Ontario issues stay-at-home order except for essentials

[spaminator]

LEVY: Time to let long-term care residents out of their prisons
Author of the article:Sue-Ann Levy
Publishing date:Apr 28, 2021 • 12 hours ago • 3 minute read • Join the conversation
Some 99% of long-term care (LTC) and retirement home residents have been vaccinated with both doses, and yet they're still locked into facilities -- not free to even venture outdoors with the nice weather.
Some 99% of long-term care (LTC) and retirement home residents have been vaccinated with both doses, and yet they're still locked into facilities -- not free to even venture outdoors with the nice weather. PHOTO BY ISTOCK /GETTY IMAGES
Article content
Some 99% of long-term care (LTC) and retirement home residents have been vaccinated with both doses, and yet they’re still locked into facilities — not free to even venture outdoors with the nice weather.

It’s been more than a year of loneliness and isolation for them.


When is enough, enough?

At an Ontario Health Coalition media conference this week, families of loved ones spoke about how wives are not being permitted to see their husbands, even after having COVID and two vaccinations.

One daughter said the only way she can see her dad is to remain in his room “in isolation alone with him.”

Sandra Caleta, who heads Advocates for Long-Term Care Ontario, said a lot of families are telling her that their loved ones in LTC are not allowed outside and in many cases are “isolated to their rooms” even when a home is not an outbreak.

“I understand that homes are being cautious but it’s overcautious at this point,” she said. “We have to return some quality of life to these residents … they’ve sacrificed an entire year for us.”

Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
She said “they’re just existing at this point” and that’s not enough.

“They need to live again,” Caleta said.


Ontario Tech university associate professor Vivian Stamatopoulos said on April 1, an updated directive came from the LTC ministry granting outdoor access to residents.

She said Ontario’s associate chief medical officer of health Barbara Yaffe indicated more would be forthcoming but nothing happened.

Stamatopoulos added that Ontario LTC minister Merrilee Fullerton is “nowhere to be found.

“None of this makes any sense,” she said. “The figures are pretty stable in LTC homes because of the vaccination rates and families are upset.”

She said families feel they’re “just being penalized for no reason” at this point when there may be little time left to spend with their loved ones.

“It’s inexcusable,” she said.

Rob McMahon, spokesperson for the long-term care ministry, said last month, they told homes that it’s critical to support resident wellness “by ensuring residents can go outdoors” — offering opportunities for caregivers to be with loved ones outside their rooms and “resuming small group activities.

“It is important for residents to be able to engage in physical activity and take part in activities that bring them joy, comfort, and dignity while still remaining safe (from the variants),” he said.

McMahon noted Ontario’s stay-at-home order includes outdoor exercise as an essential reason to leave one’s room and it is “no different” for LTC home residents.

Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
An April 1 ministry memo made it clear that residents who aren’t isolating can go for walks even if the home is in an outbreak — on the home’s property or in the immediate area, he said.

He added that if a resident or family has a complaint about a home — including being banned from going outside — they should report the concern to the home. The homes are required to let the complainant know what they are doing to resolve the complaint and when the complainant can expect resolution, he said.

One wonders how long home administrators feel they can keep their residents isolated and alone in what has become their COVID jail — without any desperately needed social interaction — before more succumb to loneliness.

MORE ON THIS TOPIC

Members of the Canadian Armed Forces were called in to help at Pickering's Orchard Villa long-term care home on May 6, 2020.
LEVY: Ontario LTC homes still a disaster
A passenger is pictured at Pearson International Airport on Jan. 31, 2021.
LEVY: Switch Health leaves COVID test client on hold for 10 hours
Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott.
Ontario hospitals empowered to move patients to LTC without consent

Hasn’t COVID claimed enough Ontario seniors during the past 13 months?

Ontario Health Coalition executive director Natalie Mehra said despite the April 1 order, many homes have not resumed social activities and are not letting their residents out of facilities.

She called the continued isolation “ludicrous” and speculated this is being done “for the convenience of the homes” which are already short-staffed.

SLevy@postmedia.com

LEVY: Time to let long-term care residents out of their prisons

Some 99% of long-term care (LTC) and retirement home residents have been vaccinated with both doses.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Ontario hospitals empowered to move patients to LTC without consent
Will be 'done in only the most urgent of situations when a hospital is at risk of becoming overwhelmed,' Elliott says

Author of the article:Antonella Artuso
Publishing date:Apr 28, 2021 • 18 hours ago • 2 minute read • 73 Comments
Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott.
Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott. PHOTO BY NATHAN DENETTE /THE CANADIAN PRESS
Article content
Ontario will give hospitals the authority to move patients into long-term care or retirement residences without their consent.

It’s the latest step by the Doug Ford government in response to hospitals overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients.


Health Minister Christine Elliott said doctors will ensure that these are patients who can be properly cared for in another setting.

“This temporary emergency order will provide hospitals with the flexibility to transfer certain patients, those whose doctors have determined no longer require hospital care and could be better supported in a more appropriate setting, to a long-term care or retirement home,” Elliott said Wednesday.

“This would be done in only the most urgent of situations when a hospital is at risk of becoming overwhelmed.”

Hospitals typically have patients waiting for a long-term care bed in a preferred facility.

Hospitals would be able to move a patient into a facility that was not a first choice, but the patient would not lose their spot on the waiting list.

Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
Elliott said any transfers will involve consultation with the patient or substitute decision maker, and will take into account cultural and language needs.

Efforts will be made to ensure the patient is vaccinated, the government said.

“This was a very difficult decision to make, however, the consequences of not doing so could be devastating if we don’t have the hospital beds we urgently need to care for the growing number of COVID-19 patients across the province,” Elliott said.


The province has yet to invoke the triage protocol, a guideline for health-care workers to determine who gets priority for stretched health-care services when hospital ICUs can’t give treat everyone.

Ontario hospitals reported 2,281 patients with COVID-19 Wednesday, including 877 in intensive care and 605 on ventilators.

Public health recorded 3,480 new cases of COVID-19 Wednesday, although officials said the number might be inflated due to issues with “data catch-up process.”

There were 961 new cases in Toronto, 589 in Peel, 290 in York Region, 221 in Durham, 180 in Ottawa and 116 in Halton.

Another 24 deaths were blamed on the pandemic.

Matt Anderson, president and CEO of Ontario Health, said new COVID-19 modelling is expected later this week but the trend has been generally more positive.

“The case numbers do appear to be flattening,” he said.

However, hospitalizations reflect case numbers from two or three weeks earlier so it could take some time for the new lower numbers to be reflected in improved ICU capacity, he said.

aartuso@postmedia.com

Ontario hospitals empowered to move patients to LTC without consent

Will be 'done in only the most urgent of situations when a hospital is at risk of becoming overwhelmed,' Elliott says

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Ontario nursing homes were poorly prepared for COVID-19 pandemic: Auditor general
Lysyk makes 16 recommendations to address the findings

Author of the article:Antonella Artuso
Antonella Artuso
Publishing date:Apr 28, 2021 • 12 hours ago • 3 minute read • 86 Comments
Bonnie Lysyk, Auditor General of Ontario, answers questions during her Annual Report news conference at the legislature in Toronto on December 7, 2020.
Bonnie Lysyk, Auditor General of Ontario, answers questions during her Annual Report news conference at the legislature in Toronto on December 7, 2020. PHOTO BY FRANK GUNN /THE CANADIAN PRESS
Article content
COVID-19 tore through the frail residents of the province’s nursing homes which were poorly prepared for a pandemic despite multiple warnings and the lessons of SARS, a new auditor’s report says.

Ontario auditor general Bonnie Lysyk’s latest report, Pandemic Readiness and Response in Long-Term Care (LTC), makes 16 recommendations including tying licensing to timely renovations to ensure residents have accommodations that meet modern standards and the establishment of a provincial staffing strategy to address skills and staff shortages.


Lysyk said it had become “blatantly obvious” by March 2020 that aggressive infection prevention, detection and patient care actions were quickly needed to prevent staggering death rates in LTC homes.

“Unfortunately, neither the Ministry of Long-term Care, nor the long-term-care sector, was sufficiently positioned, prepared or equipped to respond to the issues created by the pandemic in an effective and expedient way,” Lysyk said in her report, released Wednesday.

Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
Long-term Care Minister Merrilee Fullerton said problems in nursing homes have been decades in the making.

The government has taken many steps to improve the well-being of residents, including allocating $4.9 billion over four years to create more than 27,000 new positions for personal support workers, registered nurses, and registered practical nurses, she said.
“Over the next four years we are also investing $246 million to improve living conditions in existing homes,” Fullerton said, adding that will pay for air conditioning. “I’m here to fix long-term care, but if the building’s on fire, and you’re running into it to try and save people, I think that’s pretty much what we tried to do.”
Public health data puts the COVID-19 death toll in LTCs at 3,756 residents and 11 staff members.

Between March and December 2020, 475 or 76% of LTC homes reported COVID-19 cases in residents or staff.

