COVID-19 updates: Here’s what happened today

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The rapid spread of the COVID-19 variant Omicron across Canada brings more restrictions, curtailments of services and concerns about shortages daily.

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Watch here for the latest news that affects us all in the Omicron outbreak.

4:53 p.m.

North American markets closed in the red on Wednesday as investors ignored rising Omicron cases and instead looked to the U.S. Federal Reserve, which signalled it would raise interest rates sooner than expected.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 196.86 points to 21,039.66.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 392.54 points at 36,407.11. The S&P 500 index was down 92.96 points at 4,700.58, while the Nasdaq composite lost 522.55 points or 3.3 per cent at 15,100.17.

4:33 p.m.

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4:15 p.m.

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3:00 p.m.

Ontario, Quebec and Alberta have all stopped general testing for COVID-19 as Omicron overwhelms provincial health-care systems. The federal government announced earlier Wednesday it would procure 140 million rapid antigen tests to distribute to provinces and territories. This signals a shift in the fight against the virus that has killed more than 30,000 Canadians, Joshua Gans, professor of strategic management at the University of Toronto, said.

“(It’s) a massive change from the public health point of view, that they’re really expecting people to manage their own risk,” Gans said. “We’re moving to the endemic phase which is, so long as we’re not having massive outbreaks, you should manage it yourself. And the only thing we’re really going to care about is if the hospitals are going to be overwhelmed.”

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Because the Omicron variant is milder, it’s not as big of a worry compared to past waves, he said. And because it’s more transmissible it would be impossible to test everyone effectively. The rapid tests acquired by the federal government should be deployed to the most vulnerable settings and workplaces, which could help prevent spread, he said.

2:18 p.m.

Two Alberta employers have internally logged triple-digit tallies of COVID-19 cases, Postmedia has learned, though public health officials have not officially designated either as outbreaks.

Both the Fairmont Banff Springs and Canadian Natural Resources oilsands work camps have identified more than 100 cases of the novel coronavirus amid the pandemic’s fifth wave, according to sources close to the situations. Read on at the Calgary Herald

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1:52 p.m.

Planning a trip to Hong Kong? You are out of luck until Jan. 20. The city announced today that it is banning flights from eight countries, Canada, Australia, U.S., U.K., France, India, Pakistan and the Philippines, in a drastic tightening of rules to keep out the Omicron virus — Bloomberg

12:58 p.m.

Niagara Health is shutting down its urgent health centre in Fort Erie, Ont., on Thursday due to shortages of staff and increasing numbers of COVID-19 patients.
The hospital says nurses and doctors working there will be redeployed to other emergency departments in the region.

Residents needing health care are asked to contact their doctors, access the urgent care centre in Port Colborne, Ont., or go to the nearest emergency department.
Other hospitals in Ontario are being forced to cancel surgeries and redeploy their staff to provide care for the surging numbers of COVID-19 patients.

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Bluewater Health hospital in Sarnia, Ont., says it has reopened a COVID-19 health unit as the number of COVID-19 patients in the hospital quadrupled from seven to 31 patients during the last two weeks.

The hospital says it had to cancel most surgeries as the number of staff on sick leave increased to five times the usual number.

— Canadian Press

12:30 p.m.

It is a cloudy day in Toronto, an atmospheric bleakness mirrored, perhaps, by the sense of foreboding many Ontario parents woke up with today, yours truly included, knowing it was back to school — only it wasn’t.

The schools are dark. And our kids are back to where they were last spring, as well as the winter and spring before that: parked in front of a laptop, or other such device, learning their ABCs through the wonders of a secure Zoom link and teachers doing their best to appear animated.

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It is a form of pandemic theatre, an act, since one and all — educators, paediatricians, parents and politicians, who swear closing the schools will be the last resort before they close them anyways — know the ritual dance of remote learning pales in comparison to the mental, social and educational benefits of actually learning in person, of being around other kids.

In sum: remote learning sucks, in the here and now, but it could also prove a significant drain on the future economy.

Studies by The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development have found an individual’s income increases 11.1 per cent per additional year of learning. There is no study showing how much, or how little learning happens when the schools shift to remote, but speaking as a parent of two young children, who has been witness to online morning attendance sessions drag on for 15 minutes as the Little Einsteins unmute themselves, it is safe to say that remote class time isn’t being optimized.

