Restrictions lifting as positive cases ease

TORONTO — A slowdown in new COVID-19 infections across much of the country along with rising vaccination numbers has political and health authorities easing restrictions put in place to curb the pandemic.

In one such key development, Ontario’s top public health officer said hospitals could resume non-urgent surgeries and procedures, ending a ban that’s been in place since April 20.

Dr. David Williams said daily COVID-19 rates, hospital and intensive care admissions appeared to be trending downward, and some hospitals now had capacity to resume cancelled procedures.

“It is therefore important to make use of this available capacity to limit the long-term impacts on patients awaiting non-urgent care,” Williams said.

Authorities estimate the province has a backlog of nonurgent medical procedures in the hundreds of thousands.

The province reported 1,588 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday and 19 deaths.

Quebec, which expects to lift its curfew by the end of the month, said its hospital admissions had fallen by 18 to 466, while 113 people were in intensive care, a drop of five.

One province still struggling, Manitoba, said it had transferred two COVID-19 patients to Thunder Bay, Ont.

Quebec, which reported 584 new cases of COVID-19 and eight more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus, estimated slightly more than half its residents have received at least one dose of a vaccine.

Still, with domestic supplies on the rise, health officials in Manitoba said all residents could be fully vaccinated by the end of July. The province is set to start booking second doses on Friday for people with certain underlying medical conditions, then will offer appointments based on availability and when people had received their first dose.

Nationally, almost three-quarters of Indigenous adults living on reserves have now received at least one dose and more than one-third have received two, Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller said on Wednesday. Efforts were underway to vaccinate young people with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, he said.

Health units in Ontario’s Peel Region have begun opening up bookings for the Pfizer vaccine to anyone aged 12 and up. The mayor of hard-hit Brampton, Ont., announced the expansion on Wednesday.

“The more people we get vaccinated, the sooner we’re going to get back to normal,” Patrick Brown said.

Ontario has said it plans to open vaccine booking to those aged 12 and older starting at the end of the month.