The report concludes that despite the teachings of the SARS crisis and numerous reports from auditors and others about staffing, hygiene, and inspections, the province remained unprepared when COVID-19 struck.

A massive reorganization of health care in the province, and an ongoing gap between LTC and other parts of the health-care system like hospitals, exacerbated the problems, auditors found.

Critical staffing shortages and lack of staff training contributed to the crisis as well, the auditors say.

“Examples included residents leaving unlabelled personal-care items in the sink areas of shared washrooms and staff not following proper hand hygiene during feeding,” the report says.

Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content

One personal support worker (PSW) was spotted by an inspector going in and out of a resident’s room then into the hallway of an outbreak unit without changing personal protection equipment (PPE) at a home where subsequently 34 residents died from COVID-19.

More than 85% of LTC residents require extensive including 24/7 assistance, one-third have “severely impaired cognitive abilities” and 64% have dementia, the report notes.

Yet, family caregivers were blocked initially from visiting LTC residents who lost that “valuable” care, and it took a physical and emotional toll on the frail elderly, the report says.

The government left LTC homes largely on their own to implement COVID-19 measures in the beginning, and did not move to clamp down decisively on the practice of staff working in multiple facilities which also created opportunities for virus spread, the auditor says.

Another problem contributing to the LTC crisis was overcrowding and shared bedrooms.

Many of the homes where 30% or more of residents became infected featured three- and four-person bedrooms, the report found.

In response to the pandemic, hospitals began moving “alternative level of care (ALC) patients, often frail seniors who can’t be returned safely to their homes, were sent to LTC facilities which contributed to even more crowding, the report says.

And despite a requirement that LTCs have an emergency plan in place for numerous scenarios, a pandemic was not on the list.

Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content

Despite prodding in previous auditor’s reports, the Ontario government failed to seriously address non-compliance issues flowing out of inspections and “comprehensive” inspections went from 625 in 2015 to seven in 2019.

As of Dec. 31, 15 LTC facilities were home to 777 residents and four staff members who died, including Orchard Villa in Pickering where 70 residents died with COVID-19.

Those 15 homes had about 4.4% of all LTC beds in the province but 28% of all resident deaths.

Homes with high numbers of patients who died tended to be for-profit with three- and four-person bedrooms, the auditors found.

In a response to the report, the Ministry of Long-term Care said it had been modernizing the sector to be more “resident centred” and to provide a high quality of care, including adding new beds and redeveloping older ones to current standards.

aartuso@postmedia.com

Ontario nursing homes were poorly prepared for COVID-19 pandemic: Auditor general

Lysyk makes 16 recommendations to address the findings

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Active, retired police officers taking Ontario's COVID-19 measures to court
Notice of Application claims province's COVID-19 measures are unconstitutional, and seeks protection of police officers from mandatory masks, vaccines

Author of the article:Bryan Passifiume
Publishing date:Apr 29, 2021 • 15 hours ago • 2 minute read • 58 Comments
Lights of a police car.
Lights of a police car. Getty Images
Article content
Ten active and five former police officers are taking the province to court over Ontario’s COVID-19 response.

The notice of application, filed last week in Ontario Superior Court, names Premier Doug Ford, the Attorneys General of Ontario and Canada, and chiefs of Toronto, York, Niagara, Ottawa and Hamilton police services as respondents. It challenges the province’s COVID-19 measures as unconstitutional, and also argues that forcing police to enforce the rules is a violation of the oath undertaken by Ontario’s sworn officers.


Many Ontario police officers, said Lawyer Rocco Galati of the Constitutional Rights Centre and representative of the 15 officers, don’t receive enforcement guidance from legislation.

“They’re taking their cue from the moron politicians and supervisors who haven’t taken the time to read the law and realize, this is not easy to enforce unless you want to make your own law on the spot,” he said.

Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
“These regulations lead to police state and martial law measures.”

The pandemic, says the claim, doesn’t meet the criteria for an ’emergency’ under the Emergency Management Civil Protection (EMCP) Act.

The applicants also allege the province lacks the powers to impose lockdowns or stay-at-home orders as per the Constitution Act.

The application’s arguments opposing the province’s response centres around largely debunked claims surrounding the province’s use of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing, claiming current methodologies leads to a false positive rate approaching 96.5%.


Police officers identified as applicants include active members of the Toronto, York, Hamilton and Niagara police — both named and listed anonymously — and a number of retired members of the same services, including a retired corporal with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Toronto police confirmed to the Sun that they were aware of the action.

“The Toronto Police Service’s position is that the provincial emergency legislation is lawful,” a police spokesperson said.

MORE ON THIS TOPIC

Physician Dr. Allison Furey, third right, the wife of Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey, along with Military personal and civilian doctors and nurses arrive in a military Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules turboprop military transport aircraft at Pearson International Airport on Tuesday, April 27, 2021.
Ontario reports 3,871 new COVID-19 cases, surpasses 8,000 deaths
The Canadian border is pictured at the Peace Arch Canada/USA border crossing in Surrey, B.C. Friday, March 20, 2020.
Hundreds of travellers landing in Canada test positive for COVID-19 variants

“The Service expects its officers to carry out their lawful duties and enforce the law.”

A spokesperson for Ontario’s Ministry of the Attorney General said the application’s currently under review, and declined further comment as the matter is subject to litigation.

bpassifiume@postmedia.com
On Twitter: @bryanpassifiume

http://constitutionalrightscentre.ca/20CRC16/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/police-noa-redacted.pdf

Active, retired police officers taking Ontario's COVID-19 measures to court

Ten active and five former police officers are taking the province to court over Ontario's COVID-19 response.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

MANDEL: Shameful police lawsuit against COVID-19 restrictions
Author of the article:Michele Mandel
Publishing date:Apr 29, 2021 • 15 hours ago • 3 minute read • 36 Comments
Police at the Church of God in Aylmer.
Police at the Church of God in Aylmer. PHOTO BY DEREK RUTTAN /The London Free Press file photo
Article content
Hand in your badges.

Freedom of expression is one thing, but this small group of Ontario police officers has just launched a truly wacky and disturbing Charter challenge to the current COVID-19 emergency act measures they are sworn to enforce.


Disagreement with government action is perfectly legal, of course. But not only are they challenging the law, they’ve based it on a cocktail of anti-lockdown, anti-vax, anti-mask, anti-science drivel that is alarming coming from public servants we employ.

Toronto Police Sgt. Julie Evans, of 42 Division, and Sgt. Greg Boltyansky, of 32 Division are among the 15 active GTA police officers who claim having to enforce the province’s COVID-19 measures violates their Charter rights.

No, actually, it’s your job.

It’s hardly surprising that Evans and Boltyansky are two of the named applicants. They’re the off-duty officers who made headlines recently when they were ticketed by Aylmer Police for attending the Church of God and violating Ontario’s stay-at-home order.

Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content

The police court challenge claims declaring an emergency is outside provincial jurisdiction and that lockdowns and stay-at-home orders amount to “martial law” and a police state.

Seems far-fetched. But they go much further.

The police officers are asking for a declaration from the Ontario Superior Court that masking, social distancing and stay-at-home orders aren’t medically or scientifically based. They claim Ontario’s soaring daily case count — 3,871 on Thursday — is based on 96.5% false positives.

How dare they.

Have they taken a look at our overcrowded ICUs? Our overwhelmed paramedics? How about the more than 8,000 people who have died so far in this province?

The surging crisis is real: Patients are being transferred hundreds of kilometres away from their families. Michael Garron Hospital was in danger of running out of oxygen Thursday due to its high number of COVID patients. The military and Red Cross have had to supplement a shortage of ICU staff.

Doctors are being briefed on horrifying triaging protocols that would force them to choose who will live and who will die.

MORE ON THIS TOPIC

Police at the Church of God in Aylmer. (Derek Ruttan/The London Free Press file photo)
Toronto cops among those charged in Aylmer Church of God gathering
Toronto Police Chief James Ramer speaks outside headquarters on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2020.
WARMINGTON: Toronto's top cop vows it's health and safety enforcement not a police state

For those of this ilk who irresponsibly accused doctors of crying wolf? Well, the wolf is here.

Only the ideologically blind and obtuse can’t recognize that.

On and on they go. Their lawsuit seeks a declaration that the “preponderance of the scientific community” believes masks are completely ineffective in avoiding or preventing transmission of the airborne virus.

Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
Which is patently false.

They claim prolonged use of face masks, especially for children, causes irreparable, and sometimes irreversible, physical and emotional harm.

Again, a conspiracy theory that has been roundly debunked.

These cops also want the court to declare lockdowns and stay-at-home orders are ineffective and cause more damage than they prevent.

And yet the latest data from the Science Advisory Table puts the lie to that as well: it shows a combination of the current measures and vaccinations is actually driving COVID down.


Their bosses in Toronto are not impressed with the court action.

“The Toronto Police Service’s position is that the provincial emergency legislation is lawful,” spokesperson Connie Osborne said in an email. “The Service expects its officers to carry out their lawful duties and enforce the law.”

