Most of the province has moved on, but the pandemic is still taking a deadly toll, claiming hundreds of victims in the last month alone. Muriel Thompson did everything she could to avoid getting sick with COVID-19. The 79-year-old from Belleville was undergoing treatment for lymphoma and knew the pandemic put her at risk. She was…
Category: Community News
How a ‘risk budget’ is helping some Ontarians navigate a spring without COVID public health restrictions
The harm reduction approach means you can still find ways to enjoy life without acting like the virus isn’t there. A dance class, a live play, the chance to hold a friend’s baby, even a family trip to the zoo. These are some of the moments many Ontarians have missed out on over the last…
Doug Ford’s challenge: How to fight COVID while pretending COVID is over
This Omicron wave should be different, with hospitals not overwhelmed. But “we have no situational awareness, and the public’s fed up.” So there’s this Twitter account that tracks how New York Times headlines evolve as they are edited, and Tuesday the first version looked like this: The Best Time To Prepare For A Covid Surge…
More low-income Canadians took out instalment loans during the pandemic — and had to pay interest rates of up to 60%
New report from advocacy group ACORN calls on federal government to slash the legal limit for interest rates on instalment loans to 30%. A new report highlights the impact that high-cost loans had on low-income borrowers during the pandemic, pointing to examples of people falling into “vicious cycles of debt” as they struggled to cover the escalating…
Is that a tidal wave of COVID-19 heading toward us, or just a ripple?
There is growing evidence that a new wave of the COVID-19 pandemic is headed for our shores. You don’t have to squint very hard to see it. It’s there in the World Health Organization’s announcement this week that BA.2, the highly contagious Omicron subvariant, is now the planet’s dominant strain of Omicron. BA.2 is believed to…
6 ways to help employees recover from COVID-19 burnout
A recent survey found that 84% of Canadian employees have experienced burnout, with 34% reporting high or extreme levels.* Will easing public or workplace restrictions around COVID-19 automatically reverse employees’ pandemic-related burnout? “It may not be that easy,” says Kart Vyas, WSPS Specialized Consultant. Kart defines burnout as “physical, emotional, and/or mental exhaustion resulting from…
Long COVID is affecting thousands of Canadians. These researchers are racing to understand its risk factors, treatments
Alan Katz has been conducting research on the health-care system for 25 years, but for the most part, few members of the public have ever followed the progress of his scientific studies. That all changed in the past few months, after an announcement that Dr. Katz is starting an ambitious trial to better understand long…
Building back equitably: 4 ways to address mental health inequities magnified by the pandemic, and ensure access to care
You don’t need statistics to appreciate the profound effects that COVID-19 restrictions limiting social connections and access to services have had on our collective mental health. And yet, statistics — paired with qualitative data that offer in-depth descriptions of what people are experiencing — are essential for monitoring improvements, or lack thereof, during the process…
Pictured: Two-year-old boy who died with Covid – as NSW health reveals the child was ‘previously well’
A healthy two-year-old boy who tragically died in Sydney after contracting Covid-19 has been identified. Carter Cheung was rushed to The Children’s Hospital at Westmead on Thursday after becoming ill. He was diagnosed with the virus that day but his condition had deteriorated. His parents made the gutwrenching decision to it turn off on Saturday. NSW recorded 14,970 new cases of…
Mandatory vaccination, masking to remain in place for the rest of winter term in Ryerson
Here are the health measures to follow on campus Recently, the Government of Ontario announced that masking requirements will be lifted in many indoor public settings effective Monday, March 21st; however, Ryerson University will continue to require masking while indoors until at least the end of the current term. This is in keeping with a…