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Surge at emergency departments in Brampton, Etobicoke leads to transfers of in-patients to other hospitals, for the first time in the pandemic

Nov 2, 2021 , , , , by shlf

A crush of patients arriving at emergency departments in Brampton and Etobicoke have forced William Osler Health System to postpone some elective surgeries and — for the first time during the pandemic — transfer in-patients to other Toronto-area hospitals to ease dangerous overcrowding.

The surge of emergency patients — a mix of those with symptoms and those with other urgent health concerns — pushed Osler beyond capacity late Thursday, prompting its president and CEO to warn this could be the “leading edge of more difficult times for our communities.”

Even as Osler struggles to maintain its health-care services in Ontario’s biggest COVID-19 hot spots, the province on Friday eased public health measures for Peel Region, which had been under modified Stage 2 restrictions since mid-October.

The new provincial public health framework puts Peel in the red or “control” zone, which permits bars, restaurants and gyms to open for some indoor service starting Saturday. Soaring COVID-case counts with York Region and Ottawa into the more lenient orange or “restrict” zone.

Peel’s medical officer of health, Dr. Lawrence Loh, asked the province Friday to keep Peel in modified Stage 2 for another week, as was granted to Toronto.

“I certainly advocated for that given our ongoing challenges with contact tracing — — and also the recent developing challenges with capacity at William Osler,” Loh told the Star on Friday, noting the red control zone was not enough in his opinion to subdue the local epidemic.

“I’m working with our local leaders, our mayors, to take a look at what additional local restrictions we can bring into place so we can encourage people as much as possible to limit their close-contact interactions.”

Dr. Naveed Mohammad, Osler’s president and CEO, said he “supports completely” Loh’s efforts for more public health measures across Peel. Osler’s hospital system includes Brampton Civic Hospital, Etobicoke General Hospital and Peel Memorial Centre for Integrated Health and Wellness.

“We can provide our colleagues in the government with our recommendations from a science and epidemiology (perspective) and what we’re seeing in the hospitals’ point of view,” he said. “Once the decisions are made we have to work with them to ensure we keep our communities and patients as safe as we possibly can.

“The province has made its decision and we will provide our feedback … and we will see where things go from there.”

In a statement issued Friday afternoon, the Ontario Hospital Association called the province’s decision to allow Peel to reopen in the new red control zone “reckless,” stating it “must be reversed immediately given the risks it poses to area hospitals, particularly William Osler Health System.”

Anthony Dale, the association’s president, told the Star that Osler faces “punishing pressures” to keep up with the health-care demands of its community at the best of times, but especially so in a pandemic and with Peel a major hot spot.

“The situation is precarious and fragile and a major surge in COVID patients would greatly destabilize William Osler’s operations,” he said, pointing to hospital systems in other regions and countries being overwhelmed during the pandemic’s fall wave.

“We’re in a situation where the circumstances could change very quickly,” Dale said. “And we may have the illusion of control, but all of the jurisdictions in the world that have made that assumption have paid a price.”

Starting Friday and going through to Saturday, Osler plans to transfer 15 to 20 patients from Brampton Civic and Etobicoke General to other GTA hospitals, after which the situation will be reassessed, according to an Osler spokesperson. More than 10 hospitals have offered Osler help, including Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Markham Stouffville Hospital, Mackenzie Health and the University Health Network.

Mohammad said transferring Osler in-patients to other hospitals because of overcrowding typically only happens about once a year. Until this week, Osler had not yet asked for such help during the pandemic, he said, adding that hospitals have offered to take both COVID and non-COVID patients.

As of Friday, Osler was caring for 55 patients with suspected COVID-19 and 57 confirmed COVID-positive patients, 15 of whom are in intensive care, Mohammad said. Each of these patients must isolate in a single room for infection control, he said.

“That really impacts our capacity and our real estate,” he said, adding that Osler has already opened up all possible spaces in its hospitals that can currently be staffed. “Finding staff to care for those patients is where the challenge starts.

“Last night (Thursday) we got to a point that if any more patients came in through the emergency who needed to be admitted, we could not possibly provide them a safe place to be held and be admitted.”

A COVID-19 outbreak on a surgical floor at Etobicoke General has also “compounded the situation,” Mohammad said.

Capacity pressures have also forced Osler to postpone 50 elective surgeries within the last two weeks, according to an Osler spokesperson. The hospitals will “continue to prioritize urgent and time-sensitive surgeries” in the coming weeks, the spokesperson said.

As of Friday, Peel still had the province’s highest COVID-19 infection rate of 120 cases per 100,000 population per week with a seven-day average of 264 new cases a day, according to the Star’s ongoing tally. Peel’s most recent epidemiological summary shows 6.8 per cent of COVID-19 tests in the region came back positive between Oct. 18 and Oct. 24; the same week Brampton reported a 9.6 per cent test positivity rate.

