Posted: Jan 15, 2021 4:00 AM ET | Last Updated: January 15
Paramedics transport a patient to Mt. Sinai Hospital in Toronto on Thursday. With hospitals in Montreal under strain from COVID-19, doctors in Quebec and Ontario are now reviewing triage protocols that will help them to decide who gets access to critical care if there is a shortage of beds.(Evan Mitsui/CBC)
Canada’s health care system buckling as governments reject measures to contain COVID-19
As COVID-19 infections continue to rise across Canada, dire warnings about the health care system’s inability to cope are growing. The number of intensive care patients in Ontario’s hospitals surpassed the peak of the first wave of the pandemic Monday and is fast approaching the level at which Doug Ford’s provincial government has acknowledged that it will be impossible to maintain adequate health care for those suffering from other illnesses or injuries.
There were 285 COVID-19 patients in Ontario intensive care units as of December 21, more than the 283 recorded at the high point during the spring. When COVID-19 intensive care patients surpass 300, which is set to occur within the next 10 days, health authorities say that they will no longer be able to guarantee regular levels of care for other patients.
5 Ontario regions tightening restrictions, Peel and Toronto to remain in lockdown
Ontario is tightening public health restrictions in five regions as hospitals say they are inundated with COVID-19 patients.
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Ontario tightens COVID-19 restrictions in 5 more regions
The National3 months ago
2:37
Ontario is in the midst of extending lockdowns in hot spots and tightening restrictions in other regions.2:37 comments
Ontario is tightening public health restrictions in five regions as hospitals say they are inundated with COVID-19 patients.
Those regions include Hamilton, which will move to the grey or lockdown level, joining Peel Region, Toronto and Windsor-Essex County, Premier Doug Ford s government said late Friday afternoon.
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Metro Morning7:00 This could be your family: Dr. Michael Warner on losing 5 isolated, COVID-19 patients this week This could be your family: Dr. Michael Warner on losing 5 isolated, COVID-19 patients this week
3 months ago
7:00
There are more COVID-19 patients in intensive care units right now than at any other point in the pandemic. That s led the Ontario Hospitals Association to call on the Premier to tighten restrictions and impose harsher lockdowns. 86 more people died from COVID-19 this week and five of them were being treated at the Michael Garron hospital ICU where Dr. Michael Warner works. He reflects on the state of COVID-19 in Ontario.
This couple felt cramped in their downtown condo. So they upsized to a $585,000 Scarborough townhouse This couple felt cramped in their downtown condo. So they upsized to a $585,000 Scarborough townhouse Photograph by Erin Leydon
The buyers: Hayden Meloche, 23, software engineer at RBC, and Leah Hugli, 23, registered nurse at Michael Garron Hospital.
The story: In late 2019, Hayden and Leah lived together in a one-bed, one-bath condo near Yonge and Bloor, paying $2,100 a month. The couple, who planned to start a family, had been saving up to buy a townhouse by 2023. But the pandemic sped up that timeline. During lockdown, while Leah continued commuting to the hospital, Hayden worked from their 620-square-foot condo’s windowless den. By August, the claustrophobic quarters were getting to Hayden, and the couple decided to look for a three-bed, two-bath townhouse. Ideally, it would have enough space for a future family and hom