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How will COVID-19 affect you? Your postal code matters as much as your genetic code, says Canada’s top doctor

Oct 7, 2021 , , , , by shlf

OTTAWA—When it comes to getting hit by , Canada’s top public health doctor says your postal code matters as much as your genetic code.

“Where you live … or where you don’t have a home” is a critical factor affecting health, said Dr. Theresa Tam, as she released a sobering report that outlined the destructive swath cut by COVID-19 across Canada, with worse outcomes in neighbourhoods of cities like Toronto and Montreal, where lower income and racialized workers often don’t have the luxury of working from home, and face worse outcomes from the disease.

Using data from the start of the pandemic to the end of August, Tam said COVID-19 slammed Canada’s socially and economically disadvantaged groups, with seniors, women, disabled people, and immigrant or racialized workers who deliver essential services in health care and agriculture all bearing the brunt of the pandemic.

The 86-page report bolstered Tam’s call for more public health spending, greater co-operation at all levels of government, and for better national health data collection and pandemic preparedness.

Tam said COVID-19 “didn’t create new inequities, it exposed them.”

Among the report’s grim statistics is a finding that 98 per cent of Canadians who died of COVID-19 in hospital had at least one underlying medical condition.

The echoed conclusions by academics, outside researchers and media outlets like the Star which have reported that 80 per cent of COVID-19 deaths in Canada occurred in long-term-care homes for seniors. It cited several factors, including residents’ advanced age, higher prevalence of chronic underlying medical conditions, a lack of pandemic preparedness plans, shortages of personal protective equipment for health-care workers, overcrowding, old infrastructure with poor ventilation, or chronic understaffing in some facilities.

It said more than 10 per cent of national COVID-19 cases were long-term-care workers.

Tam said she wants to be “optimistic” that some of the lessons of the first wave were learned to prevent a repeat of the overwhelming number of seniors deaths in this second wave. However she worried that current numbers show the high number of infections found in younger adults this fall are beginning to “penetrate into” older populations. Not only are outbreaks occurring again in long-term-care homes, but several facilities have had more than one, she said.

Tam said the pandemic hit hard in racialized neighbourhoods, and pointed to a Statistics Canada Wednesday that found communities with the most visible minorities in the country’s four biggest provinces — Quebec, Ontario, B.C. and Alberta — had the highest infection and mortality rates in the first wave. The report said they experienced higher poverty rates, were more likely to live in overcrowded housing conditions and to work in jobs associated with greater risk of exposure to the virus.

In Toronto, the second wave is starting to look like the first wave in some neighbourhoods.

Mayor John Tory said Wednesday that in the past few weeks the number of positive COVID-19 tests has “drastically” increased in the northwest part of Toronto.

He outlined steps the city is taking to expand space for pop-up testing sites in Rexdale and Black Creek, to boost food banks and to support agencies “serving mainly black Torontonians in northwest Toronto, to provide family support, mental health, social connection and community safety services.”

Medical officer of health Dr. Eileen de Villa said her current data shows 30 per cent of people living in Toronto are classified as living below the low-income threshold, but they accounted for 50 per cent of COVID-19 cases.

“Over the course of the pandemic so far, northwest Toronto stood out for higher rates of COVID-19, lower testing rates and higher positivity rates in comparison to other parts of our city.” But de Villa cautioned that “where a person lives is not a reliable indicator of where they got infected with COVID-19. The people of the northwest of the city are like everyone else, as likely to live in one part of Toronto but travel throughout it.”

Tam said the data show the difference in who gets COVID-19 and how severely they are impacted “is not random.” It depends on factors like income, the type of work people do, how many people they live with, and if they depend on someone else for day-to-day living.

COVID-19 is clearly worse for groups such as seniors, workers provide who provide essential services such as in agriculture and health care, for racialized populations, people living with disabilities, and women, she said.

Tam quoted a University of Calgary sociology professor, Dr. Naomi Lightman, saying “the most vulnerable workers provide the most essential services to the most vulnerable clients under the worst working conditions.”

She said Canada needs to embrace a “health equity agenda” that will require sustained efforts “to improve employment conditions, housing and access to social and health services” to better protect people from “health crises, build resilience and create lasting equitable opportunities.”

