Today’s coronavirus news: Ontario health minister says pace of hospitalization is slowing; Ontario reports 4,132 people hospitalized, 589 in ICU and 60 deaths
The latest coronavirus news from Canada and around the world Wednesday. This file will be updated throughout the day. Web links to longer stories if available.
12 p.m. Quebec's health and welfare commissioner says the province doesn't need a public inquiry into the high death toll in long-term care homes during the pandemic's first wave.
Joanne Castonguay told reporters today after releasing her report into senior care that between her investigation, the coroner's inquest, and the probe by the ombudswoman, Quebec has enough information to make changes to its health system.
Castonguay's comments are in conflict with Quebec's opposition leaders, who for months have been calling for a public inquiry to investigate the 4,836 deaths in elder care and long-term care between February 2020 and July 2020.
The commissioner presented the main findings of her report today, which concludes the province was ill prepared to endure the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and that major reforms to the health system are necessary.
11:50 a.m. For the first time, all Americans can log on to a government website and order free, at-home COVID-19 tests. But the White House push may do little to ease the Omicron surge, and experts say Washington will have to do a lot more to fix the country's long-troubled testing system.
The website, COVIDTests.gov, allows people to order four at-home tests per household and have them delivered by mail. But the tests won't arrive for seven to 12 days, after Omicron cases are expected to peak in many parts of the U.S.
The White House also announced Wednesday that it will begin making 400 million N95 masks available for free at pharmacies and community health centers. Both initiatives represent the kind of mass government investments long seen in parts of Europe and Asia, but delayed in the U.S.
Experts say the plan to distribute 1 billion tests is a good first step, but it must become a regular part of the pandemic response. In the same way that it has made vaccines are free and plentiful, the government must use its purchasing power to assure a steady test supply, they say.
11:45 a.m. Quebec is reporting 88 additional COVID-19 deaths and a rise of eight hospitalizations linked to the disease.
It's the lowest daily increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations reported in Quebec since Dec. 17.
The Health Department says 3,425 people are in hospital, after 359 patients were admitted and 351 were discharged.
It says there are 285 people in intensive care, a decline of four from the day before.
Officials report that 6,123 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed in the previous 24 hours.
11:40 a.m. Ontario's health minister says the province is starting to see "glimmers of hope" in its fight against the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
Christine Elliott says because of that, the government will be making an announcement later this week on the public health measures that were put in place earlier this month.
Elliott says cases are expected to peak this month, with a peak in hospitalizations and ICU admissions to follow.
Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario's chief medical officer of health, says the rate of hospitalizations and cases in the intensive care unit are increasing at a slower pace.
He says the average length of stay in hospital for COVID-19 patients is now five days with the Omicron variant, compared to nine days with Delta.
11:36 a.m. The Czech Republic's new government on Wednesday dismissed the previous government's plan to require older adults and people in some professions to get vaccinated against the coronavirus.
The previous government, led by Prime Minister Andrej Babis, released an order in early December, making vaccination mandatory for people age 60 and over as well as medical personnel, police officers, firefighters and medical students.
It was due to take effect in March. But Babis' administration was replaced later in December by a new government formed by five parties and led by Prime Minister Petr Fiala.
We've agreed that vaccination against COVID-19 won't be mandatory," Fiala said, stressing that his government still considers the vaccines the best tool to fight COVID-19."
10:58 a.m. Ontario Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kieran Moore says that the unvaccinated make up just 10 per cent of the province's population, but account for 50 per cent of hospitalized COVID-19 patients.
10:52 a.m. Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott says the pace of hospitalizations in the province is slowing. She promises more "clarity" on a reopening plan later this week, but warns February will continue to be challenging in hospitals.
10:22 a.m.: A drop-in vaccination clinic is taking place from Wednesday to Sunday at Crossroads Plaza at 2625 Weston Road, North York.
There are currently no lines for adults or children," according to a tweet sent by Humber River Hospital on Wednesday at 10:21 a.m.
The clinic says anyone that works, lives or goes to school in any M postal code" is eligible, with ID.
10:17 a.m. (updated) Ontario is reporting 4,132 people hospitalized with COVID-19, 589 in the ICU and 60 deaths. 53 per cent were admitted to the hospital for COVID-19 and 47 per cent were admitted for other reasons but have tested positive for COVID-19.