No one is happy about Ontario’s third Stay-At-Home order. We’re mentally exhausted. Small business owners are drowning. However, most of us rational beings understand that government limits on our liberty are the drastic steps needed to wrestle this third wave under control.

But it’s not carte blanche.

When Ford went too far and authorized sweeping new police powers to enforce the lockdown, it was quickly walked back the next day after public outrage and signals from police services themselves that they wouldn’t abide by that overreaching directive.

And the Federal Court, while rejecting an injunction on quarantine hotels, acknowledged the rationale for any government’s emergency measures must be subject to “a degree of scrutiny that is proportional to the risk that Charter rights may have been impaired.”

So challenge the law, sure. That’s your right.

But basing it on conspiracy theories and nutbar debunked claims? Maybe these officers should be using their badges to make tinfoil hats.

mmandel@postmedia.com

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1385236603573088256

MANDEL: Shameful police lawsuit against COVID-19 restrictions

Hand in your badges.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Declare entire Peel Region a COVID hotspot, urges Mississauga mayor
Author of the article:Bryan Passifiume
Publishing date:Apr 29, 2021 • 14 hours ago • 1 minute read • 27 Comments
Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie at the Toronto Pearson International Airport on Tuesday December 29, 2020.
Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie at the Toronto Pearson International Airport on Tuesday December 29, 2020. PHOTO BY VERONICA HENRI /Toronto Sun
Article content
Two weeks after the entire City of Brampton was declared a COVID-19 hotspot, Mississauga’s mayor is calling on the province to expand the designation to the entire Region of Peel.

Speaking Thursday morning, Mayor Bonnie Crombie said expanding the designation would only include adding a handful of postal codes in her city and Caledon, and open up vaccine eligibility to everybody in her city over the age of 45.


Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content

“Peel is a very unique region, housing more warehouses, factories, distribution centres, food processing and packaging plants than anywhere else in the GTA,” she said.

“We’re home to an incredibly large population of essential workers, who have gone into very crowded workplaces day in and day out to provide us all with the products that we rely on and need to survive.”


As workers live throughout the region, she said making the declaration ensures everybody in the region who needs a vaccine will be entitled to it.

MORE ON THIS TOPIC

Dr. Lawrence Loh, Peel Region's medical officer of health.
Toronto and Peel to shut down businesses with 5 or more COVID cases
A registered pharmacist technician fills the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 mRNA vaccine at a vaccine clinic during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto on Tuesday, December 15, 2020.
Vaccines go to workplaces including Amazon in Peel
Helen Briggs, a pharmacist, holds up a tray of syringes as Lirie Palamind an RPN (background) loads up them up with Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at the Humber River Hospital clinic held at Downsview Arena on April 21, 2021.
Ontario expands vaccine eligibility, some pharmacies to offer Pfizer shots

“We have the supply and capacity to do this now,” she added.

The region, said Peel’s Medical Officer of Health Dr. Lawrence Loh, has already vaccinated more than 500,000 residents. Loh told 680News on Thursday he believes Peel could achieve herd immunity by the summer.

bpassifiume@postmedia.com
On Twitter: @bryanpassifiume

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1387796954726506497

Declare entire Peel Region a COVID hotspot, urges Mississauga mayor

Mississauga's mayor is calling on the province to declare the entire Region of Peel a COVID hotspot.

torontosun.com

 

[taxslave]

MANDEL: Shameful police lawsuit against COVID-19 restrictions
Author of the article:Michele Mandel
Publishing date:Apr 29, 2021 • 15 hours ago • 3 minute read • 36 Comments
Police at the Church of God in Aylmer.
Police at the Church of God in Aylmer. PHOTO BY DEREK RUTTAN /The London Free Press file photo
Article content
Hand in your badges.

Freedom of expression is one thing, but this small group of Ontario police officers has just launched a truly wacky and disturbing Charter challenge to the current COVID-19 emergency act measures they are sworn to enforce.


Disagreement with government action is perfectly legal, of course. But not only are they challenging the law, they’ve based it on a cocktail of anti-lockdown, anti-vax, anti-mask, anti-science drivel that is alarming coming from public servants we employ.

Toronto Police Sgt. Julie Evans, of 42 Division, and Sgt. Greg Boltyansky, of 32 Division are among the 15 active GTA police officers who claim having to enforce the province’s COVID-19 measures violates their Charter rights.

No, actually, it’s your job.

It’s hardly surprising that Evans and Boltyansky are two of the named applicants. They’re the off-duty officers who made headlines recently when they were ticketed by Aylmer Police for attending the Church of God and violating Ontario’s stay-at-home order.

Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content

The police court challenge claims declaring an emergency is outside provincial jurisdiction and that lockdowns and stay-at-home orders amount to “martial law” and a police state.

Seems far-fetched. But they go much further.

The police officers are asking for a declaration from the Ontario Superior Court that masking, social distancing and stay-at-home orders aren’t medically or scientifically based. They claim Ontario’s soaring daily case count — 3,871 on Thursday — is based on 96.5% false positives.

How dare they.

Have they taken a look at our overcrowded ICUs? Our overwhelmed paramedics? How about the more than 8,000 people who have died so far in this province?

The surging crisis is real: Patients are being transferred hundreds of kilometres away from their families. Michael Garron Hospital was in danger of running out of oxygen Thursday due to its high number of COVID patients. The military and Red Cross have had to supplement a shortage of ICU staff.

Doctors are being briefed on horrifying triaging protocols that would force them to choose who will live and who will die.

MORE ON THIS TOPIC

Police at the Church of God in Aylmer. (Derek Ruttan/The London Free Press file photo)
Toronto cops among those charged in Aylmer Church of God gathering
Toronto Police Chief James Ramer speaks outside headquarters on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2020.
WARMINGTON: Toronto's top cop vows it's health and safety enforcement not a police state

For those of this ilk who irresponsibly accused doctors of crying wolf? Well, the wolf is here.

Only the ideologically blind and obtuse can’t recognize that.

On and on they go. Their lawsuit seeks a declaration that the “preponderance of the scientific community” believes masks are completely ineffective in avoiding or preventing transmission of the airborne virus.

Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
Which is patently false.

They claim prolonged use of face masks, especially for children, causes irreparable, and sometimes irreversible, physical and emotional harm.

Again, a conspiracy theory that has been roundly debunked.

These cops also want the court to declare lockdowns and stay-at-home orders are ineffective and cause more damage than they prevent.

And yet the latest data from the Science Advisory Table puts the lie to that as well: it shows a combination of the current measures and vaccinations is actually driving COVID down.


Their bosses in Toronto are not impressed with the court action.

“The Toronto Police Service’s position is that the provincial emergency legislation is lawful,” spokesperson Connie Osborne said in an email. “The Service expects its officers to carry out their lawful duties and enforce the law.”

No one is happy about Ontario’s third Stay-At-Home order. We’re mentally exhausted. Small business owners are drowning. However, most of us rational beings understand that government limits on our liberty are the drastic steps needed to wrestle this third wave under control.

But it’s not carte blanche.

When Ford went too far and authorized sweeping new police powers to enforce the lockdown, it was quickly walked back the next day after public outrage and signals from police services themselves that they wouldn’t abide by that overreaching directive.

And the Federal Court, while rejecting an injunction on quarantine hotels, acknowledged the rationale for any government’s emergency measures must be subject to “a degree of scrutiny that is proportional to the risk that Charter rights may have been impaired.”

So challenge the law, sure. That’s your right.

But basing it on conspiracy theories and nutbar debunked claims? Maybe these officers should be using their badges to make tinfoil hats.

mmandel@postmedia.com

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1385236603573088256

MANDEL: Shameful police lawsuit against COVID-19 restrictions

Hand in your badges.

torontosun.com

No bias in that article. Must be from a Liberal Party sponsored news site.

 

[spaminator]

Rampant resident abuse at Sienna nursing homes, fired exec alleges in lawsuit
Company denies allegations and will vigorously contest the lawsuit

Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Publishing date:Apr 29, 2021 • 18 hours ago • 3 minute read • Join the conversation
Chris Leedham, a former VP with Sienna Senior Living, is photographed in Toronto on Wednesday, April 28, 2021.
Chris Leedham, a former VP with Sienna Senior Living, is photographed in Toronto on Wednesday, April 28, 2021. PHOTO BY CHRIS YOUNG /THE CANADIAN PRESS
Article content
Physical and sexual abuse of residents was rampant at one of Ontario’s major nursing-home chains, and senior managers were at times drunk on the job, a fired company executive alleges in a wrongful dismissal lawsuit.

In his untested claim against Sienna Senior Living, Chris Leedham alleges he was terminated after he raised concerns about the mistreatment of residents.

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety praise crash performance of certain electric…
Trackerdslogo

Leedham, 52, who is seeking $575,000 in various damages, says the situation, compounded by mounting criticism of his performance, took a huge toll on his mental health.

