“China eats weird animals disease”

Ontario reports 16 net new COVID-19 deaths; ICU occupancy falls to 204

Ontario reported 16 net new deaths due to COVID-19 on Wednesday, as ICU occupancy in Ontario hospitals hit the lowest point since the end of 2021.

The Ministry of Health says that 15 of Wednesday’s deaths occurred in the past 30 days and one other occurred prior to that period.

COVID-19 BA.2 subvariant may soon account for 50 per cent of all infections in Ontario: health minister

Ontario’s health minister believes the COVID-19 subvariant BA.2, which has been described as “stealth Omicron,” may make up at least half of all infections reported in the province in the near future.

“But the evidence suggests that, in Ontario at least, it is a subvariant of the original Omicron variant and it’s not causing many more hospitalizations or more intensive treatments,” Christine Elliott said at a news conference Tuesday.

Ontario confirms 16 more COVID-19 deaths, 220 in ICU

Ontario confirmed 16 more COVID-19 deaths on Tuesday as ICU occupancy continued to decline.

The Ministry of Health says 13 of the deaths occurred in the past month and three happened more than a month ago.

220 people are in ICU with #COVID19. 77% of patients admitted to the ICU were admitted for COVID-19 and 23% were admitted for other reasons but have tested positive for COVID-19.

There are 1,076 new cases of COVID-19.

— Christine Elliott (@celliottability) March 15, 2022

Canadians sharply and evenly divided over Trudeau’s pandemic performance, poll suggests

A new poll says public opinion on the political response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada is deeply divided, with those polled split evenly on the question of how Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has handled the emergency.

The poll, conducted by the Angus Reid Institute in partnership with CBC, found that 48 per cent of Canadians say Trudeau has done a “good” or “very good” job during the pandemic so far.

Another 48 per cent said Trudeau has done a “bad” or “very bad” job.

Ont. reports no new virus-related deaths today as mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policies end in long-term care homes, hospitals

There are 228 people in ICU with COVID-19.

There are 1,116 new cases of COVID-19.

Hospitalization data is currently unavailable.

Today’s numbers will be available at 10:30 a.m. at https://t.co/ypmgZbVRvn.

— Christine Elliott (@celliottability) March 14, 2022

Highlights from Statistics Canada’s two-year update on COVID-19 pandemic’s impact

OTTAWA — The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken up many aspects of Canadian life. As the pandemic’s second anniversary arrives, Statistics Canada reviewed the social and economic impacts of COVID-19 across the country. Here are the highlights…

Mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policies in Ontario hospitals, LTC homes, schools end today

Ont. reports 9 more virus-related deaths; 228 COVID-19 patients now in ICU

Ontario is reporting nine more virus-related deaths as the number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care continues a slow but steady decline.

Provincial health officials did not disclose today how many COVID-19 patients are currently receiving treatment in Ontario hospitals but the province said there are now 228 COVID-19 patients in intensive care in the province, down from 247 seven days ago.

There are 228 people in ICU with COVID-19.

There are 1,631 new cases of COVID-19.

Hospitalization data is currently unavailable.

Today’s numbers will be available at 10:30 a.m. at https://t.co/ypmgZbVRvn.

— Christine Elliott (@celliottability) March 13, 2022

Friction over the return to work is settling on a hated aspect of office life: getting there

When Michele Finney thinks about her life before the pandemic, she doesn’t know how she got everything done. The Oshawa mother has a lot on her plate. In addition to her administrative job at a Big Five bank, she has a three-year old son and two dogs that keep her busy.

For the past two years, juggling everything has been a little easier because she’s been working from home. She can use her lunch break to pick up groceries or put a load of laundry in the machine. Getting dinner ready on time isn’t a problem, and she has time after work to be with her son. “The quality of life is so much better,” she said.

That’s about to change.

HMA

Ontario reports 20 more COVID-19 deaths, 722 people in hospital

Ontario reported 20 net new COVID-19 deaths on Saturday along with 722 people hospitalized with the virus.

The Ministry of Health says 16 of the deaths reported today occurred in the last month and four deaths occurred more than one month ago.

On Friday, the ministry began a new method of reporting COVID-19 deaths by providing the “fatality type” including whether COVID was the underlying cause of death, contributed to the death, or if the cause of death is unknown or missing from provincial data.

232 people are in ICU with #COVID19. 77% of patients admitted to the ICU were admitted for COVID-19 and 23% were admitted for other reasons but have tested positive for COVID-19.

There are 2,015 new cases of COVID-19.

— Christine Elliott (@celliottability) March 12, 2022

‘They aren’t medical experts:’ Premier Ford warns boards not to maintain mask mandate in schools

Premier Doug Ford is discouraging school boards from seeking extensions to the lifting of the mask mandate later this month, telling reporters that trustees “aren’t medical experts” and should simply follow the advice of Ontario’s top health official.

Trustees with both the Toronto District School Board and the Toronto Catholic District School Board have formally asked that the scheduled lifting of the mandate in schools on March 21 be put on hold for an indeterminate period of time amid concerns about the potential spread of COVID-19 as students return from March Break.