to everyone to six months of age and older.
OTTAWA – Canada abstained today from a high-profile United Nations vote demanding that Israel end its “unlawful presence” in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank within a year.
Canada’s ambassador to the United Nations, Bob Rae, told the assembly the motion was too one-sided to support, though he said Ottawa agrees that Israel is illegally occupying Palestinian territories.
This morning’s non-binding vote passed 124-14, and Canada was among 43 abstentions.
The State of Palestine brought the motion to the UN General Assembly, and Israel says the vote amounts to “diplomatic terrorism.”
The resolution is based on a July ruling by the International Court of Justice, which condemned Israel’s rule over lands it captured in 1967 by force, saying this violates international laws.
Last December, Canada stopped its decade-long policy of backing Israel in almost any United Nations vote over concerns about the lack of progress toward a humanitarian ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
VANCOUVER – The Pivot Legal Society and the BC Civil Liberties Association say they’ve launched three complaints against the Vancouver Police Department alleging illegal surveillance and police brutality against pro-Palestine protesters.
The association and the society say the complaints stem from the “violent dispersal” of protesters who demonstrated at a Vancouver rail crossing in May.
In a statement, the groups say the two “service and policy” complaints to the Vancouver Police Board involve police actions against “pro-Palestine demonstrators,” where they were allegedly met with “extensive forms of policing violence” and unlawful surveillance tactics through the use of police drones and officer smartphones.
They say another complaint to the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner involves VPD Const. Dimitri Sheinerman, who is facing a Police Act investigation after he was photographed with an Israeli flag patch on his uniform with a “punisher” skull.
The groups say the police force has “allowed anti-Palestinian racism to persist within its ranks,” and actions against demonstrators have violated their Charter rights to freedom of expression.
Meghan McDermott, BC Civil Liberties Association policy director, says there have been “systemic rights violations” against people demonstrating for Palestinian human rights due to police bias and “undemocratic practices.”
The Vancouver Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the complaints.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
OTTAWA – A Conservative MP who was targeted by Beijing told a federal inquiry today that Canada has become “a playground” for foreign interference.
Michael Chong, the Tory foreign affairs critic, said the federal government should shed its culture of secrecy and release more information about threats to better inform the public.
Chong said while the vast majority of intelligence must remain secret, keeping too much information under wraps results in leaks that undermine institutions.
In May 2023, the federal government confirmed a media report that Canada’s spy service had information in 2021 that the Chinese government was looking at ways to intimidate Chong and his relatives in Hong Kong.
Global Affairs Canada said in August 2023 it believed that Chong had been the victim of a foreign smear campaign, which the department suspected was conducted by Beijing.
The department said a co-ordinated network of news accounts on the social-media app WeChat posted a large volume of false or misleading narratives about Chong from May 4 to 13 of that year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
