New cases in the province this week remained above the 2,000 threshold, with the lowest number reported sitting at 2,094 and the highest reaching 2,557 today.
The latest modelling by the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory table suggests that the province cannot vaccinate quickly enough to break the third wave.
With the Easter weekend upon us and delayed spring break approaching, Northern Ontario's health units, including Algoma Public Health, have collectively urged residents to take every precaution and remain vigilant amid the holidays.
In order to prevent the current surge in COVID-19 cases from overwhelming the healthcare system, a concern cited by the Ontario Hospital Association as the third wave of COVID-19 wages on, residents are urged to remain vigilant by continuing to follow health unit safety protocols and restrictions. These include physical distancing, avoiding non-essential travel, and wearing a mask.
Along the same lines, Premier Ford expressed 'extreme concern' about the number of COVID-19 cases in the province on Tuesday. Just ahead of the long weekend, the province pulled the emergency brake putting all public health units across the province in lockdown.
All 34 of Ontario's public health regions will move into shutdown on April 3 for a period of four weeks, meaning the shutdown will be in place until May 1.
Locally, Catholics are encouraged to celebrate Holy Week safely at home, with family or livestreamed services, or in person with social distancing, limited capacity at churches, and mandatory mask measures. Read more on how you can celebrate Easter this year here.
Here's the latest on new cases in Algoma
The health unit reported a total of four new cases of the virus since last Friday night.
Three of those cases have tested positive for variants of concern (VOCs), marking the area's first VOCs since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Here are the latest COVID-19 numbers from Algoma Public Health, updated yesterday at 1:20 p.m.:
- 115,362 tested
- 229 confirmed
- 8 active case
- 0 currently hospitalized
- 211 resolved
- 4 deceased
According to data on howsmyflattening.ca, a University of Toronto-led website which collects and analyzes data from Ontario's COVID-19 cases, 50 per cent of ICU beds in Algoma Public Health's jurisdiction are currently occupied.
The data also describes the community risk level for COVID-19 in our region as 'very low.'
Total confirmed cases by area of residence:
- 161 in Sault Ste. Marie and area
- 47 in central and east Algoma
- 18 in Elliot Lake and area
- 3 in north Algoma
Public COVID-19 exposures reported this week:
- On Sunday, APH reported potential low-risk exposure at Bath and Body Works in the Station Mall. Anyone who visited the store between 11 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on Saturday March 28 are advised to self-monitor for COVID-19 symptoms
- Also on Sunday, the health unit reported low-risk exposure at Tim Hortons at the corner of Great Northern Road and Third Line, either walk-in or drive-thru, on March 23 and 24 between 5 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. The store was closed temporarily for cleaning.
There have been no confirmed COVID cases at area schools reported in the last 14 days.
Comparatively, in Chippewa County, which covers Sault Ste. Marie Mich. and surrounding area, the COVID-19 data as of Tuesday states:
- 2,030 cumulative positives
- 1,739 cumulative recovered
- 30 deaths
- 1 cases currently hospitalized
Here's the latest on COVID-19 vaccinations in Algoma
Algoma Public Health is in Phase 1 of Ontario's 3 Phase Vaccine Distribution Program. As of today at 10:15 a.m.:
- 21,128 total doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered (19,738 Algoma residents, which is 20.40 per cent of eligible residents 16+ or 17.25 per cent of all residents)
- 18,348 people have received their first dose (This number represents 18.96 per cent of eligible residents 16+, and 16.03 per cent of all residents)
- 1,390 Algoma residents have been fully immunized with first and second doses (This number represents 1.44 per cent of eligible residents 16+, and 1.21 per cent of all residents)
Last Friday afternoon, APH announced a COVID-19 Community Vaccine Hub will be held this coming week, on Saturday and Tuesday. On Tuesay night, the health unit said it will be taking appointments for another newly announced COVID-19 vaccination clinic on Saturday, April 10.