“Sienna chose to actively ignore Mr. Leedham’s calls for help, going so far as to tell him to ‘stop bringing these issues up,”‘ the suit alleges. “Sienna terminated Mr. Leedham’s employment in whole or in part because he raised concerns.”

Sienna, which operates 37 homes in Ontario and had one of the highest nursing-home death rates from COVID-19, has yet to file a statement of defence. However, it denied the allegations and said it would vigorously contest the lawsuit.

Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
“Sienna takes any concern brought forward from team members, residents and families very seriously,” said spokeswoman Nadia Daniell-Colarossi.

“While out of respect for privacy we generally do not discuss issues about former employees, we must make it clear that Mr. Leedham’s claims are unsubstantiated and made in the context of a wrongful dismissal claim.”

Leedham began working for Sienna as a vice-president in August 2019. His primary duty was the recruitment and retention of staff.

He says he received “glowing feedback” and even a merit increase on Jan. 1, 2020, but his situation deteriorated, particularly after COVID-19 struck.


Among other things, he claims Sienna failed to provide adequate personal protective equipment to staff. The company, he alleges, allowed staff who tested positive for COVID-19 to keep working, and failed to separate infected residents from the uninfected.

On one occasion in March last year, he alleges, the entire management team at one Sienna home was drunk.

Last fall, amid the second wave of the pandemic, Leedham claims top executives ordered staff cuts to ensure Sienna would meet its financial objectives.

“Resident abuse is entrenched in the culture; it’s a low-cost culture,” Leedham alleged in an interview.

“There were hundreds and hundreds of reported cases of resident abuse during my time there. Verbal, physical and sexual abuse is just rampant.”

Sienna, which also operates retirement and long-term care facilities in British Columbia, said Leedham’s claims leave the impression “they are inserted solely to shock and embarrass.”

Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
A company motion to strike Leedham’s “scandalous” allegations is to be heard in Superior Court in August.

Leedham was fired Nov. 30 — he was earning a base salary of $193,800 — just hours after he says he submitted a doctor’s note suggesting he take a medical leave.

The publicly traded company has been previously named in a proposed class action that targets several long-term providers for their pandemic response.

Last June, it cut ties with an executive vice-president, who had referred to relatives of infected residents as litigious and blood-sucking. Its CEO resigned days later.

In all, COVID-19 killed more than 300 people living in Sienna homes.

“The numbers speak for themselves,” Leedham said.

The province took over three of the facilities, including Altamont Care Community in Toronto, which the military named in a report for inadequate care and feeding of residents due to staff shortages.

Its Woodbridge Vista Care Community in Woodbridge, Ont., came under ministry investigation after a resident reportedly died last year of exhaustion due to malnutrition.

The province also took over Sienna’s Camilla Care Centre in Mississauga last spring after the COVID-19 deaths of at least 61 residents.

Rampant resident abuse at Sienna nursing homes, fired exec alleges in lawsuit

Company denies allegations and will vigorously contest the lawsuit

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Aylmer pastor sees a win despite judge's contempt ruling
Last weekend’s indoor gathering at an Aylmer church that's frequently flouted COVID-19 rules has led to contempt findings against the pastor, the assistant pastor and the corporation.

Author of the article:Jane Sims, Dan Brown
Publishing date:Apr 30, 2021 • 14 hours ago • 3 minute read • 35 Comments
Pastor Henry Hildebrandt delivers a sermon during a drive-in service at The Church of God in Aylmer on Sunday May 10, 2020. (Derek Ruttan/The London Free Press)
Pastor Henry Hildebrandt delivers a sermon during a drive-in service at The Church of God in Aylmer on Sunday May 10, 2020. (Derek Ruttan/The London Free Press)
Article content
Found in contempt of court Friday for flouting COVID-19 rules, a provocative Southwestern Ontario pastor was thankful his church wasn’t locked by authorities, but isn’t backing down, insisting “we must be bold for God.”

Last weekend’s indoor gathering at the Church of God in Aylmer led to the contempt findings in court in St. Thomas against Pastor Henry Hildebrandt, his assistant pastor and the corporation.


But the often-defiant Hildebrandt and some of his supporters, including independent MP Derek Sloan from Eastern Ontario, still found victory in the face of the ruling, tweeting and expressing thanks the judge did not grant a request for an injunction to padlock the church.

“God answered prayer and we are so thankful,” Hildebrandt tweeted in the ruling’s fallout, adding in a video statement he had a “heavy heart” knowing what could happen in court — heavy fines and the church being closed — but “we must be bold for God.”

Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
“We will continue to do what the Bible tells us to do in the least provocative manner possible,” he said, adding “I desire to be pleasing to God, whatever it takes.”

“GREAT news!” Sloan tweeted: “A judge has refused Ontario ATT. Gen’s motion to lock down Aylmer’s Church of God today!”

Earlier Friday, Superior Court Justice Bruce Thomas made the ruling in a St. Thomas court against Hildebrandt, assistant pastor Peter Wall and the Church of God (Restoration) corporation for defying a court injunction slapped on the church in February that limited its indoor services to 10 people.

With the case still before the court, all eyes will now be on what happens this weekend at the church in Aylmer, a town that’s a designated hot spot for COVID-19 and one where Hildebrandt has long pushed back against Ontario’s emergency law gathering restrictions, starting with drive-in church services he held early on in the pandemic in defiance of the law. Those gatherings were later allowed.

Asked Friday whether the church plans to hold an in-person or drive-through service this Sunday, Hildebrandt said the congregation will gather “as usual” at 10:30 a.m.

“I respect Justice Thomas and the court and thank him for his careful consideration of the matter, but we must obey God rather than men,” Hildebrandt said of his reaction to Friday’s ruling.

In February, an interim order was imposed on the church to stop it from having large gatherings. The church was put under a court order to comply with the Reopening Ontario Act, the provincial emergency law that restricts the size of indoor gatherings.

Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
With Ontario now back in shutdown, and a stay-at-home order in place, its emergency law was also tightened, going back to a 10-person cap on indoor church gatherings starting April 19.

Those restrictions were in place last weekend when the Aylmer church had a packed indoor service with between 200 and 500 people, including Sloan and outspoken Eastern Ontario MPP Randy Hillier, a former Progressive Conservative expelled from the Tory caucus two years ago.

Both politicians have been vocal opponents of COVID-19 restrictions, attending rallies against the measures including in Southwestern Ontario, and both were ticketed along with others.

“It was wonderful to see that the injunction to potentially seize the church by the state was not granted” and no penalty levied, Hillier, a Kingston-area MPP, told The Free Press on Friday.

Thomas didn’t go so far as to agree to an order sought by the Crown to lock up the church doors. That decision was deferred until the next court hearing, on May 13.

Nor did Thomas set any fines against the church and its principals, but another case in Waterloo Region suggests they could be steep: In February, Trinity Bible Chapel in Woolwich Township and six church elders were fined $38,000 and ordered to pay $45,000 in legal costs.

Hildebrandt wouldn’t say what he would do if, on May 13, the court rules the church must close. “We will take this one step at a time,” he said.

The Aylmer church has been at the forefront of pandemic rule discontent since the public health crisis began a year ago, first by holding outdoor services when they were banned.

Hildebrandt has become one of the public faces of the anti-restrictions movement.

Last Sunday’s service led to more tickets and two men face criminal charges after someone charged at a reporter at the event for the Aylmer Express newspaper, which has closely followed the case.

— With file by Heather Rivers, Free Press reporter

jsims@postmedia.com

danbrown@postmedia.com

All our coronavirus-related news can be found at lfpress.com/tag/coronavirus.

Sign up for our weekday email newsletter at noonnewsroundup.lfpress.com/p/1.

Aylmer pastor sees a win despite judge's contempt ruling

Last weekend’s indoor gathering at an Aylmer church that's frequently flouted COVID-19 rules has led to contempt findings against the pastor, the assistant…

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

LILLEY: Trudeau dismissive of border concerns as fear of fourth COVID wave looms
PM still insisting his plan is working

Author of the article:Brian Lilley
Publishing date:Apr 30, 2021 • 12 hours ago • 3 minute read • 236 Comments
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau looks on during a news conference in Ottawa, March 30, 2021.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau looks on during a news conference in Ottawa, March 30, 2021. PHOTO BY BLAIR GABLE /REUTERS
Article content
After a desperate plea from Ontario Premier Doug Ford to bring in stricter measures at the border, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government will stop foreign students from coming to Ontario.

Trudeau said that while downplaying the border as an issue and despite the fact that Ford never specifically asked for that particular measure.

It’s part of an ongoing game of politics being played while the country deals with a deadly pandemic.

Not that Ford is wrong to say the feds need to do something on the border, we have literally let in thousands of known cases over the past few months. Since April 1, 240 COVID-positive flights have landed in Canada – most of them at Toronto’s Pearson airport.

There have been 62 flights from Delhi, 42 from a variety of American cities, 26 from the UAE, 18 from Doha, 16 from Paris, 15 from Istanbul and 12 from Frankfurt. The last four flights to arrive from Delhi before the flight ban took effect had multiple rows identified as having COVID-positive passengers.