The numbers represent a 1.6 per cent increase in the ICU COVID-19 count and a 1.2 per cent decrease in hospitalizations overall. 20.4 per cent of the province's 2,343 adult ICU beds remain available for new patients.
29,664,874 vaccine doses have been administered in the province, with over 103,000 doses administered yesterday. 91.5 per cent of Ontarians 12+ have one dose and 88.8 per cent have two doses.
Read more on the Ontario COVID-19 data from the Star's Mariam Nouser.
9:38 a.m. Ontario's health minister is set to give an update at 10:30 a.m on public health trends, as the Omicron variant of COVID-19 drives up hospitalizations.
Christine Elliott will be joined at the news conference by the CEO of Ontario Health and Ontario's chief medical officer of health, who has said he is watching for a peak or plateau of COVID-19 hospitalizations.
Dr. Kieran Moore said last week that the transmission of Omicron in the province may peak in the next few weeks, and increases in hospitalizations and ICU admissions typically happen one or two weeks after infection.
The president and CEO of the Ontario Hospital Association has said that while the province's hospitals are under immense pressure, the rate of daily admissions has decreased slightly.
9:35 a.m. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has opened a new vaccine manufacturing facility that he says will boost the country's capacity to make its own inoculations for diseases including COVID-19.
The plant in Cape Town - a partnership between a U.S.-based biotechnology firm, the government and South African universities - will help improve Africa's ability to produce vaccines, Ramaphosa said Wednesday.
The pandemic has revealed the huge disparities that exist within and between countries in access to quality healthcare, medicines, diagnostics and vaccines," said Ramaphosa. Africa is responding to COVID-19 with a depth of scientific knowledge, expertise and capacity," to make its own vaccines, he said.
The factory was also launched by Patrick Soon-Shiong, the South African-born founder of NantWorks, a multinational biotechnology firm based in the United States that has invested about $200 million to start the facility, according
9:10 a.m. Students across Ontario are headed back to the classroom Wednesday after a long break from in-person learning. An Omicron-fulled surge in COVID-19 cases forced students into online learning for what, in some ways, turned into a two-week extension of Christmas break.
Schools were set to reopen on Monday but a massive snowstorm that practically brought the province to it's knees delayed the return to class for many boards, including those in Toronto, for two more days.
Some secondary schools are moving to remote learning Wednesday, including Dr. Norman Bethune CI. Emery CI, John Polanyi CI, Newtonbrook SS and Yorkdale SS, according to the TDSB.
Follow along here for live updates from the Star.
8:15 a.m. The Biden administration, facing calls from public health experts to distribute high-quality masks to the American public, will announce on Wednesday that it is making 400 million nonsurgical N95 masks available, free of charge, at community health centers and retail pharmacies across the United States.
The move, which officials are calling the largest deployment of personal protective equipment in U.S. history," comes just days after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its mask guidance to acknowledge that cloth masks do not offer as much protection as surgical masks or respirators.
N95 respirators, so named because they can filter out 95% of all airborne particles when used correctly, were in short supply early in the pandemic. According to the CDC's new description of masks, well-fitting respirators, including N95s, offer the highest level of protection.
7:50 a.m. Amid the confusion of students returning to school as COVID-19 cases surge, Lisa Petsinis said she's troubled by a suggestion from her daughter's school about lunchtime: that kids briefly remove their masks to take a bite to eat and put them back on to chew.
A newsletter to parents, which also stressed students will be reminded to maintain physical distancing, doesn't say anything about how this is going to be supervised, and I'm not sure if it's even possible to do," said Petsinis, whose 14-year-old daughter attends a school in Etobicoke under the Toronto District School Board.
It's a big concern because it's the only time (the kids) are going to be maskless and the Omicron variant is highly contagious. But there just seems to be no focus at all on addressing safety at lunch."
Read the full story from the Star's Ghada Alsharif
7:35 a.m. When it comes to third-dose uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine, many of the same problems with access seen throughout the rollout are happening again, with GTA neighbourhoods that have borne the heaviest burden of the pandemic seeing some of the lowest vaccination rates in the province.
