New cases in Ontario ranged from a low of 745 on Tuesday (when 142 previously reported cases were removed and 1,029 were added, resulting in a net increase of 745 cases) and a high of 2,063 reported on Saturday.
Despite daily cases trending downward in Canada, Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam is urging the provinces to keep restrictions in place. On Monday, she said it is still too soon to lift lockdowns and ease other protective measures if the country hopes to bring the pandemic under control.
In Ontario, the province's Solicitor General has said no decisions have been made as of yet on whether or not to end or extend emergency orders. Monte McNaughton, Ontario's labour minister, said today that Premier Doug Ford will announce details on reopening the economy next week.
The province's education minister Stephen Lecce said on Thursday that Ontario is considering cancelling March break in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19. Lecce says he hopes to have a decision by next week.
Algoma Public Health reports ten new cases this week
Algoma Public Health has reported a total of ten new cases this week.
The health unit reported two new cases on Monday night, one from Elliot Lake and one from the central and east Algoma area. On Tuesday, two more cases were confirmed, both from the central and east Algoma area. At this time, APH also notified the public of potential exposure at the Tim Hortons in Blind River.
The Algoma District School Board sent out an advisory to parents of a potential COVID-19 exposure in the Blind River Public School community. This exposure prompted the closure of the school on Thursday.
Another six COVID case were reported on Wednesday night, with four from the Sault area, one from the central and east Algoma area, and one from the Elliot Lake area.
The health unit also issued a notice confirming a COVID-19 outbreak at the F.J. Davey Home on Friday, after six staff members tested positive. This is the only active outbreak in the Algoma district.
With cases spiking in the central and east Algoma area, the North Shore Health Network has temporarily suspended visitors at all healthcare sites until further notice.
Here are the latest COVID-19 numbers from APH, updated today at 1:50 p.m.:
- 87.789 tested
- 175 confirmed
- 19 active case
- 2 currently hospitalized
- 156 resolved
- 2 deceased
There are currently no active cases in non-Algoma residents temporarily in the region.
According to data on howsmyflattening.ca, a University of Toronto-led website which collects and analyzes data from Ontario's COVID-19 cases, 69 per cent of ICU beds in APH's jurisdiction are currently occupied. There are currently no COVID-19 ICU patients in the Algoma region. The site has also deemed the Algoma area's community risk level as low.
Total confirmed cases by area of residence:
- 141 in Sault Ste. Marie and area, with evidence of community spread
- 29 in central and east Algoma
- 5 in Elliot Lake and area
- 0 in north Algoma
Comparatively, in Chippewa County, which covers Sault Ste. Marie Mi. and surrounding area, the COVID-19 data as of today states:
- 1,710 cumulative positives
- 1,500 cumulative recovered
- 23 cumulative deaths
- 3 cases currently hospitalized
Province confirms first case of South African COVID-19 variant
On Monday, the province's chief medical officer Dr. David Williams confirmed that the first case of a new COVID-19 variant that emerged in South Africa last year was found in Peel Region.
Williams says the person does not have a known history of travel or any known contact with someone who has travelled.
Closer to home, both North Bay and Sudbury health units have confirmed UK variant cases within their jurisdictions. These are the first variants to appear in Northern Ontario.
All the lab-confirmed positive COVID-19 tests in Ontario are now being screened for known variants, as implemented in the province's six-point plan aimed at containing the more transmissible known variants of the coronavirus.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed that tough rules around travel must be implemented in the next few weeks in response to new variants confirmed in the country in individuals with no known link to international travel, raising fears of community spread.
Vaccine not mandatory for long-term care home visitors, health unit says
Dr. Celeste Loewe of APH told SooToday that the province currently does not have plans to make the COVID-19 vaccine mandatory in Ontario. However, Loewe did say that the health unit is strongly encouraging anyone who is eligible to get the vaccine to do so.
Ontario's top docs weigh in on call for Northern Ontario bubble
With Sudbury's mayor renewing a call for a Northern Ontario bubble, Ontario's top doctors addressed the topic on Monday.
Ontario's chief medical officer of health Dr. David Williams and associate medical officer of health Dr. Barbara Yaffe said they had not seen the request for a Northern Ontario bubble, noting that doesn't mean one hasn't been made.
Ontario government ministers to appear before long-term care commission in the coming weeks
Ontario's top doctor and ministers of health and long-term care will appear before a commission examining how COVID-19 spread in the province’s long-term care system.
The offices for both Health Minister Christine Elliott and Long-term Care Minister Merrilee Fullerton confirmed on Monday they will be interviewed by the commission in the coming weeks.
A spokeswoman for Ontario's chief medical officer of health, Dr. David Williams, says he, too, will appear before the commission, but a date has not yet been set.
All Ontario students will be back in class by Feb. 16
While area students have been back in school for the past couple of weeks, students in other parts of the province were kept home due to COVID-19.
The province announced on Wednesday that students in health regions outside of the GTA will return to class on Feb. 8, while students in Toronto, Peel and York health regions will return to class after the Family Day long weekend on Feb. 16.
Saultite opens up about losing her mother to COVID-19
The Sault's Tammy Deans recounted her mother Linda Drouillard's final days in hospital after a brief battle with COVID-19.
Drouillard died at age 72 on Jan. 28 at Windsor Regional Hospital, as roughly a half-a-dozen family members in both Windsor, Ont. and Sault Ste. Marie comforted her virtually.
Deans described her mother's death as "horrible," and is urging the public to wear masks and stay home.
Read the full story by SooToday's James Hopkin here.
Canada's cruise ship ban gets extended to 2022
The federal government says a ban on cruise ships in Canadian waters will stay in place for one more year.
The ban until Feb. 28, 2022 applies to cruise ships carrying more than 100 people as well as pleasure crafts operating in the Arctic, except for those used by residents in the region.
A news release from Transport Minister Omar Alghabra says the ban in necessary to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and protect vulnerable communities.
Provincial COVID-19 testing orders start at airports, border crossings
On Friday, the premier announced his government would implement stricter mandatory testing for those coming into Ontario from out of the province.
The mandatory testing orders for international travellers came into effect on Monday at noon at Toronto's Pearson International Airport, and will soon apply to land border crossings between provinces and the U.S. in Ontario.
The latest on Canada's vaccine procurement
Some good news in Canada's fight against COVID-19 was delivered this week, as the prime minister announced the country has inked an agreement with a U.S. pharmaceutical company to produce their COVID-19 vaccine in Montreal, Que.
Nanovax will produce their vaccine at the National Research Council’s Royalmount facility. Pending Health Canada approval, tens of millions of the Nanovax doses will be made there, said Trudeau on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, media heard that Canada could also get one million additional doses of the COVID-19 vaccine by the end of March through a global vaccine sharing initiative known as COVAX. The Vaccine Alliance pools funds from wealthier countries to buy vaccines for themselves and for 92 low- and middle-income nations that can't afford to buy their own.
The federal government has been facing strong criticism as it struggles to ensure there are enough COVID-19 immunization doses to go around.
The Liberal government has repeatedly said both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna still intend to fulfill their promised delivery schedules and that current delays are temporary.
At least three other companies, Novavax, Astra-Zeneca and Johnson and Johnson, have all launched the process of having Health Canada approve their vaccines.
Dr. Alan Bernstein, a leading health expert on the federal government's COVID-19 Task Force says that with new variants of the novel coronavirus emerging, Canadian manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines must be ramped up in order to continue vaccination the population for the next two or three years.
Specifically in Ontario, government officials revealed Tuesday that while vaccine delays continue to frustrate the provincial vaccine plans, work is going ahead to provide first doses to long-term care home residents, high-risk retirement homes, as well as to First Nations elder care homes.
The initial goal date of Feb. 5 for administering the first doses of COVID-19 vaccines to resident in each long-term care, high-risk retirement, and First Nations elder care home has been pushed to Feb. 10.
A ministry official said there is no information of any vaccine deliveries beyond the week of Feb. 22 and Ontario is awaiting word from the federal government.
Asymptomatic testing to get expanded in Ontario's schools
In a Monday morning press conference, Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce announced expanded targeted asymptomatic COVID-19 testing in the province’s schools, as well as $381 million in education funding provided through the federal Safe Return to Class Fund.
That funding includes money for improved ventilation such as HEPA filters, personal protective equipment, summer learning for kids who have fallen behind, devices for virtual learning and mental health supports.
Ontario allows pet groomers to reopen for some appointment-only services
Pet groomers across Ontario can reopen to provide certain services, the province said Thursday as it clarified its pandemic regulations surrounding animal care.
Solicitor General Sylvia Jones' office said groomers can reopen to provide services necessary to prevent "foreseeable and reasonably imminent" veterinary care. Groomers can also provide services if an order has been issued to a pet owner under the province's animal welfare act.