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Ontario schools, for one, have been closed or remote for six months since March 2020, and now the clock is again ticking on time out of the physical classroom. Catherine Haeck, a professor of economics at the Université du Québec à Montréal, and Christine Neill, an associate professor of economics at Wilfrid Laurier University, suggest remote learners learn at half the rate of in-class learners.

Do the math, and the professors argue the time at home works out to about three months of lost learning, and between 2.5 per cent-4 per cent of lost future income per student. Do some more math, and the number they arrive at over an individual’s lifetime is between $27,000-$41,000 in lost earnings.

There are over two million elementary and secondary school age children in Ontario. Don’t ask me what the math on that is — I am a writer, after all — but the shift to remote not only short-changes children’s education and life experience, but will cost us money down the line.

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And now it’s time for lunch: grilled cheese, anyone?

— Joe O’Connor

11:57 a.m.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland used a press conference Wednesday to remind Canadians and businesses of the federal supports available to them as Omicron surges across the country.

The federal government in December temporarily expanded emergency benefits to include people impacted by capacity restrictions, when before Bill C-2 only covered those impacted by complete lockdowns.

“I’d like today to reassure Canadians by reminding them that the federal government has made sure that economic support is available to you if you need it,” Freeland told reporters.

The government will provide $300 a week in income support to eligible workers who are directly affected by a COVID-19-related public health lockdown or capacity restrictions, and lost 50 per cent or more of their income as a result.

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Businesses can qualify for wage and rent subsidies if they have lost 25 per cent of their revenue in the past month against 2019 numbers, compared to the previous threshold of 40 per cent. The federal government will subsidize up to 75 per cent of revenue declines.

Federal officials will also acquire 140 million rapid antigen tests in January to distribute to the provinces and territories, an increase from the 35 million procured in December.

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11:47 p.m.

Quebec is reporting 39 more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus today and a rise of 158 COVID-19-related hospitalizations.

The Health Department says data from the last 24 hours indicates 1,750 people were in hospital with COVID-19, after 321 patients were admitted and 163 were discharged. It says 191 people were in intensive care, a rise of six from the day before.

Officials are reporting 14,486 new COVID-19 cases today and say about 28 per cent of tests came back positive — the same test-positivity rate as the prior day. The government is no longer offering PCR testing to the general public and is instead prioritizing those tests for higher-risk groups.

11:26 a.m.

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10:24 a.m.

Ontario reports 11,582 new cases of COVID-19 today, down from the peak of 18,445 on New Year’s Day. However, Public Health Ontario notes the true number is likely higher due to policy changes making testing less accessible.

Hospitalizations across Canada are also rising amid surging cases. The latest data as of Tuesday shows 4,059 people in hospital due to COVID-19. Meanwhile, in Ontario, Health Minister Christine Elliott said 2,081 people are hospitalized with the virus today, including 288 in the ICU. Yesterday, Elliott reported 1,290 people in hospital with COVID-19, with 266 in ICU.

10 a.m. 

Canadian manufacturers are bracing for staff shortages either from COVID restrictions imposed by the government or from sickness.

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Some are already reporting staff down between six and nine per cent, reports the Financial Post’s Jake Edmiston , though it’s too early to call a trend.

Unlike previous COVID waves where restrictions weighed on economic growth, the bigger risk this time is people not showing up because they have contracted Omicron as it spreads more quickly than earlier variants.

“Suddenly, people are calling in sick,” said Dennis Darby, chief executive of Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters. “If this persists, we’re actually going to see an effect on output.”

Toronto is making contingency plans to cope wth city employees calling in sick. Toronto Mayor John Tory said on BNN/Bloomberg this morning that in the worst case scenario the city could see 50 to 60 per cent of its staff off sick with the virus.

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Meanwhile, the Toronto Public Library has announced it will have to temporarily close 44 of its branches because of staff shortages related to COVID starting on Jan. 10.

9:48 a.m. Wednesday

Starting today, Ontario rolls out tighter public health restrictions in response to what the province calls “an alarming increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations.”

The surge in COVID cases has forced multiple provinces to postpone non-urgent surgeries and reduce access to COVID tests.

Additional reporting by the Canadian Press, Bloomberg and Reuters