Tam said nobody can now ignore the reality. “Before it may have been invisible. Now it’s blatantly obvious. And I trust that everybody wants to reverse those kind of trends.”

Tam flagged another parallel public health crisis unfolding among opioid drug users, as the pandemic has disrupted illicit drug supply chains. Tam said the street drug supply has grown “more unpredictable and toxic” and reversed progress that had been made on fighting the opioid crisis.

Before the pandemic, there had been a 13 per cent decrease in opioid overdose deaths in Canada between 2018 and 2019. The report says now, B.C. Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Alberta are reporting record high deaths, with “the situation most stark in British Columbia.” There were more than 100 “illicit drug toxicity deaths” on average for six consecutive months from March to August in that province.

Preliminary data from Ontario show that the number of confirmed and probable deaths from opioid-related causes increased by almost 50 per cent from January to May.

Tam noted at least one supervised consumption site in Ottawa “dispensed with physical distancing measures after several clients overdosed while waiting in line to get in.”

It was not all bleak.

Tam said she sees the pandemic “as a catalyst for collaboration between health, social and economic sectors” and wants to see the kind of intergovernmental and interdepartmental co-operation in place now continue “beyond the crisis and into recovery.” She added “the economic case” for better preparation is “evident,” a dollar spent on public health can save $14 dollars in health care down the road.

Tam took a not-so-veiled shot at decisions made to allow her agency’s own capacity to dwindle, saying the national emergency stockpile and the Global Public Health Information Network — the virus early-warning system that was silenced, had to be strengthened. She said at the Public Health Agency of Canada, “we need to continue to remember this moment in history and why we need those capacities.”

Tonda MacCharles is an Ottawa-based reporter covering federal politics for the Star. Follow her on Twitter:

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Wasaga Beach couple looks to spread passion for fresh produce with new business

Aug 5, 2021 , , , , by shlf

In the midst of a lockdown, a Wasaga Beach couple has created a company that looks to connect local residents with fresh produce.

In the spring, Lyndsay Mackay and Cole Finamore were doing their best to stay safe from COVID-19 and this included limiting trips to the local supermarket.

“We were used to going to the grocery store one to two times a week to get fresh produce for ourselves, but once COVID hit, the option of popping in for quick produce pickup and keeping up the healthy lifestyle we were used to was no longer an option,” MacKay said. “We knew we couldn’t be the only ones feeling the effects of changing times and changing diets, so we wanted to create a healthy convenience for our area.”

The couple created Sprout and Bean Market Box in June, which sees them deliver local produce to homes across South Georgian Bay.

They work with a variety of local producers, including (Tiny), and Black Ash Garden in Collingwood.

“Our goal is to work with as many local farms and suppliers as possible and local wholesale suppliers,” she said. 

They offer two sizes of boxes to suit the needs of local families. The regular box is $30 and serves one to three people and features a selection of eight to nine produce, mostly vegetables and one to three fruit items.

The extra large box serves three to five people and costs $45, with a larger quantity of the same selection of produce. They also offer a fruit add-on box, including eight to nine fresh fruit items for $38.

The items included in the box change weekly, and the company also posts recipes with those ingredients on their social media account.

The couple has also partnered with  and to provide local coffee and bread as well as other items.

“We have created a great community, we are happy to extend our passion for health and wellness and local produce with,” she said. 

Sprout and Bean Market Box

Type: Fresh produce

Hours: Ordering deadline Monday at 6 p.m., delivered Thursday

Email:

Website:

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Ottawa will roll out COVID-19 vaccine to provinces on basis of population, Alberta says

Aug 2, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Dosages of Canada’s vaccines will be handed out to provinces based on population, an Alberta Health spokesperson says.

That would mean how many doses each province gets will be decided by how many people it has — not how many health-care workers, how many cases it’s facing, or how many seniors live there.

“Provinces and territories did not place orders, allocations are being provided by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) on a per-capita basis,” spokesperson Tom McMillan said.

“Per Alberta’s perspective, we’re following the same approach we’ve taken to all vaccines which is that all the provinces work with the federal government to come together.”

The distribution model could become complicated if dosages of the vaccine are available in waves — and not all at once — forcing government officials to prioritize who first gets the vaccine.