Currently, Osler has a COVID-19 test positivity rate of 11 per cent that includes tests from its assessment centres and hospital patients. A hospital spokesperson said data could not be broken down to individual hospital sites because “analyzing data into smaller subgroups may be misleading because the number tested is small.”

Mohammad said he is worried about the situation at Osler because it’s fuelled by the escalating number of cases in the community

“I’m worried about where things are going. I’m also worried that this may be the leading edge of a wave of patients that may need more hospital care.”

Dale said the Ontario Hospital Association is reviewing the province’s new colour-coded public health measures framework with its partner hospitals and outside experts and plans to submit recommendations to the province next week.

“We do see some significant room for improvement,” he said, noting the definition of hospital capacity in the document is not clear and the threshold levels for the COVID-19 reproduction rate are too high. “As it is right now, it leaves essentially no room for error.”

Megan Ogilvie is a Toronto-based health reporter for the Star. Follow her on Twitter:

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We can’t let our guard down on COVID, warns Midland mayor

Sep 22, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks for what we have. The prime minister, the premier and medical advisers are asking us to limit our gatherings to no more than 10 people indoors.

After all, smaller is safer. A virtual Thanksgiving dinner is one alternative, with less cleanup for you.

As infection rates rise and a second wave looms, remember that we are all in this together, and together we will stop the spread of COVID.

Simple things will keep us safe: Wash your hands frequently, keep a social distance, and wear a mask! Now is not the time to let our guard down.

Sept. 14 saw the municipal office fully reopen to the public. Except for a one-hour daily cleaning, between 1 and 2 p.m., we are open, but we are advising that you book appointments for in-depth services, such as planning, building services, marriage licences and commissioning of documents.

Council voted on Sept. 16 to eliminate the ward system in favour of an at-large vote for your council representation starting in 2022. This means that you can vote for all nine council seats. Councillors will no longer represent specific wards — they will represent the entire town.

A public meeting is scheduled for Oct. 21 to hear from you on this matter, prior to council considering the proposed bylaw.

Remember, the extension for COVID-19 relief on property tax and utility bills ends Oct. 31. The relief measures waiving budgeted penalty/interest also ends. Rent relief continues for tenants at the NSSRC, who are negatively impacted under the provincial emergency closures.

hosts our Customer Experience Survey, your chance to provide feedback. Our Budget 2021 Survey is also online.

I was reminded recently of the remarkable generosity of the Georgian Bay Gals. They have gifted almost $138,000 to Georgian Bay General Hospital, Hospice Huronia, Georgian Bay Cancer Support Center and Huronia Transition House.

The Guesthouse Shelter and Community Hub are the focus of their Oct. 19 gathering. For more, visit .

Stewart Strathearn is mayor of Midland.

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Doug Ford imposes 28-day lockdown in Toronto and Peel Region

Aug 25, 2021 , , , , by shlf

With COVID-19 infections going up, Toronto and Peel Region are locking down.

As Ontario topped 100,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, Premier Doug Ford moved Friday to impose the most severe pandemic restrictions since the spring.

The two GTA hot spots will move to a 28-day “lockdown” on Monday morning, prompting concerns there’s nothing to stop residents from going to neighbouring York or Halton regions to get around closures of barber shops, gyms, outdoor dining and more.

Ford called the decision “a difficult but necessary step” after weeks of new highs in COVID-19 cases that threaten to overwhelm hospitals and further endanger nursing homes and schools.

“The situation is extremely serious,” a grim-faced Ford told reporters.

He urged shoppers to “please avoid panic buying right now” in a nod to shortages of toilet paper last March and April.

While schools and child-care centres will remain open, restaurants and bars in Toronto and Peel Region will be restricted to takeout food and booze only, with all patios closed.

Similarly, many stores will permitted to operate only with curbside pickup or delivery. There are exceptions for supermarkets, pharmacies, hardware stores, and dollar stores and big box retailers that sell groceries, as well as beer, wine and liquor stores, safety supply stores and convenience stores.

Stores that are allowed to remain open will be limited to 50 per cent capacity, raising the possibility of a return to lineups.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business said the lockdown will be “devastating” to small operators deemed not essential, especially with the Christmas holidays approaching.

“That large department stores can be open while small retailers are forced to close during the busiest season of the year is a direct punch in the gut,” it said.

Malls can stay open, but non-essential stores within them must stay closed to customers, although they can offer curbside pickups. That could lead to “chaos” in parking lots, said NDP deputy leader Sara Singh.

Indoor organized public events and social gatherings will be limited to members of the same household, but seniors will be permitted to have “exclusive, close contact with one other person.”

Outdoor social gatherings will be limited to a maximum of 10 people. The same limit applies to weddings, funerals and religious services, indoors or outdoors, with safe physical distancing.

“I don’t like to use the words ‘bring down the hammer,’ but people have to abide by this,” said Ford, warning that scofflaws face fines from $750 to $10,000.

Personal care services such as barbers and salons will be closed, as will casinos and bingo halls. Housekeepers and nannies are allowed.

Indoor sports and recreational facilities, including pools, will be temporarily shut just two weeks after gyms in Toronto and Peel Region were allowed to reopen under increased restrictions.

Opposition parties and doctors said Ford should have acted sooner, given the 1,418 new cases reported Friday and last week’s computer modelling that forecast Ontario could see 6,500 cases a day by mid-December.

“The premier was warned over and over again that this is where our province was headed, but he cancelled (previous) public health measures too soon,” Singh said.

Dr. Gerald Evans, chair of infectious diseases at Queen’s University and a member of the science table advising the government, said Ford’s move was a week or two late, and that he should extend the restrictions into the new year.

“Opening up just before Christmas just doesn’t make a lot of sense to me,” Evans told the Star from Kingston, saying the lockdown is a much-needed signal to people that “this is getting really bad.”

Ford said Friday that the government is “going to see how it goes after the next four weeks.”

Earlier Friday, called on Ford to lock down York Region in addition to Peel Region and Toronto, and to impose travel bans from the hot zones after weeks of “dithering half-measures” that allowed COVID-19 to spread rapidly.

York Region has asked to stay out of lockdown, but is pushing the province to impose capacity limits on its malls and stores to prevent throngs of frustrated shoppers from Toronto and Peel Region from flooding in.

“We are hopeful the province will act on our request,” said Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti, who urged residents of Toronto and Peel to stay away from family, friends and stores in York Region.

Ontario’s chief medical officer said residents of areas with higher restrictions should not to go to areas with lower levels of public health measures, but admitted that the recommendation would be tough to enforce.

“We are going to be trusting and confident the public will do the right thing,” Dr. David Williams told reporters.

Rocco Rossi, president and CEO of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, called for clear directives from all levels of government.

“We have heard clearly from our members with respect to confusing and inconsistent public health guidelines; a lack of testing and tracing capacity, insufficient data on the sources of community spread. and a lack of timely and accessible supports for business” Rossi said.

is a Toronto-based reporter covering Ontario politics for the Star. Follow him on Twitter:

is the Star’s Queen’s Park bureau chief and a reporter covering Ontario politics. Follow him on Twitter:

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Jason Kenney rejects notion he’s to blame for Alberta’s COVID-19 struggle

Aug 17, 2021 , , , , by shlf

For weeks, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has preached personal responsibility as COVID-19 cases in his province have climbed.

On Tuesday, it was a question about whether he would take responsibility — for Alberta’s pandemic situation — that drew his ire.

“That sounds a lot more like an NDP speech than a media question,” Kenney said, speaking to Sammy Hudes, a reporter from the Calgary Herald. “I reject the entire premise of your question.”

The question, about whether Kenney would take ownership of an approach that seems not to have worked from a health perspective, came at the tail end of an announcement by the premier of new public health measures in a province that has long-resisted them. It prompted an irritated-looking Kenney to recount his early calls to close the borders, and provide the free masks through .

His approach has been “balanced,” Kenney said, at a time when “folks … are doing drive-by smears on Alberta.”

The fiery moment came from a premier in the hot seat. Kenney has said repeatedly that lockdowns violate individual rights, but almost a third of Canada’s active cases are now located in his hard-hit province; ; and the number of people in intensive care has grown 600 per cent in six weeks.

In a swift reversal of earlier policy, Kenney announced Tuesday that Alberta will face its strictest rules yet, including a provincewide mask mandate for the first time, and a ban on all indoor and outdoor gatherings.

Retail and places of worship will stay open, but with more restrictions on capacity.

For at least a month, a swath of personal-care services will shutter, as restaurants, bars and cafés move to takeout only.

Even Christmas gatherings are off the table, with new restrictions expected to last through the new year.

Albertans will not be allowed to socialize outside their households unless they live alone and it is with one of their two designated contacts.

“We simply cannot let this Christmas turn into a tragedy for many families. And so, with great reluctance, we are asking Albertans to limit their holiday gatherings to the members of their household, or to to close contacts for people who live by themselves,” Kenney said.

“If stronger action is not taken now, we know that hundreds, or potentially thousands more Albertans could die. We cannot let that happen. We will not let that happen. We must act to protect lives,” Kenney said.

It marks a departure for Kenney, who has largely resisted the sort of public health restrictions that have become common in other provinces and around the world.

For weeks, the premier and his government have heard from the Opposition NDP and hundreds of physicians and infectious-disease specialists urging Alberta to lock down for a short period to avoid swamping the health-care system. Instead, the government has repeatedly appealed to residents to exercise their personal responsibility.

The same day as the new restrictions, Alberta racked up another 1,727 new cases Tuesday, once again beating out Ontario, a province with three times the population.

The last time Kenney introduced new rules — restrictions that limited the hours of restaurants and outlawed personal indoor gatherings but allowed bars, casinos and even waterparks to remain open — he commented that he hadn’t gone into politics to put limits on people and spoke out against lockdowns that he said violated charter rights.

But as cases have risen, so too has pressure to act.

The mayors of Edmonton and Calgary have both warned they would use whatever emergency powers they have to bring in their own added measures if the province failed to further steps. A recent poll suggested that half of Albertans disapprove of the way their government has handled the pandemic.

On Monday, chief public health officer Dr. Deena Hinshaw said the measures have stopped the numbers from getting much worse, but have failed to bend the curve downward, so tougher restrictions are needed.

But even while introducing new rules, it was clear that, as Kenney put it, these were not a first resort, but the very last.

Before outlining new rules he touted Alberta’s “admirable” response in the early days of the pandemic.

For most of the year, Alberta had lower relative levels of infections, hospitalizations and fatalities “than the other large Canadian provinces, all the U.S. states and pretty much all of the European countries,” he said.

“Let’s not forget that the NHL recognized Alberta’s leadership. By choosing Edmonton as the centre for the NHL playoffs of dozens of cities across North America.”

The surge Alberta was seeing was “typical” as winter approached, Kenney said. Ontario and Quebec both had higher death rates, he added.

He reiterated that some people just don’t understand what small businesses are up against.

“Those of us in government, who frankly have secure paycheques, can too easily make the mistake of thinking of these policies as abstractions. It’s too easy to think of them as just words on a piece of paper,” he said.

“But behind every one of these restrictions lies crushed dreams and terrible adversity.”

Alex Boyd is a Calgary-based reporter for the Star. Follow her on Twitter:

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Simcoe County decides on new size of garbage carts, approves 2021 budget

Jul 23, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Simcoe County residents are going to be able to pack more garbage into the new style of garbage cart being

At the Nov. 24 meeting, council members agreed to a — which is a 50 per cent increase over the current size. The organics/compost size is 120 litres and the recycling cart is 360 litres

The plastic wheeled carts will all have black bases with varying-coloured lids to indicate the contents.

Once the new cart program starts next fall, residents can recycle their old bins, or keep them for storage.

Garbage collection will .

County council also approved its 2021 budget Nov. 24, spending $572 million.

That means no tax increases next year.

“We have been responsible over the last number of years with our finances and our budgeting,” Warden George Cornell said.

Reserves have been used to buffer the budget, but that won’t be sustainable past 2021, he said.

“County council recognizes the impact COVID-19 has had on our residents and businesses and as a result, directed staff to come back with a zero per cent tax increase.”

2021 BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS

• Long-term-care homes and seniors services $78 million

• Paramedic services $56 million

• Children services $49 million

• Social housing $69 million

• Ontario Works $79 million

• Transportation and engineering $48 million

• Solid waste management $94 million

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Barrie man convicted of running over ex-best friend in jealous rage

Jun 28, 2021 , , , , by shlf

A Barrie man who drove his truck into his best friend in a fit of jealousy faces a sentencing hearing Dec. 4.

Isidoro Pacheco pleaded guilty Sept. 14 to dangerous driving causing bodily harm.

The court heard Pacheco had suspected his wife and friend were having an affair during the summer of 2018. 

On Sept. 18, Pacheco’s pickup truck struck his estranged friend while he was helping his wife pack up her belongings on Pacheco’s driveway.

The court heard Pacheco’s truck jumped the curb as he returned home early from work at about 11:30 a.m. to see his ex-friend carrying “something” from the house.

“At about that same moment, his truck veered left, jumped the curb and drove diagonally across a driveway, a boulevard, a sidewalk, and his next-door-neighbour’s front lawn,” a court document states. “It struck (the victim), causing him to fly through the air and make a hard landing, face down, some distance away.”

Although Pacheco pleaded guilty, he testified that he did not intend to run over his former friend.  

Pacheco told the court he lost control of his truck when he stuck his head out the window to get a better look at the “person” he saw at his front door.

But Justice Cary Boswell ruled the evidence showed the crash was intentional.

“I do not believe or accept Mr. Pacheco’s version of events leading up to the collision,” Boswell said in a written decision. “Indeed, I consider his account impossible to accept.”

After the collision, Pacheco’s wife knelt beside the victim and said, “Oh my God, you’ve killed (him).”

When Barrie police officers arrived, they found Pacheco hiding under a pool cover in the backyard holding a steak knife. He was arrested without incident.

Barrie police were also at Pacheco’s home the night before the crash, when officers told him to stop throwing his wife’s belongings onto the front lawn.

The case resumes Dec. 4 in Barrie Superior Court of Justice.