(Reuters) – The following is a summary of some recent studies on COVID-19. They include research that warrants further study to corroborate the findings and that has yet to be certified by peer review. Coronavirus leaves survivors with self-attacking antibodies Months after recovering from SARS-CoV-2 infection, survivors have elevated levels of antibodies that can mistakenly…
Category: Community News
Omicron up to 70% less likely to need hospital care
People catching Omicron are 50% to 70% less likely to need hospital care compared with previous variants, a major analysis says. The UK Health Security Agency says its early findings are “encouraging” but the variant could still lead to large numbers of people in hospital. The health secretary said it was “too early” to determine…
COVID-19 vaccine certificates with QR codes are now required in Ontario
Starting on January 4, the province says you’ll need to use a QR code to enter settings where proof of COVID-19 vaccination must be presented. That means you will no longer be able to use the printed receipt you received when you were vaccinated. You can save the QR digitally or you can print it…
Vaccine mandates are justified as a matter of community self-defence – and justice
David M. Beatty is a professor emeritus at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law and the author of Faith, Force and Reason: An Armchair History of the Rule of Law, which will be published in spring 2022. COVID-19 is a serial killer. In just two years, it has taken the lives of more than…
GTA hospitals call ‘Code Orange’ as they redeploy staff to fend off Omicron wave
Osler Health, which includes Brampton Civic and Etobicoke General hospitals, signals staff to redeploy in the face of external disaster. Due to an increase in COVID-19 patients and staff shortages, William Osler Health System declared an internal Code Orange on Monday just hours after Premier Doug Ford told Ontarians to “brace for impact” from the spread of Omicron. An…
In about-face, Ford closes Ontario schools and bans indoor dining due to Omicron ‘tsunami’
The moves come just four days after Dr. Kieran Moore, the chief medical officer of health, assured Ontarians schools would reopen for in-class learning this Wednesday. In an about-face triggered by the Omicron “tsunami,” Premier Doug Ford has ordered schools to do virtual learning for at least the next two weeks. Ford also imposed other…
Ontario to return to Step 2 of reopening plan Wednesday; remote learning for students, indoor dining, gyms to be closed
As of Wednesday, students will return to virtual learning until at least mid-January and Ontario will be reverting to a modified Step Two of its reopening plan, resulting in the closure of indoor dining, gyms, theatres and lower capacity limits in most other settings. On Monday, Premier Doug Ford announced that the province will head…
COVID-19 Pandemic Could End In Spring & Omicron Variant ‘Leading Us To That Place Sooner’
Dr. Bonnie Henry said the surge in COVID-19 cases could mean the virus becomes endemic as the season shifts. The COVID-19 pandemic, which has gripped the world for almost two years, could end when the season shifts to spring, according to one of B.C.’s leading public health officials. Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry told CBC…
Applications open for $300-a-week COVID-19 benefit in most provinces and territories
Applications are now open for the expanded Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit, the government said Thursday after adding most provinces and territories to the eligibility list. The benefit, announced in November but expanded on Dec. 22, allows any worker to apply for the support if their workplace has been slapped with capacity-limiting restrictions of 50 per cent or…
Ontario Schools Will Delay Reopening For In-Person Learning Until Later Next Week
New measures will be put in place. The Ontario government just announced that schools will be returning for in-person learning this January despite the province’s rising number of COVID-19 cases. Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kieran Moore announced in a press conference on Thursday that the province is delaying the return of students to January 5, instead of…