Earlier this week, Canadian Press cited data from the Public Health Agency of Canada showing that between Feb. 22 and April 11, more than 2,000 people tested positive upon arrival at one of the four Canadian airports taking international flights. Days earlier, PHAC had provided data showing that between Feb. 22 and April 23 there were 3,158 people who tested positive.

That means more than 1,000 tested positive in the 12 days before flights were banned from India and Pakistan.

“We know that importation at borders is extremely low in terms of cases in the country,” Trudeau said Friday when asked about Ford’s border request.

More than 1,000 cases in 12 days imported into the country isn’t extremely low — and those are just the ones we know about.

Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
Should people who produce fake COVID test results upon entering Canada be named and shamed?

Yes

No
Vote
View Results
The people who tested positive upon arrival would have been required to quarantine for two weeks in a government-approved hotel. But how many tested positive days after arrival when they were already home?

While Trudeau and his ministers have been saying for months that provinces need to worry about community spread and not border issues, almost all cases in Ontario now are the B.1.1.7 variant that originated in the U.K.

“We learned yesterday that 90% of the average daily cases this week are variants of concern, the same variants that fueled our devastating third wave,” Ford said.

“And they got in because of weak border measures. I can’t stress this enough,” he said. “We will never get ahead of this virus if we can’t keep these deadly new variants out of our country.”

Ford, and other premiers, have asked Trudeau to deal with several issues, including “falsified COVID-19 testing documentation, travelers opting fines over complying quarantine requirements, or travelling via private vehicle/plane to avoid quarantine.”

Trudeau has still refused to act on these issues and insists his plan is working.

“There is a mandatory enforced two-week quarantine that has been effective in controlling the importation of cases and making them not the primary vector for new cases in this country,” Trudeau said.

Peace Bridge and Canadian border is seen from Buffalo, New York, U.S. on April 22, 2021.
Peace Bridge and Canadian border is seen from Buffalo, New York, U.S. on April 22, 2021. PHOTO BY LINDSAY DEDARIO /REUTERS
If Trudeau’s quarantine plan was working as advertised, we wouldn’t have 90% of the cases in Ontario being the U.K. variant.

The strict quarantine plan that he discusses includes people spending their quarantine at home where the rest of the residents continue to go to work and school. This is how we get community spread from a single travel case; this is how we get 90% of cases being variants.

The PM continues to implore premiers to enact strict public health measures here at home while refusing to act in one of the areas that he is responsible for – the border.

If we end up with a fourth wave driven by new variants, will Trudeau act then?

blilley@postmedia.com

LILLEY: Trudeau dismissive of border concerns as fear of fourth COVID wave looms

After a plea from Doug Ford for stricter border measures, the PM says his government will stop foreign students from coming to Ontario.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Ontario LTC commission says nursing homes neglected, reform needed
322-page report concludes the sector was completely unprepared for the pandemic

Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Shawn Jeffords and Nicole Thompson
Publishing date:Apr 30, 2021 • 12 hours ago • 3 minute read • 12 Comments
Diane Colangelo visits her 86-year-old mother Patricia through a window at the Orchard Villa long-term care home in Pickering.
Diane Colangelo visits her 86-year-old mother Patricia through a window at the Orchard Villa long-term care home in Pickering. PHOTO BY VERONICA HENRI /Toronto Sun/Postmedia
Article content
Ontario’s neglected long-term care sector needs sweeping reforms to protect its vulnerable residents, an independent commission has found, pointing the finger in a scathing report at governments past and present for thousands of COVID-19 deaths at the province’s nursing homes.

Despite numerous past reviews, commissions and inquiries recommending improvements, the sector was completely unprepared for the pandemic, the Long-Term Care COVID-19 Commission said in a 322-page report delivered to the provincial government on Friday night.


“Many of the challenges that had festered in the long-term care sector for decades — chronic underfunding, severe staffing shortages, outdated infrastructure and poor oversight — contributed to deadly consequences for Ontario’s most vulnerable citizens during the pandemic,” the commissioners wrote.

The province failed to learn from the SARS epidemic in 2003 and should heed expert advice this time around, they said.

Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
“Now is the time to revisit the delivery model for long-term care and adopt a better way to provide care for Ontario’s seniors,” the report said.

Nearly 4,000 long-term care residents and 11 staff have died of COVID-19 since the pandemic hit.

Poor facility design and resident overcrowding heightened sickness and death in the nursing homes, the commission found.

MORE ON THIS TOPIC

Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott.
Ontario hospitals empowered to move patients to LTC without consent
Bonnie Lysyk, Auditor General of Ontario, answers questions during her Annual Report news conference at the legislature in Toronto on December 7, 2020.
Ontario nursing homes were poorly prepared for COVID-19 pandemic: Auditor general

A severe staffing shortage and a workforce poorly trained in infection control measures compounded the situation, it said.

New facilities need to be built to address the needs of the province’s aging population, the commission said, adding that the government also needs to reconsider how those nursing homes are managed, with a focus on quality care.

It suggested a new model to build long-term care homes in the future, similar to what’s in place for privately funded hospitals, courthouses and light rail transit systems.

“All involve the construction of infrastructure that is paid for upfront by private investors who receive a return on their capital with profit over time. However, others actually operate the infrastructure — the courts, hospitals, etc. — once built,” the report said.

Then, the commission suggests, a mission-driven organization — be it public, not-for-profit or for-profit — would handle the care of the residents.

Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
The commission took particular issue with long-term care homes that are owned by investors.

“Care should be the sole focus of the entities responsible for long-term care homes,” it said.

It also suggested that the provincial government — and Dr. David Williams, the chief medical officer of health, in particular — was too slow to act on emerging information about COVID-19.


The province was hesitant to acknowledge that community spread was happening, that asymptomatic patients could spread the virus and that masks would be helpful when it comes to prevention.

“Delay is deadly,” the commissioners wrote.

Ontario launched the commission on May 19, 2020, in an effort to determine what went wrong in long-term care homes during the pandemic’s first wave.

At that time, long-term care residents accounted for nearly 1,400 of the province’s 1,904 COVID-19 deaths. Five staff members had also died of COVID-19 at that point.

But even after the commission was launched — and after it released two interim sets of recommendations — the virus continued to tear through the facilities.

The commission, led by Frank Marrocco, associate chief justice of the Superior Court, heard from long-term care residents, staff and management.

It questioned government officials from Williams to Long-Term Care Minister Merrilee Fullerton to Health Minister Christine Elliott.

Military leaders who organized a deployment into long-term care homes also gave testimony, detailing the circumstances surrounding the mission that led to a damning report on conditions inside the facilities.

In all, the report said, the commission heard from more than 700 people.

Ontario LTC commission says nursing homes neglected, reform needed

Ontario's neglected long-term care sector needs sweeping reforms to protect its vulnerable residents, an independent commission has found.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

'Dedicated' Peel nurse, 55, killed by COVID-19
Author of the articleostmedia News
Publishing date:May 01, 2021 • 20 hours ago • < 1 minute read • 59 Comments
Peel Region registered nurse Lorraine Gouveia.
Peel Region registered nurse Lorraine Gouveia. PHOTO BY SEIU HEALTHCARE /FACEBOOK
Article content
A gutsy and devoted Peel Region registered nurse is the latest frontline pandemic casualty.

SEIU Healthcare — the union representing more than 60,000 frontline Ontario healthcare workers — confirmed the death of Lorraine Gouveia.


Her union said the 55-year-old died Friday after contracting COVID-19.

“We are mourning the loss of our dear member of 18 years, Lorraine Gouveia, who passed away due to COVID-19,” the union said in a release.

“Lorraine was a registered nurse, a fierce activist, loving mother, admired friend, and dedicated her life to making the lives of everyone she came in contact with better.”

A funeral service will be held on May 4 at 11 a.m.

'Dedicated' Peel nurse, 55, killed by COVID-19

A gutsy and devoted Peel Region registered nurse is the latest frontline pandemic casualty.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

LEVY: Long-term care an accident waiting to happen
Author of the article:Sue-Ann Levy
Publishing date:May 01, 2021 • 13 hours ago • 3 minute read • 7 Comments
A body is removed from the Eatonville Care Centre long-term facility on The East Mall in Toronto on Tuesday, April 14, 2020.
A body is removed from the Eatonville Care Centre long-term facility on The East Mall in Toronto on Tuesday, April 14, 2020. PHOTO BY JACK BOLAND /Toronto Sun
Article content
I reviewed the freshly released report of Ontario’s Long-Term Care Commission with profound sadness Saturday.

It wasn’t just because nearly 4,000 long-term care residents have died of COVID so far — my 91-year-old dad being one of them — in a province that was ill prepared for the pandemic and whose handling of the first and second waves was a veritable train wreck.


But it was because the carefully crafted 332-page report was released late Friday night when it was too late to garner much attention — a sign, I believe, that the provincial government has no remorse, very little understanding of the destruction it caused by poor planning and bureaucratic ineptitude, and likely little intention of learning from its mistakes.

Our elderly population deserved and deserves far better.

Not much of what was said was a surprise to me having covered many aspects of the unfolding LTC and retirement home fiasco — and the impact on families with loved ones in care — starting exactly one year ago.

Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
The LTC report made it abundantly clear the Ministry of Health and Long-term Care was unprepared and a stockpiling of PPE was abandoned post SARs by successive governments to tackle other fiscal priorities.

Diane Colangelo visits her 86-year-old mother Patricia through a window at the Orchard Villa long-term care home in Pickering.
Diane Colangelo visits her 86-year-old mother Patricia through a window at the Orchard Villa long-term care home in Pickering. PHOTO BY VERONICA HENRI /Toronto Sun/Postmedia
It was akin to an accident waiting to happen with “no plan” to protect long-term care residents, an LTC workforce “stretched to the limit” prior to COVID for a population with dementia and other complex medical issues, poor oversight by the ministry and outdated buildings.

The report says the government had an “episodic and reactive approach” to the pandemic.

There were “ample warnings” from Italy, from Washington state and from B.C., but those warnings “were not acted upon with sufficient speed,” the report says.

The LTC commission says decisions made by the provincial chief medical officer of health David Williams and his counterparts “lacked urgency”– not recognizing early enough the potential of asymptomatic spread, still questioning on March 24 whether community spread was occurring and not ordering “universal masking” until April 8 of last year.

The province was also slow to require long-term care staff to work at a single home, not issuing a single site order until April 14, which took effect April 22 of last year.

“In a pandemic, days make a difference. Delay is deadly,” the report says.

MORE ON THIS TOPIC

Members of the Canadian Armed Forces were called in to help at Pickering's Orchard Villa long-term care home on May 6, 2020.
LEVY: Ontario LTC homes still a disaster
Some 99% of long-term care (LTC) and retirement home residents have been vaccinated with both doses, and yet they're still locked into facilities -- not free to even venture outdoors with the nice weather.
LEVY: Time to let long-term care residents out of their prisons
People demonstrate in support of the well-being of long-term care home residents outside of Kennedy Lodge Long Term Care Home in the Scarborough area in Toronto.
LEVY: An annus horribilus for those in long-term care homes

Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
The report says the it was not always clear who was in charge of dealing with the LTC outbreaks — both at the home level and at the provincial level.

“The government found itself making up its emergency response as it went along,” the commissioners say.

Residents were not properly cohorted — the chief medical officer of health’s direction on cohorting was “unhelpful” — and staff numbers “collapsed” in many homes, the report says.

Even after the disaster of the first wave unfolded, the report says there were inadequate preparations for the second far more pernicious wave, such as increased staffing, infection control preparation, inspections and partnerships with hospitals.

One of the most tragic outcomes — besides lives lost — was the decision to bar essential visitors from homes, leaving residents confined to their rooms with no social activities or visitors.

“Many residents experienced symptoms of what is known as confinement syndrome,” says the report.


For-profit care received a bad rap during the pandemic and rightly so, given that there were a huge number of deaths in corporately-run homes with a profit motive.

The LTC Commission suggests that the private sector should be accessed to construct facilities and the government fund a payback scheme to allow developers to recoup their investment — but that entities running the homes should be responsible for resident care only, not on cutting corners to achieve a return on investment.

The report warns that demands for long-term care spaces and staff will only increase in years to come — and that the province is already way behind. As the report states, the population of those over 75 increased by 20% between 2011 and 2018 but there was only a 0.8% increase in long-term care beds.

It says by 2041 the province will require up to 115,000 LTC beds to accommodate the increased demand, along with much better home care support.

slevy@postmedia.com

LEVY: Long-term care an accident waiting to happen

I reviewed the freshly released report of Ontario's Long-Term Care Commission with profound sadness Saturday.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

CHAUDHRI: Court confirms IDEL layoffs are employee terminations
Author of the article:Sunira Chaudhri
Publishing date:May 01, 2021 • 19 hours ago • 4 minute read • Join the conversation
Sunira Chaudhri is an employment and labour lawyer and partner at Levitt Sheikh Chaudhri Swann. She sheds light on some questions for employees during COVID-19.
Sunira Chaudhri is an employment and labour lawyer and partner at Levitt Sheikh Chaudhri Swann. She sheds light on some questions for employees during COVID-19. PHOTO BY SUPPLIED PHOTO /Levitt LLP
Article content
If you were laid off during COVID-19, the case of Jessica Coutinho confirms you were likely terminated.

Jessica Coutinho started working for Ocular Health Centre Ltd. in 2014 as an ophthalmic technician. She was promoted in 2018 to office manager and when COVID-19 hit she was in the same role earning $52,900 a year.


Even after much of the province was shut down, Coutinho continued to report to work until things suddenly changed on May 1. She reported to work at Ocular’s Cambridge clinic as she normally did, but this time she was met by one of the company’s principals, Mark Reinstra, and two of the clinic’s doctors.

Reinstra told her she would not be allowed to enter the clinic.

When she returned home, Reinstra phoned her and said, among other things, “As you are aware the Cambridge office is closed. Don’t worry about pay. You will be paid until further notice …. I will follow up with you the following week to discuss things. If you discuss this conversation with the doctors you work for, that will be cause for your termination.”

Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
Reinstra did not contact Coutinho the following week as promised.

On May 29, 2020, Reinstra wrote Coutinho that she was being placed on a temporary layoff and that Ocular will do its best to recall her to her position. Coutinho was effectively placed on Ontario’s Infectious Disease Emergency Leave (IDEL).

MORE ON THIS TOPIC

People react after the verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, found guilty of the death of George Floyd, at George Floyd Square in Minneapolis, Minn., April 20, 2021.
CHAUDHRI: Chauvin guilty verdict signals new era
Sunira Chaudhri, a partner at Levitt LLP, is pictured in this undated handout photo.
CHAUDHRI: Vaccination may create an elite class of employees to the detriment of others
Sunira Chaudhri is an employment and labour lawyer and partner at Levitt Sheikh Chaudhri Swann. She sheds light on some questions for employees during COVID-19.
CHAUDHRI: Slashing salaries amid pandemic lands employer in hot water

As months went on, Coutinho was not recalled to Ocular and accepted a job with two doctors she worked with at Ocular at their new clinic “Tri-City Eye” in July 2020 with a better salary.

But the story does not end there. When Coutinho was laid off in May, she sued Ocular for $200,000 for constructive dismissal and punitive damages a month later.

Ocular filed a summary judgment motion to have Coutinho’s case dismissed early, before trial. It argued that COVID-19 was an unprecedented emergency, having a severe impact on employers and employees in Ontario. Because of changes in the law, including the introduction of IDEL, Ocular argued the temporary elimination of Coutinho’s duties was not a constructive dismissal even at common law.

The court rejected Ocular’s argument and found that Coutinho was constructively dismissed; meaning she was entitled to damages for being fired. The court noted that: “It is well-established that at common law, an employer has no right to lay off an employee and that absent an agreement to the contrary, a unilateral layoff by an employer is a substantial change in the employee’s employment and would be a constructive dismissal.”

Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
The takeaway from this case is this: Coutinho moved quickly. She understood that Ocular didn’t have the right to lay her off and sued a month after she was told not to return to the Cambridge clinic. If she did not move so swiftly, she may have seen a different result.

The fact is COVID-19 isn’t over. Companies continue to shed their workforces. This case will help many of you if you happen to find yourself in the same position as Coutinho. Take heart; as the pandemic rolls on, Lady Justice continues to tip the scales in favour of employees.


On to your questions from this week:

Q. I got my first shot of the vaccine (yippee!) and my employer says I can start meeting customers. I am pretty sure my first dose is not really effective for two weeks and even then, I won’t be wholly immunized. Can my employer expect things to go back to normal after I have only received one shot?

A. Absolutely not. The province remains in lockdown and meeting customers is likely not essential at this time. There is no law with respect to how workplaces will reopen once employees are partially or wholly vaccinated. If you have concerns about being forced to take on in-person work raise this with your employer and if that fails file a complaint with the Ministry of Labour or get some legal advice to help navigate the conversation with your employer.

Q. Hi, my employer sent an email to our department asking for people to self-identify if they got a vaccine so that these people can go back to work. I know some of the older employees in my company have already received their first dose but I have not (I am under 50). I am worried older people will be called back to work first and I might be laid off because I am getting the vaccine late. Is there anything I can do to prevent this from happening? I know it sounds silly, but I am going to be benched at least 60 days longer than some others who will be fully vaccinated soon.

A. As an employee you have the right to be treated fairly and equally among your peers. If you happen to get laid off, you will likely be able to treat your layoff as a termination and receive a severance package. Ensure you get legal advice immediately if this happens to protect your rights and improve the size of your severance package if possible.

Have a workplace issue? Maybe I can help! Send your workplace question to schaudhri@lscslaw.com and it may be featured in a future article. Until then, stay safe my friends!

