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/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/gta/2020/04/02/one-gta-health-region-has-already-exhausted-its-supply-of-ventilators-experts-say-this-should-be-a-red-alert/ventilators.jpg)
One GTA health region has already exhausted its supply of ventilators. Experts say this should be a ‘red alert’
The data shows there are 33 patients currently on ventilators in the Central West region, but the hospitals within that area only had 26 machines. The data does not include how many ventilators the hospitals have added in response to COVID-19. The hospitals — including William Osler Health System’s facilities in Etobicoke and Brampton, and Headwaters Health Care Centre in Orangeville — did not respond to questions about their current ventilator capacities by deadline. Another 165 patients on ventilators had suspected cases of COVID-19, according to provincial data from April 1. Todd Coleman, an epidemiologist and assistant professor in health sciences at Wilfrid Laurier University, told the Star the ever-decreasing baseline critical care capacity worries him.
Source:thestar
April 03, 2020 01:27 UTC
Calgary pulling together list of projects for life after pandemic
Calgary's mayor says it's no secret the city's economy will need a boost when the COVID-19 pandemic passes — and he wants city hall to be ready to roll. Naheed Nenshi told city council's intergovernmental affairs committee on Thursday that the city is pulling specific projects from its unfunded infrastructure list so it has a list of items that are ready to go. He said other orders of government are looking for post-pandemic ways to immediately create jobs and get the economy moving again. The mayor said the pandemic has resulted in a drop in revenues and it's spending more on unbudgeted items. He estimates the pandemic is costing the city up to $15 million a week.
Source:CBC News
April 02, 2020 23:37 UTC
Internal audit of Scheer's expenses turns up money spent on school, clothes, minivan: CP
An internal audit of outgoing Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer's expenses has found he spent $18,000 a year of party money on private parochial school for four of his children. Party spokesman Cory Hann confirmed the audit was finished and has been presented to the party. "The party's audit found no red flags in the party's accounting system and noted that all the expenses that were paid out were documented fully," he said in an email. The money for schooling paid the difference between the cost of private parochial school in the Scheers' Regina home and that in Ottawa. Hann was unable to immediately answer questions about whether Scheer was being asked to pay back any of the money.
Source:CBC News
April 02, 2020 23:26 UTC
CAF members begin 14-day isolation in Halifax prior to COVID-19 mission
Members of the Canadian Armed Forces, mostly members of the Royal Canadian Navy, began 14 days in isolation at a Halifax hotel on Thursday. It is a precaution against COVID-19 infection prior to setting out to sea for potential deployment to Canadian communities during the crisis. The isolation order covers about 260 crew members of the HMCS Moncton and HMCS Ville de Quebec, along with a Cyclone helicopter air detachment. The members will not be permitted to leave their rooms, or to interact with one another physically, for the two-week period. Therefore about 50 crew members were disqualified from the mission because they are smokers.
Source:CBC News
April 02, 2020 22:18 UTC
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Seventy-six per cent of Canadians are voluntarily self-isolating to fight COVID-19, poll finds
The poll found 76 per cent of respondents are voluntarily self-isolating while five per cent are in “mandatory quarantine at home” with another one per cent quarantining in a different location. In Campaign Research’s poll for the Star two weeks ago, just 11 per cent said they were self-isolating while 89 per cent were not. Fully 96 per cent of respondents said that “could slow the rate of infections by COVID-19” with only three per cent disagreeing and one per cent unsure. More than half — 56 per cent — were worried about their jobs, while 26 per cent weren’t concerned about that and 19 per cent didn’t answer. That compares with 70 per cent who were worried about their health with 29 per cent not worried and one per cent not responding.
Source:thestar
April 02, 2020 21:56 UTC
Chief medical officers are leading Canada through COVID-19 crisis — and many are women
Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada's chief public health officer, is leading the charge to not just "flatten the curve" but "plank it." Women who work in medicine say these chief medical officers are points of pride and inspiration for their field. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)Hemans, a family doctor who is currently working in a COVID-19 assessment clinic, said it's unfortunate that it's taken a public health crisis to show these women can shine. These portraits, from left, of Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Dr. Theresa Tam, Dr. Bonnie Henry and Dr. Eileen de Villa by artist Mandy Stobo are featured on T-shirts. chief medical officer Dr. Bonnie Henry has gained praise and immense respect for her measured yet humane response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Source:CBC News
April 02, 2020 20:55 UTC
N.L. campsite owners question shutdown order
His park, in Whiteway, 112 kilometres west of St. John's, allows RVs to park on its site year-round. They're cabins. They're no different than cabins," Singer said. Some park owners disagree with government's decision. He said his business isn't being hurt by the shutdown, since all residents have paid for the season in full.
Source:CBC News
April 02, 2020 20:37 UTC
Quibi gambles with mobile-only streaming platform amid COVID-19
Creators of the freshly minted subscription streaming platform Quibi had a tough sell on their hands even before the COVID-19 pandemic spiralled us into uncertain financial times. "In the middle of a global pandemic, most consumers simply don't have the bandwidth to consider taking on something new. In Canada, Quibi is working with Bell Media to sweeten its Daily Essentials block of current events content. Quibi CEO Meg Whitman, right, joins founder Jeffrey Katzenberg onstage at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in January. A host of famous names are creating content for the new platform, including Will Smith, Steven Spielberg and Jennifer Lopez.
Source:CBC News
April 02, 2020 20:15 UTC
COVID-19 has upended the U.S. election campaign and could also change how Americans vote
"The answer is no," said Marc Elias, a Democratic election lawyer and voting rights advocate. "Federal law sets the date of the general election … and absent an act of Congress, the date won't change. In the age of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, he says, consider the otherwise straightforward act of casting a ballot. For Trump, the election could be a referendum on his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. "I think we may see the first presidential campaign that is all television, all video," said Mark Longabaugh, a Democratic strategist and advisor to the Sanders campaign in 2016.
Source:CBC News
April 02, 2020 19:56 UTC
Ottawa overestimated cost of compensating First Nations children under tribunal order: budget officer
The federal government overestimated the cost of complying with a Canadian Human Rights Tribunal order that it compensate First Nations children apprehended from their homes through the on-reserve child welfare system, according to the Parliamentary Budget Officer. The Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) issued a report on the price of the tribunal order Thursday. "We believe abiding by the [human rights tribunal] ruling would not be as expensive as what government has come up with in terms of estimates," Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux told CBC News. The report said a total of 53,700 First Nations children have been taken into care from reserves and Yukon since 2006. NDP MP Charlie Angus, who asked for the Parliamentary Budget Office to do the cost estimate, says Ottawa needs to drop its court challenge and negotiate the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal order.
Source:CBC News
April 02, 2020 19:41 UTC
Canada pulls military trainers out of Iraq as pandemic spreads
The reordering of forces in Iraq is only temporary and those troops will not be brought home, the defence official said. Canada has had about 500 troops in Iraq, operating under both NATO and the U.S.-led anti-Islamic State coalition. NATO announced Thursday it had agreed to take over some of the military training of Iraqi non-commissioned officers and police from the coalition. Canada scales backCanada leads the NATO training mission in Iraq. The alliance's top commander stressed recently that the pandemic has not affected military operations or deterrence measures in Eastern Europe.
Source:CBC News
April 02, 2020 19:30 UTC
COVID-19 in Montreal: Mayor Valérie Plante urges people to stay in their neighbourhoods
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante said the city is prolonging its local state of emergency to continue responding "efficiently" to the COVID-19 crisis. "Montreal is the epicentre of the epidemic," said Dr. Mylène Drouin, director of Montreal's public health agency. Among efforts to contain the spread, public health authorities will be focusing on large multiplexes, especially those with large populations of seniors, Drouin said. Outbreak at Verdun hospitalMontreal's Verdun Hospital has 35 new cases of COVID-19 and five doctors are in isolation. She did not go into details about where these outbreaks are but reiterated the importance of testing health-care workers for COVID-19.
Source:CBC News
April 02, 2020 18:56 UTC
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Worries grow that discrimination against Chinese Canadians is getting worse as pandemic continues
“Since then we’ve been hearing more and more stories about Chinese Canadians experiencing discrimination in the workplace, or just being called names while they’re just on the street out shopping,” Go said. In a recent intelligence report, the FBI warned local police across the U.S. that hate crimes against Asian American communities could “surge” during the pandemic. The RCMP has not issued any warnings about a potential rise in hate crimes targeting Asian Canadian communities. A spokesperson for the Toronto Police Service said there has been no increase in reported hate crimes targeting Canadians of Asian. Get the latest in your inbox Never miss the latest news from the Star, including up-to-date coronavirus coverage, with our free email newsletters Sign Up NowKong is calling on authorities to do more to support Chinese Canadians during the pandemic.
Source:thestar
April 02, 2020 18:45 UTC
'This has been a nightmare': Canadian passengers on virus-stricken cruise finally headed for home
The Zaandam and its sister ship, the Rotterdam, are carrying 1,243 passengers, including the 247 Canadian passengers and one Canadian crew member. Two of the deceased later tested positive for COVID-19, and Holland America has not yet said how the other two died. Holland America said in a statement that passengers will undergo health screenings and clear customs and immigration in Port Everglades, then will disembark by Friday evening. Holland America's MS Zaandam is set to dock in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., later today, with many sick passengers on board. (Holland America Line)After a series of rejections, the Zaandam and Rotterdam planned to dock in Fort Lauderdale.
Source:CBC News
April 02, 2020 18:00 UTC
Thursday sees another surge in COVID-19 cases in Ottawa
For the second consecutive day, Ottawa has seen a record number of new COVID-19 cases, confirming warnings from health officials that the situation is likely to get much worse before it gets better. There are now 252 confirmed cases in Ottawa. At the same time, health officials say the reported cases likely represent just a fraction of the actual number of cases in the community. Ontario now has 2,793 confirmed cases of the respiratory illness, a leap of 401 from Wednesday. Nationwide, there are now over 11,000 reported cases.
Source:CBC News
April 02, 2020 17:59 UTC