Individuals eligible for these vaccination clinics include health care workers, faith leaders, adults aged 70 and older, adult chronic home care recipients, Indigenous adults, and long-term care home staff members and essential caregivers.
This morning, the province announced that Algoma residents 55+ will soon be able to book vaccination clinics at local pharmacies. As early as April 3, two pharmacies in the Sault and one in Elliot Lake will be offering bookings for the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Education minister says April break to go ahead as planned
Ontario's education minister says that spring break for the province's schools will not be postponed again.
Stephen Lecce says the break scheduled for the week of April 12 will go ahead as planned while the government continues to follow advice from the province's top doctor.
He also says the government is planning to step up safety protocols when students and staff return to in-class learning on April 19.
Canada expects 44 million vaccine doses by end of June
As of the end of this week, Canada has received about 9.5 million doses of approved COVID-19 vaccines from three manufacturers, well ahead of the six million doses the federal government had projected to receive in the first quarter of this year, said the minister of public services and procurement.
Pfizer Biotech is accelerating deliveries to Canada, the government said on Tuesday, with another five million doses expected to arrive in June.
Canada will receive at least one million doses of the Pfizer vaccine every week until the end of May, and in June, that will be two million doses a week every week.
Meanwhile, Ford says Ontario's vaccination plans are solid, but the lack of reliable supply is hampering efforts to vaccinate Ontarians.
Even with the supply issues, Ontario has administered more than two million doses. Ford provided some statistics on where those vaccines went: nearly 80 per cent of people over age 80 have had at least their first dose; nearly 45 per cent of people ages 75 and 79 have had at least one dose, and; nearly 15 per cent of residents over 60 have had at least their first dose.
Lecce announces $400 per child COVID-19 benefit
Education Minister Stephen Lecce said the third round of Ontario COVID-19 Child Benefit payments, which offset additional learning costs, will be doubled to $400 per child in Grade 12 or younger, or $500 per youth with special needs up to the age of 21.
This amounts to a funding announcement of $980 million.
The investment is part of the 2021 Ontario budget.
National vaccine panel recommends AstraZeneca vaccine not be used on people under the age of 55
The AstraZeneca vaccine was approved for all people over 18 on Feb. 26, but Canada's National Advisory Committee on Immunization and Health then said there weren't enough seniors included in clinical trials to be confident about how the vaccine would perform on people over the age of 65.
Two weeks later NACI retracted that advice citing new real-world evidence from the United Kingdom that showed the vaccine was very effective when used on seniors.
This latest recommendation follows reports in Europe that about three dozen patients developed blood clots following immunization with the AstraZeneca vaccine, most of them younger women.
Ontario's top doctors have 'paused' plans to administer the AstraZeneca shot to groups under the age of 60.
Meanwhile, Ontario is looking at how it can address vaccine hesitancy amongst some of its oldest citizens. A national poll suggests Canadians are far more wary of the AstraZeneca vaccine than other COVID-19 vaccines available.
Regions could face stricter shutdown measures if COVID cases climb 'rapidly'
The emergency brake used by the province and local health units to send a region into a lockdown just got stickier.
The Ontario government announced on Friday it will be using the emergency brake to put regions back under the same shutdown measures used this January for the province-wide shutdown, which is stricter than the current grey/lockdown measures.
Dr. David Williams, chief medical officer of health for Ontario, said the ability to immediately implement the shutdown measures in regions seeing a rapid increase in transmission will “provide an extra layer of protection.”
Read more about the measures here.
Province announces new lockdown rules, hair salons can stay open
The provincial government announced some changes to its lockdown rules that allow more businesses to stay open even if the region is placed in the grey/lockdown zone.
Starting March 29, the new lockdown measures allow outdoor fitness classes, outdoor training for team and individual sports, and outdoor personal training. Classes will still have to be limited to a maximum of 10 participants with physical distancing requirements.
As of April 12, hair salons and other personal care services will no longer be required to close if their region enters (or is already in) the grey/lockdown zone. These establishments were previously required to close under grey/lockdown restrictions.
COVID-19 stalls Sault airport's plans for multi-million-dollar expansion
City councillors were told on Monday that a $5.3 million project, which included enhancements to existing infrastructure, further expansion of current tenants, as well as attraction of new tenants such as a hotel in front of the terminal, has been stalled for at least three more years.
"The aviation industry has been heavily impacted by COVID-19," says Tom Vair, the city's deputy chief administrative officer for community development and enterprise services.
The airport is now asking to withhdraw its request for city economic development cash.
Algoma U hopes more students will be able to study in person going into the spring
It is hoped Algoma students, whether domestic or international, will be learning in increasing numbers in person at one of the school’s three campuses as opposed to remotely as the world struggles with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read more from the university here.
Funding to help Sault Area Hospital with surgical backlog, deficit
COVID-19 caused a backlog in surgical procedures at Sault Area Hospital (SAH), and the facility also looking at an unbalanced budget due to revenue loss in its current fiscal year.
However, the Ontario budget is promising financial aid to COVID-battered hospitals across the province.
Health funding has been upped to $69.8 billion, hospitals to get an extra $1.8 billion to help ease pressures caused by the pandemic. SAH, like other Ontario hospitals, doesn’t yet know how much of that funding it will receive, or when, said Lil Silvano, SAH vice president and chief financial officer.
The province also announced $300 million will go to Ontario hospitals to cut down the backlog of surgical procedures that have been cancelled or delayed due to the pandemic.
Silvano estimated “probably around 600 procedures” were put on hold at SAH as a result of last year’s initial COVID onslaught.
Silvano said details of government aid will hopefully be known by the hospital “within the next few weeks.”
Finding work not easy for COVID-era college grads, Sault woman says
The Sault’s Kristen Auer, like thousands of other post-secondary students across Canada set to graduate this spring, will be looking for a job in the COVID-19 pandemic, which has thrown the economy into a state of permanent job loss for many or, for many others, on again off again employment as the Sault has already gone through two lockdowns.
Read more about her experience here.
Report finds long-term care residents got less medical care in first wave of pandemic
A new study shows residents in long-term care homes in several provinces received less medical care and had less contact with family and friends during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic than the previous year.
The report says that drop was seen in all five provinces where data were available – Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta, British Columbia and Newfoundland and Labrador –even when homes did not have an outbreak.
It says there was a similar decrease in physician care orders for long-term care residents, which suggests virtual visits from doctors did not replace in-person ones.
Meanwhile, residents of Ontario's long-term care homes are pleading to be allowed to go outside. Many say they've been confined to their rooms or floors since the pandemic began more than a year ago.
Ontario nurses say they were ignored after SARS, hope their COVID-19 report will be different
The Ontario Nurses Association (ONA) has filed its official report to Ontario's Long-Term Care COVID-19 Commission along with several recommendations calling on the provincial government to take action to improve the safety and care of residents.
The ONA also wants legislated changes to protect the workers who look after the patients in those homes.
Ontario's Long-Term Care COVID-19 Commission has held public hearings and has gathered evidence of conditions in long-term care homes since the commission was formed last summer. The commission is now in the report-writing phase and is expected to table its first report on April 30, one month from today.
As expected, the ONA report is filled with examples of poorly run homes, of staff being overworked and of residents suffering and dying as a result.
Mail-in ballots being considered for upcoming municipal election
Sault Ste. Marie will investigate using advanced voting technology in the next municipal election, scheduled for Monday, Oct. 24, 2022.
Madison Zuppa, deputy city clerk, is planning a community engagement initiative to gather public sentiment about vote-counting technology as well as alternative voting methods and locations.
Read more from SooToday's David Helwig here.
ADSB allocates 3,000 more devices for students across the district
The Algoma District School Board has allocated 3,000 more devices for grades 6-10 in order to achieve a 1:1 allocation for that grade group.
This is an effort to support online learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic.