National Post (National Edition)
Ontario, Quebec downward trend continues
COVID variants cause concern, however
TORONTO • Amid concerns about the emergence of variant strains, new COVID-19 infections maintained a downward trend in Canada's two most populous provinces on Wednesday, although authorities reported more than 100 new deaths from the disease.
Ontario recorded another 49 deaths even as its daily case count continued an ongoing decline, with 1,670 new cases recorded. Quebec, which saw 53 more COVID-19-related deaths, reported 1,328 new cases.
Public-health officials have raised concerns about the emergence of variants of the novel coronavirus, believed to be far more contagious. While the numbers of confirmed cases remained small, testing has only just begun to ramp up.
“It is a huge concern particularly at this point of the pandemic, when we are seeing downward trending of daily new cases across the country,” said Dr. Nazeem Muhajarine, an epidemiologist at the University of Saskatchewan. “This could actually see those trending down, reversing and going up again.”
One public health unit in Ontario is urging anyone who travelled outside the region to get tested for COVID-19 given the new, more aggressive variants.
The medical officer of health for the Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox and Addington said a person infected with a new strain contracted the virus through community spread elsewhere in Ontario. However, the case is apparently unrelated to an outbreak at a long-term care home in Barrie, Ont., driven by the variant known as B.1.1.7., that has infected 200 people.
A Quebec official said on Wednesday the province would not challenge a court order exempting the homeless from a mandatory curfew. Premier Francois Legault had previously refused the exemption after a man was found dead this month in a portable toilet in Montreal near a homeless shelter.
“Since the start of the curfew, our desire has been for people experiencing homelessness to be guided to the right resources and not to judicialize them,” said Lionel Carmant, the junior health minister.
While Manitoba — with 94 new reported cases and four deaths — saw its positive-infection rate fall, public health officials were grappling with several hot spots elsewhere in the country. Those include the Toronto area and Edmunston in northwestern New Brunswick, where doctors warned the pandemic virus could spiral out of control quickly.
Several doctors urged people in the Edmundston region, under a 14-day lockdown that began Sunday, to follow guidelines, get tested and to stay home if ill. The area has almost half the 339 active cases reported in the province.
The military, too, has been grappling with a recent surge in COVID-19. Latest data indicated almost 250 cases so far this month, a huge jump from the roughly 75 per month recorded in the first nine months of the pandemic.
Prisons and jails, too, have seen increasing case numbers. Federally, 1,232 inmates have been infected, while Ontario's Maplehurst Correctional Complex was dealing with 94 active cases.
A Canada Post worker who contracted COVID-19 amid a major outbreak at a Mississauga, Ont., facility died, the company announced Wednesday, as the union representing postal workers demanded its members be kept safe.
Canada Post said the individual had tested positive and last worked at the Gateway facility on Jan. 18.
“We offer our deepest sympathies to the family as they mourn the loss and respect their privacy during this difficult time,” the company said in a statement.
The postal service said it will work to support employees grieving their colleague while also following guidance from Peel Public Health as it deals with the outbreak.
More than 4,500 people work at the Mississauga site. As of Tuesday, 224 people had tested positive for COVID-19 since Jan. 1.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers said in a statement that it learned of the worker's death on Wednesday and demanded the postal service ensure the safety of its employees.
“Postal workers have been on the front lines since the beginning of the pandemic, making sure society can function,” it said.
“They are worried and tired, and right now, demand answers from Canada Post and Public Health authorities.”
Cases at the facility were first detected earlier this month and Canada Post began asymptomatic testing of workers on one shift at the facility on Jan. 19, finding dozens more cases in the following days.
Canada Post said on Sunday that workers who typically work afternoon shifts at the facility were being told to self-isolate for two weeks to avoid further spread, at the advice of the local public health unit.
The facility is a major hub for mail delivery and Canada Post has advised Canadians to expect delays.