TORONTO, Ont. - The age threshold for individuals eligible to book a COVID-19 vaccine through the province’s online booking portal will be lowered to 55, while the provincial government anticipates all adults over the age of 18 can start booking appointments by the end of next month.
Those aged 55 and over can book an appointment starting Friday at 8 a.m. through the province s online booking system. This is exciting news, said Minister of Health Christine Elliott. The way out of the pandemic is vaccines and the light at the end of the tunnel grows brighter every day. However, until the majority of Canadians receive both doses of the vaccine we must continue to follow all public health measures.
With millions of doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines anticipated to arrive in Ontario, the province's vaccine task force says it can accelerate its timeline so that all adults will be able to register for a first dose by the end of May.
Article content Restaurateur Stephen Beckta called the provision of three sick days “terrific” and noted that because they are retroactive to April 19, they could benefit 10 of employees who have been off for the last 10 days or so after one of them tested positive for COVID-19.
Beckta added that while the Ford government rescinded the previous government’s provision of two days of sick leave, his restaurant group kept it. Now his hourly workers will have five days of paid sick leave.
Beckta said that if his employees prefer to hold on to their sick days and instead apply the federal government’s Canada Recovery Sickness Benefits, he is comfortable advancing them loans until they receive the benefits.
Long term care bed / Stock photo
TORONTO, Ont. - The provincial government is implementing a temporary emergency order granting doctors the ability to transfer patients no longer requiring hospital care to long-term care or retirement homes without their consent in an effort to free space for COVID-19 patients.
Minister of Health Christine Elliott made the announcement on Wednesday as the province continues to struggle through a third wave of COVID-19 resulting in a record number of hospitalizations and intensive care unit admissions.
“The spread of COVID-19 variants continues to pose a significant threat to our health system’s critical care capacity and the lives of Ontarians,” Elliott said.
WINDSOR, ONT. Windsor-Essex residents age 40 and older in designated hot spot postal codes are now eligible to book a COVID-19 vaccination. The Ontario government is expanding booking for vaccination appointments to individuals 45 and over in 114 designated high-risk neighbourhoods in 13 public health units, as identified by postal code. Windsor-Essex is able to reduce the age further to age 40 for those areas. As of 8 a.m. Tuesday, all individuals who are 40 and over in 2021, living in postal codes N8H, N8X, N8Y, N9A, N9B, N9C and N9Y, will be eligible to book an appointment at a mass immunization clinic.