Despite efforts by public health to get vaccines into the arms of those in northern Peel Region and Toronto's hard-hit northwest corner, less than 20 per cent of residents in these areas have received third doses, according to new postal code data from ICES, formerly the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences.
Hot spots in Peel and Toronto make up more than half of the 20 postal codes in Ontario with the lowest third-dose vaccination rates to date. Other areas among those with the lowest rates in the province for third shots include more rural postal codes in Milton, Aylmer and Middlesex-London.
Read the full story from the Star's Kenyon Wallace and May Warren
5:45 a.m.: Unvaccinated military members are in for a tougher fight than a retired airman who was disciplined for refusing an anthrax vaccine 20 years ago, his former lawyer warns.
Jay Prober said some in the Canadian Armed Forces who don't want to take the current COVID-19 vaccines have contacted him because he defended Michael Kipling, the retired sergeant charged and ultimately acquitted of breaching an order to take an anthrax vaccine while serving in Kuwait.
This would be much, much tougher and a much steeper mountain to climb," the Winnipeg-based lawyer said in a recent interview.
It's completely different, quite frankly,"
Controversy over mandatory vaccinations for the military has re-emerged during the pandemic, with Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre ordering all personnel to be inoculated against COVID-19.
Back in March 1998, troops serving in Kuwait City near Iraq's border were ordered to take an anthrax vaccine out of concern it could be used as a biological weapon.
That gave rise to the conflict with Kipling, a flight engineer who refused to be vaccinated because the vaccine was unlicensed in Canada, he had fallen ill after an earlier shot and feared the vaccine could be connected to an unexplained sickness other veterans experienced.
The doctor tasked with immunizing soldiers at that time was Stephen Ellis, the physician-turned-Conservative MP, who now assists Tory leader Erin O'Toole on shaping pandemic-related policies.
5:44 a.m.: The Omicron-fuelled fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic appears to be peaking in some provinces, while others say the worst is likely still to come.
The Saskatchewan Health Authority says it is bracing for a tide of COVID-19 hospitalizations and absenteeism among workers until mid-February, while Alberta says hospitalization rates are rising to levels not seen since mid-October.
The growing number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in Prince Edward Island has prompted the province to reduce gathering sizes and close gyms and restaurant dining rooms until at least the end of the month.
Even as they both set new records for hospitalizations, officials in Ontario and Quebec say the daily rate seems to be decreasing slightly, although they caution the health-care system remains under tremendous pressure.
There are 3,417 COVID patients in Quebec hospitals, while Ontario has 4,183, including 580 people in intensive care.
B.C. recorded 1,975 cases of COVID-19 with 854 people in hospital, as the province's top doctor described her decision to allow the reopening of gyms and other fitness facilities Thursday as a cautious step'' in lifting COVID-19 restrictions.
Dr. Bonnie Henry said a proof-of-vaccination card will still be required to use gyms, and the facilities will need to operate under capacity limits and provide seven metres square for every person who is exercising.
5:43 a.m.: Ontario's largest school board is to resume holding classes in-person today.
The Toronto District School Board said last night that classes were set to go ahead after a snowstorm disrupted those plans on Monday and Tuesday.
The city's Catholic school board also said it would open for in-person learning but warned that buses may be affected by cleanup from the storm that affected back-to-school plans across southern and eastern Ontario.
Students had been learning remotely since the beginning of the month after a major surge in COVID-19 cases set in, straining the province's health system and labour force.
Students returned to classes earlier in the week in some regions in the province's north and southwest.
Teachers and students are returning with little information on COVID-19 cases in schools and limited access to PCR tests after the province shifted its policies to preserve resources.
5:43 a.m.: Laurentian University President Robert Hache says on-campus course delivery will be delayed until at least Jan. 30.
The university said it will be working with local health authorities to create a plan for a staged return to in-person learning that could begin as early as Feb. 7."
Laurentian University will always seek to provide an excellent on-campus student experience," said Hache.
Recently, the pandemic caused us to pivot to remote learning and though we would like to return to face-to-face learning, it has not yet been deemed safe to do so by local health authorities."
The university said it will be able to provide further information on the staged return to campus by Jan. 21.
Our goal will be to provide two weeks of notice before on-campus learning resumes. Student services will continue to operate remotely until it is safe to deliver them on-campus," said the statement.
We realize there are many challenges as a result of these changes, some have preferred remote delivery, and some are eager to return. I would ask that we have empathy for our colleagues, our peers, and especially our students."
Hache said the university will do everything possible to continue to provide the in-person experience that is core to the student journey."
5:42 a.m.: New mask requirements come into effect on Monday for anyone accessing the Cambrian College campus in Sudbury.
We ask that you wear a three-ply disposable mask or non-fit-tested KN95 mask when inside the college and outside on the college property when physical distancing can't be maintained," said the college in a social media post.
Cloth masks will no longer be permitted unless they are worn over a three-ply disposable or KN95 mask.
Anyone who does not have access to three-ply disposable or KN95 masks can ask for one at the front desk, said the college.
Cambrian College president Bill Best also announced that the college will not be transitioning theory courses back to in-person delivery on Jan. 31 as planned in an update posted to the college's website.
Instead, for the full winter 2022 term, all theory courses will be delivered virtually, with only necessary hands-on labs being delivered in person and on campus," said the update.
There will be a few exceptions to this approach, and those students will have already been contacted directly by their academic areas. This decision will allow students and faculty to plan ahead with certainty."
5:41 a.m.: Public Health Sudbury and Districts announced a new location for COVID-19 mass immunizations clinics on Manitoulin Island on Tuesday.
Beginning on Jan. 20, all mass immunization clinics that were previously scheduled at the Manitoulin Information Centre in Little Current will move to the Four Directions Complex, located on 1300 ON-540 in Aundeck Omni Kaning.
The new mass immunization clinic will be held in partnership with Noojmowin Teg Health Centre, Mnaamodzawin Health Services, and local family health teams.
Dates and times of scheduled appointments are not affected by the location change unless you are called and receive confirmation of a new appointment time," a release said.
This location change applies to all previously scheduled appointments at the Manitoulin Tourist Information Centre. All other vaccination clinic locations on Manitoulin Island, including clinics at the Mindemoya Missionary Church and M'Chigeeng Community Complex, are not impacted by this location change."
5:40 a.m.: The Biden administration will begin making 400 million N95 masks available for free to Americans starting next week, now that federal officials are emphasizing their better protection against the omicron variant of COVID-19 over cloth face coverings.
The White House announced Wednesday that the masks will come from the government's Strategic National Stockpile, which has more than 750 million of the highly protective masks on hand. The masks will be available for pickup at pharmacies and community health centres across the country. They will begin shipping this week for distribution starting late next week, the White House said.
This will be the largest distribution of free masks by the federal government to the public since the COVID-19 pandemic began. In early 2020, then-President Donald Trump's administration considered and then shelved plans to send masks to all American at their homes. President Joe Biden embraced the initiative after facing mounting criticism this month over the inaccessibility - both in supply and cost - of N95 masks as the highly transmissible omicron variant swept across the country.
After facing similar criticism over a winter shortage of COVID-19 at-home test kits, Biden this week launched a website for Americans to order four rapid tests to be shipped to their homes for free, with the first tests to ship later this month.
The White House said the masks will be made available at pharmacies and community health centres that have partnered with the federal government's COVID-19 vaccination campaign.
5:37 a.m.: The Japanese government will place Tokyo and a dozen other areas under new restrictions for COVID-19 effective Friday, allowing local leaders to shorten hours for eateries, as a surge in omicron cases threatens to paralyze society.
A government-commissioned experts' panel on Wednesday approved a plan to put the 13 areas under a three-week restraint through Feb. 13, said Economy Revitalization Minister Daishiro Yamagiwa, who is also in charge of virus measures.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is expected to officially announce the new measures at a government task force meeting later Wednesday.
Wednesday 5:36 a.m.: Is it better to wear an N95 or cloth mask right now?
Health experts suggest stepping up protection against the highly contagious omicron variant with stronger masks such as N95s or KN95s.
It's especially important now with health care systems under strain, and with people in higher-risk situations such as crowded, indoor settings for extended periods, says Linsey Marr, who studies viruses at Virginia Tech.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently updated its guidance to recommend the kinds of masks used by health care workers, but also noted it's important to pick a mask that fits well and that you'll wear consistently.
Our main message continues to be that any mask is better than no mask," CDC spokeswoman Kristen Nordlund said in a statement.