CHAUDHRI: Court confirms IDEL layoffs are employee terminations

If you were laid off during COVID-19, the case of Jessica Coutinho confirms you were likely terminated.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

COVID-plagued ceremony for fallen officers a sombre, lonely affair
Author of the article:Brad Hunter
Publishing date:May 02, 2021 • 14 hours ago • 1 minute read • Join the conversation
Five wreaths were left at the Queen's Park police memorial during a largely virtual ceremony to mark the 22nd Annual Ceremony of Remembrance for Ontario's fallen police officers on May 2, 2021.
Five wreaths were left at the Queen's Park police memorial during a largely virtual ceremony to mark the 22nd Annual Ceremony of Remembrance for Ontario's fallen police officers on May 2, 2021. PHOTO BY ERNEST DOROSZUK /Toronto Sun
Article content
On the first Sunday of May, Queen’s Park is typically awash in blue.

For more than two decades, the Ontario Police Memorial Foundation (OPMF) has honoured law enforcement personnel who have died in the line of duty.


There are more than 266 names in all covering the province’s history from a rural, more pastoral world to the heavily urbanized present.

But because of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s ceremony featured only the OPMF’s president, Jason Tomlinson, and his immediate family who lent a hand.

“Despite our best-laid plans, we have again fallen victim to COVID-19, and we were adapting plans as late as Friday night,” Tomlinson said, adding that the virtual event remained a “sombre yet important occasion.”

He added: “These 266 plus men and women have paid the ultimate price. We also honour our fallen officers’ families who continue to live with the sacrifice of the line of duty. And those who lose their battles because of the line of duty.”

Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
OPP Const. Marc Hovingh, a 28-year veteran serving out of the service’s Little Current detachment, was killed in a shooting on Manitoulin Island on Thursday, Nov. 19, 2020.
OPP Const. Marc Hovingh, a 28-year veteran serving out of the service’s Little Current detachment, was killed in a shooting on Manitoulin Island on Thursday, Nov. 19, 2020. PHOTO BY SUPPLIED /Ontario Provincial Police
On the minds of many in the policing family was the latest sad addition to the ranks of the dead.


On Nov. 19, 2020, OPP Const. Marc Hovingh paid the ultimate price for doing his duty.

That day, the 28-year veteran of the service was shot to death on a property in Gore Bay on Manitoulin Island in what was described as a routine call for an “unwanted man.”

“Routine” ended in death for Hovingh — married with four children — and his killer.

Tomlinson said that once the pandemic ends and the memorial returns in person, Hovingh’s name will be added to the long list of his brother and sister officers.

Quoting a childhood friend of the heroic cop, Tomlinson said: “Mark was the guy we all looked up to. Growing up, we all wanted to be just like him.”

bhunter@postmedia.com

@HunterTOSun

COVID-plagued ceremony for fallen officers a sombre, lonely affair

On the first Sunday of May, Queen's Park is typically awash in blue.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Toronto Public Health, Dr. de Villa refuse questions on hotel quarantine outbreak
Author of the article:Bryan Passifiume
Bryan Passifiume
Publishing date:May 03, 2021 • 16 hours ago • 2 minute read • 41 Comments
Crowne Plaza at 33 Carlson Court in Toronto.
Crowne Plaza at 33 Carlson Court in Toronto. PHOTO BY SCREENGRAB /Google Maps
Article content
Toronto’s top doctor gave reporters the silent treatment on Monday when asked about a COVID-19 outbreak at a city quarantine hotel.

Refusing to even disclose which hotel was impacted, Dr. Eileen de Villa cited “privacy” and the “ongoing investigation” as justification for ducking repeated questions on the outbreak at the Crowne Plaza Hotel.


“I’ve tried to make it very clear through the answers that there’s an investigation underway, and that there’s an important assessment that needs to be done and undertaken by the investigation,” Toronto’s medical officer of health said during Monday’s news conference.


“Once they’ve had their investigation and I’ve had the opportunity to connect with them, there’ll be a greater opportunity to have conversations with the public and explain what the investigation is revealing.”

The Crowne Plaza is one of 20 government-approved airport travellers quarantine hotels.

Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
De Villa refused to answer questions about the outbreak that Toronto Public Health’s been aware of since the weekend, including how many are infected, if other quarantine hotels were undergoing outbreaks, or what measures are in place to protect guests from contracting COVID from infected staff members.

“I think it would be rather inappropriate to comment further while an investigation is underway,” de Villa responded to another reporter pressing her for details.

“I can assure you that Toronto Public Health staff are indeed undertaking the necessary investigation, as they would in all of these circumstances.”

Despite the outbreak, things seemed business as usual at the Crowne Plaza, with guests coming and going throughout Monday.

De Villa did say the hotel could be subject to closure under Sec. 22 of the Reopening Ontario Act, but declined to go into details.

MORE ON THIS TOPIC

The flight arrival lineup at Toronto's Pearson International Airport located in Terminal One on Feb. 22, 2021.
LEVY: Did traveller contract COVID at quarantine hotel?
A group of protesters rally out front of the Radisson hotel on Dixon Rd., where travellers are forced to quarantine after arriving at nearby Pearson International Airport, on Thursday Feb. 11, 2021.
LEVY: Future of COVID jails for travellers unclear
Traffic is shown on the Ambassador Bridge, which connects Detroit and Windsor, on February 9, 2021.
Ontario wants mandatory hotel quarantines for those entering at land crossings

Last month, Toronto Public Health initially refused to publicly identify businesses closed by de Villa under Sec. 22 due to workplace outbreaks, prompting an outcry from medical professionals and calls from Board of Health Chair Joe Cressy for de Villa to reverse the decision.

bpassifiume@postmedia.com
On Twitter: @bryanpassifiume

GOVERNMENT-AUTHORIZED QUARANTINE HOTELS IN TORONTO
Alt Hotel Pearson Airport
Best Western Premier Toronto Airport Carlingview Hotel
Quality Inn Toronto Airport (formerly Comfort Inn Toronto)
Courtyard Mississauga-Airport Corporate Centre West (use CGV corporate code)
Courtyard by Marriott Toronto Airport
Crowne Plaza Toronto Airport
Doubletree by Hilton Toronto Airport
Doubletree by Hilton Toronto Airport West
Embassy Suites by Hilton Toronto Airport
Fairfield Inn and Suites Toronto Airport
Four Points by Sheraton Toronto Airport
Hampton Inn and Suites Toronto Airport
Hampton Inn by Hilton Toronto Airport Corporate Centre
Hilton Garden Inn Toronto Airport West/Mississauga
Holiday Inn Toronto International Airport
Holiday Inn Toronto-Airport East
Sheraton Gateway Hotel in Toronto International Airport
Sheraton Toronto Airport Hotel and Conference Centre
Toronto Airport Marriott Hotel
TownePlace Suites by Marriott Mississauga-Airport Corporate Centre

Toronto Public Health, Dr. de Villa refuse questions on hotel quarantine outbreak

Toronto’s top doctor gave reporters the silent treatment on Monday when asked about a COVID-19 outbreak at a city quarantine hotel.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

BRAUN: Toronto family devastated by COVID which claims life of chef
Author of the article:Liz Braun
Publishing date:May 03, 2021 • 15 hours ago • 2 minute read • Join the conversation
Frank Piazza, 30
Frank Piazza, 30 PHOTO BY SUPPLIED PHOTO /Toronto Sun
Article content
A Toronto family has been decimated by COVID-19.

Every member of the Piazza family got seriously ill: Mom Teresa Piazza was intubated and in and out of consciousness for weeks before she started to pull through.


The family let her get her strength back a little before breaking the news that her only son had died of COVID.

Aspiring chef Frank Piazza, 30, died on April 11.

Nobody in his family could attend his funeral — his mother was near death in hospital and his father, Albert, pregnant sister Sylvia and her partner Joshua were also hospitalized with COVID-19.

His mother, Teresa, only just heard the news about Frank, three weeks later.

Frank’s uncle, Tony Piazza, took over burial arrangements and has held things together while the family continues to recover.

Frank’s parents will be moved to Providence Healthcare for rehabilitation over the next few weeks; his sister had her baby they are safely back home with her partner.

Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
“This should be a wake-up call for everybody,” said a grieving Tony Piazza on Sunday.

“It was devastating to our whole family. If people aren’t careful, this is the kind of thing that can happen to any family.”

But the Piazzas were careful. They followed safety protocols at all times. The five adults all lived under the same roof, however, so when one got COVID, they all ended up getting it.


The only silver lining, said Tony Piazza, is that everyone else is recovering now and expected to survive.

And the new baby — her middle name is Frankie — is healthy, adorable and a sign of hope for the family, too, he said.

Now the family just wants to help spread awareness of how deadly COVID can be.

“People need to know it’s not a joke. Wear a mask. Wash your hands. Follow all the protocols. If you don’t want to do it for yourself, do it for your mother.”

They loved Frank dearly, said Piazza. Everybody did.

“My brother, Albert, never used to say ‘I love you,’ but ever since he’s been in hospital, he ends the conversation by saying, ‘I love you, Tony.’

“Because you never know if you’re going to see your loved ones again. It’s heartbreaking.”

Frank Piazza was a hugely popular staffer at Fabbrica Restaurant in Don Mills and had worked there for eight years before the business was closed during COVID.

Fabbrica general manager Abby Rubiales described Frank as a kind, sweet-natured man who loved cooking and was known to sing and dance in the kitchen.

MORE ON THIS TOPIC

The Amazon Fulfillment warehouse on Heritage Rd in Brampton on Saturday, April 24, 2021.
COVID outbreaks close 32 businesses in Toronto, Peel
Passengers arrive at Toronto's Pearson airport after mandatory coronavirus disease (COVID-19) testing took effect for international arrivals February 1, 2021.
More than 5,000 international air travellers positive for COVID-19 since February
Asimina, a high school student, checks her negative Covid-19 test result after undergoing self testing at her home on April 11, 2021.
Pharmacy worker sold fake COVID-19 test papers for travellers: Police

Rubiales organized a GoFundMe campaign — Piazza Family Fund — to help his family through this devastating series of health events.

“Without trying to sugar-coat it, he was just a big guy with an even bigger heart,” said Rubiales.

“The Piazza family is completely gutted.”

Piazza Family Fund, organized by Abby Rubiales

The last 8 years have been nothing short of joy and laughter for all that have had the pleasure of w… Abby Rubiales needs your support for Piazza Family Fund

gofundme.com

BRAUN: Toronto family devastated by COVID which claims life of chef

A Toronto family has been decimated by COVID-19.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Church of God, defiant despite contempt ruling, faces new charges
Author of the article:Free Press staff
Publishing date:May 03, 2021 • 1 day ago • 1 minute read • 12 Comments
The Aylmer Church of God held a service indoors against Covid-19 restrictions on Sunday May 2, 2021. Mike Hensen/The London Free Press/Postmedia Network
The Aylmer Church of God held a service indoors against Covid-19 restrictions on Sunday May 2, 2021. Mike Hensen/The London Free Press/Postmedia Network
Article content
Aylmer police say more charges loom for members of the town’s Church of God, where a large service was held Sunday despite a recent contempt finding against the church and its pastor.

Monday morning, Aylmer’s police chief, Zvonko Horvat, announced that charges “against the organization and directors who actively participated and organized the service are pending.”


Sunday’s service attracted a large crowd and was monitored by police, but there were no conflicts or near-confrontations outside, as had boiled over one week prior.

The church has been flashpoint for anti-lockdown protests since the COVID-19 pandemic began last year. With Ontario now back in shutdown, and a stay-at-home order in place, its emergency law aimed at slowing the virus’s spread tightened the cap on indoor church gatherings at 10 people starting April 19.

Last week, a local judge ruled Pastor Henry Hildebrandt, his assistant pastor and the corporation were in contempt over their previous most recent Sunday service, on April 25. But the court did not order the John Street church’s doors locked.

Hildebrandt was clear he planned to continue Sunday services, saying the church needs to be “bold for god.

“I respect Justice (Bruce) Thomas and the court and thank him for his careful consideration of the matter, but we must obey God rather than men,” Hildebrandt said of his reaction to Friday’s ruling.

Sims: Aylmer journalist recounts churchgoer charging him 'like a bull'

I think some folks just want to make trouble for trouble’s sake.

lfpress.com

Church of God, defiant despite contempt ruling, faces new charges

Aylmer police say more charges loom for members of the town’s Church of God, where a large service was held Sunday despite a recent contempt finding against…

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

'ABSOLUTE LAST CONSIDERATION': Ornge paramedics vote in favour of strike if necessary
Seek exemption from provincial law that caps salaries

Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Melissa Couto Zuber
Publishing date:May 03, 2021 • 1 day ago • 2 minute read • 57 Comments
An Ornge air ambulance.
An Ornge air ambulance. PHOTO BY FILE PHOTO /Postmedia Network
Article content
Ontario’s air ambulance paramedics have raised the possibility of going on strike — an “absolute last consideration” if they can’t land an exemption from a provincial law that caps their salaries.

Unifor, the union representing Ornge workers, said Sunday that paramedics voted 94 per cent in favour of strike action, if necessary, in a vote tabulated on Friday.


Ornge paramedics have taken issue with Bill 124, which came into effect in 2019 and caps public sector wage increases to one per cent a year.

Unifor National President Jerry Dias called the wage-cap law a “foolish piece of legislation” in a virtual press conference on Sunday, adding that the one per cent bump is “well below even the rate of inflation.”

“Enough is enough,” Dias said. “We can’t keep telling people how essential they are how important (they are), and then pass legislation that takes these paramedics and puts them into a separate bucket than all the other paramedics in this province. That doesn’t make any sense.”

Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
The union members’ vote was to determine whether they’d be willing to take strike action. If they do choose to strike, they would first have to give notice.

Dias said Unifor is putting together an essential services protocol, which would outline services that are deemed essential for paramedics.

A Unifor spokesperson said paramedics will continue to provide those services. Unifor added that a date has not been secured to mediate the negotiations of an essential services agreement with the Ontario Labour Relations Board.


Ornge said union members rejected a recent tentative agreement that complied with Bill 124.

Paramedics who work for Ornge have been without a contract since July 31.

A spokesman for the medical transportation service said he believes both parties will be able to come to an agreement.

The Ministry of Labour said in an emailed statement Sunday that it has to remain neutral on labour relations matters.

“We encourage the employer and the union to make every effort to resolve their differences at the bargaining table,” a spokesperson for the ministry said.

The Ministry of Health did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ornge paramedics have been instrumental in helping transfer critically ill COVID-19 patients to intensive care units across the province. They also helped implement Ontario’s vaccination plan in remote communities.

'ABSOLUTE LAST CONSIDERATION': Ornge paramedics vote in favour of strike if necessary

Seek exemption from provincial law that caps salaries

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Ontario seeks advice on mixing vaccines
Author of the article:Antonella Artuso
Antonella Artuso
Publishing date:May 03, 2021 • 15 hours ago • 2 minute read • 29 Comments
Beach volleyball courts are off limits at Woodbine Beach in Toronto due to the provincial stay-at-home order on Sunday, April 25, 2021.
Beach volleyball courts are off limits at Woodbine Beach in Toronto due to the provincial stay-at-home order on Sunday, April 25, 2021. PHOTO BY VERONICA HENRI /Toronto Sun
Article content
Ontario has asked the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) for advice on mixing vaccines, associate medical officer of health Dr. Barbara Yaffe says.

The request comes at the same time that provincial public health officials acknowledge supply issues with AstraZeneca and Moderna.


“We’ve asked for NACI to come back with expert opinion recommendations in mid-May with respect to what vaccines can be mixed in terms of the first and second shots,” Yaffe said Monday. “So likely they will recommend that it is safe and effective to use a different vaccine for the second shot if you cannot get the same one you got in the first one.”

NACI has indicated the preferred vaccine is an mRNA, which in Canada means Pfizer or Moderna.

“If you’re going to get an mRNA today, great,” Yaffe said. “But if have to wait and you can get another vaccine, get the other vaccine … The bottom line is take whatever vaccine you’re offered.”

Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
Chief medical officer of health Dr. David Williams said the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have been performing very well.


“Even on one dose … we’re getting excellent results,” Williams said. “Over the next little while, our main product is going to be the Pfizer one… It may be the one to go to. We don’t have much more Astra Zeneca coming on the horizon.”

The province has administered just under 5.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, although only 375,905 people have had the required double dose.

Ontario reported 3,623 new cases of COVID-19 Monday, including 985 in Toronto, 714 in Peel Region, 351 in York Region, 271 in Durham, 194 in Hamilton, 159 in Halton Region and 130 in Ottawa.

MORE ON THIS TOPIC

Respiratory therapist Flor Guevara adjusts a breathing tube for a patient suffering from COVID-19 at Humber River Hospital's Intensive Care Unit, in Toronto on April 29, 2021.
Ontario expands vaccine rollout, reports 3,732 new COVID-19 cases
Woodbine Racetrack is closed because of the province's lockdown.
Woodbine to host pop-up vaccination clinic
In this file photo taken on April 30, 2021 vials of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson Janssen Covid-19 vaccine are pictured at the ZNA Middelheim hospital in Antwerp.
J&J vaccine can be used for people over 30 but mRNA vaccines still preferred: NACI

Another 16 deaths were linked to COVID-19 for a pandemic total of 8,118.

The province’s hospitals were treating 1,925 COVID-19 patients, and the virus put 889 in intensive care and 611 on ventilators.

Ontario has confirmed 473,901 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic with 428,786 cases recovered or recovering.

aartuso@postmedia.com

Ontario seeks advice on mixing vaccines

Ontario has asked the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) for advice on mixing vaccines, associate medical officer of health Dr. Barbara Yaffe…

torontosun.com