Dr. Howard Njoo, Canada’s deputy chief public health officer, said on Tuesday it’s likely the first phase of the vaccine rollout won’t see enough doses for everyone “all at once” and instead will come in “batches.”

Raywat Deonandan, an epidemiologist and professor at the University of Ottawa, said per capita distribution is not the right plan — particularly if there’s a limited amount of the vaccine.

Imagine a Canada that doesn’t have provinces, he said. “You would send it to where it is needed without having to consider the ancient Canadian curse of the federal-provincial divide.”

“If you have a limited resource, you apply that resource strategically, not politically, not equitably,” said Deonandan.

“It’s just not the time for equity, strangely enough. This is a time for strategic application,” he said.

“Maybe you should distribute it based upon, not the per capita, but the actual cases per capita. If not that, then maybe the deaths per capita. If not that, then maybe who is closest to health-care capacity overrun,” he said.

When asked about per-capita distribution, PHAC did not offer a direct answer and said final plans were still being worked out.

“Final key populations for early COVID-19 immunization will be determined by (the National Advisory Committee on Immunization), once more is known about the vaccines for Canada and their delivery schedule,” the agency said in a statement.

“Allocations of vaccines and rollout will be determined by (federal, provincial and territorial) governments, informed by NACI advice.”

The Alberta government spokesperson said it’s using the recommendations provided by NACI as a starting point for distribution.

Those guidelines say vaccines should first be distributed to vulnerable populations like seniors, those with underlying medical conditions and front-line health-care workers.

Just how the COVID-19 vaccine will be distributed and to who has become a hot topic after two drug companies announced successful early results.

Last week, Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech announced their vaccine candidate showed signs of being 90 per cent effective. Canada has signed on to purchase 20 million doses of that vaccine.

Then on Monday, Massachusetts-based Moderna said early results showed its vaccine candidate was 94.5 per cent effective. Canada has inked a deal with Moderna for 56 million doses of its vaccine.

Njoo said the current goal is to vaccinate the vast majority of Canadians by the end of 2021. The government is hopeful that January could mark the beginning stages of a national rollout of vaccines.

While there’s no law that states the public health agency must do it that way, per capita makes the most sense given the complexity of trying to decide who gets the vaccine first, said Katherine Fierlbeck, a professor political science at Dalhousie University. Provinces could also choose to redistribute vaccines between each other, she said.

“(PHAC) had guidelines (during H1N1) but it was up to the provinces to put the guidelines into action,” Fierlbeck said. “Different provinces did things differently, as they do, and there was a lot of confusion.

“The distribution of anything is political.”

Just getting the vaccine to the provinces will not be easy. The Pfizer vaccine requires ultracold storage of minus 80C. The Moderna vaccine would only require temperatures that a standard household refrigerator could provide.

With files from Tonda MacCharles

Kieran Leavitt is an Edmonton-based reporter covering provincial affairs for the Star. Follow him on Twitter:

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Toronto public health shuts down Etobicoke restaurant for allowing indoor dining in defiance of COVID-19 measures

Jun 29, 2021 , , , , by shlf

As patrons packed Adamson Barbecue in Etobicoke on Tuesday, proudly defying rules to not eat indoors during the lockdown, city enforcement and Toronto police officers did nothing to stop the long line of customers from making its way inside.

Owner Adam Skelly vowed on social media to open on Tuesday as normal, creating the first major public test of new COVID-19 measures that came into effect Monday.

Restaurants are allowed to offer takeout and delivery, but are not allowed to have indoor or outdoor diners in Toronto under lockdown measures imposed by the province for at least the next 28 days.

Skelly’s restaurant stayed open for its regular hours, until 4 p.m., when the city announced that Dr. Eileen de Villa, the city’s medical officer of health, had ordered it closed under the provincial Health Protection and Promotion Act.

“Investigations require the gathering of all the facts before enforcement action can be taken. The city has now taken enforcement action, and the restaurant is closed,” the press release said, adding the restaurant is also under investigation for compliance with business licensing, zoning, public health, Ontario Building Code and Ontario Fire Code requirements.

Earlier, inspectors found the restaurant to be in contravention of the province’s Reopening Ontario Act, with indoor and outdoor dining service “with many patrons not wearing masks and not practising physical distancing.”

After the restaurant had been serving customers for nearly two hours, Toronto Police Insp. Tim Crone told reporters that though it was open illegally, officers would not be moving in to clear out diners.

“Obviously, by the sheer number of people that are here right now, we don’t have the ability to go in and physically remove everyone at this point and it would be unsafe to do so,” Crone said.

Public health and bylaw enforcement officers conducted an investigation, Crone said, with police on scene to “ensure public safety” and support the city officials.

Later in the afternoon, Staff Supt. Mark Barkley said Toronto police would work with city officials to ensure de Villa’s order is followed.

“If he opens tomorrow, we will be here, we will have a presence and we will ensure compliance with the order,” he said

Barkley said the police had a “misunderstanding of what we should do and how we should do it” on Tuesday and the direction to not move in to disperse diners was not the “appropriate direction.”

“Plain and simple, it was a mistake this morning.”

Barkley said that patrons dining inside the restaurant could have been fined under provincial legislation, but because of the “misunderstanding,” they weren’t. He said officers will be better prepared in future to deal with a similar situation.

There has been no information about possible fines for Adamson or Skelly.

Shortly after the restaurant opened at 11 a.m. for business, two bylaw enforcement officers, a public health inspector and two uniformed police officers could be seen entering the Queen Elizabeth Boulevard location to speak with employees, including an agitated Skelly.

Skelly, who shouted at reporters about staying off his property and warmly welcomed guests, later emerged from the restaurant saying he had not been fined and refused to speak to a reporter further.

Premier Doug Ford — who has previously branded people going to parties in violation of pandemic regulations as “reckless” or “a bunch of yahoos” — adopted a more moderate tone on Tuesday about Adamson.

“I just want the guy to shut down,” said Ford, who is taking heat for a lockdown that forces small non-essential businesses in Toronto and Peel to close while Walmart and Costco stay open because they sell food and pharmacy items.

“I’m not going to get up here and start pounding on a small business owner when the guy’s hanging on by his fingernails,” the premier added. “My heart goes out.”

But Ford reinforced the importance of following public health protocols with new cases of COVID-19 averaging 1,395 daily in the last week, near all-time highs.

“If everyone does what he does…you’re going to be asking me another question when we start hitting 2,000 or 3,000 cases a day. That’s the last thing we want to happen.”

Mayor John Tory also struck a more moderate tone, telling reporters that everyone is entitled to protest and that he doesn’t direct enforcement.

“As a general rule, we can’t have people deciding they’re going to take the law into their own hands,” he said.

He repeated that he believes the time for warnings is over and that the city should be “registering a serious message about the breaking of the law.”

Coun. Mark Grimes, who represents the area, was outside the restaurant on Tuesday.

“This is a relatively new restaurant — it opened a few months back. So either this guy is the smartest guy or the dumbest. I think it might be a publicity stunt, I’m not too sure,” Grimes said.

“Kind of concerning that some people don’t want to follow the rules.”

Outside the white painted building, a crowd started to form shortly before doors opened, with patrons mostly not wearing masks and few socially distancing. A few shouted vitriol at reporters, some using megaphones.

One man, who refused to give his name, claimed the test for COVID-19 was a “lie” and that the opening was not at all dangerous, instead criticizing journalists for publishing “false evidence.”

Another man, who also refused to give his full name, acknowledged dining indoors was potentially dangerous, but said he defended his and others’ right to choose for themselves.

Some wore Guy Fawkes masks and cheered as passing cars on the largely industrial strip next to the Gardiner Expressway drove by to honk in support.

One was a marked city of Toronto truck, the driver of whom fist-bumped several protesters. Brad Ross, the city spokesperson, said the employee was not a bylaw officer and that the city was investigating.

Skelly posted a video on the Texas BBQ restaurant’s official Instagram on Monday to tell followers the newly opened Etobicoke location would be opening for inside dining “against provincial orders” starting at 11 a.m.

“For those of you who have eyes to see why I’m doing this, thank you guys so much,” Skelly said.

“This is a risky move and you guys gave me the gas to do this.”

with files from Rob Ferguson and David Rider

Jennifer Pagliaro is a Toronto-based reporter covering city hall and municipal politics for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: