Ontario will return to a modified second step of the Roadmap for reopening effective January 5 in an effort to avoid tensions in the healthcare system.
The Ford administration says the measures will be temporary and will be implemented for the next three weeks before they are reassessed.
At today’s press conference, Ford said a “tsunami” of Omicron cases could cause hospital bed shortages in the coming weeks.
He says that although the evidence tells us that only about 1% of people with Omicron will end up in hospital, the transmissibility of this strain will make even that unmanageable for hospitals.
“Our public health experts tell us that we could see hundreds of thousands of cases every day,” Ford said.
“The 1% of hundreds of thousands are too many new patients for our hospitals to handle.”
Additionally, due to the Omicron stage contagion, the Ontario government is bracing for 20-30% staff absenteeism in all sectors, including healthcare and other front-line workers.
Several different guidelines go into effect Wednesday, including lowering indoor gathering limits from ten to five, cutting personal care businesses and retail establishments to 50% capacity, closing gyms and in-person dining, pause all non-urgent procedures in hospitals, and keep schools in online learning capacity until at least January 17.
Ford added at the press conference that in-person learning for special education students will continue, and that free emergency child care services will be available to parents during this remote learning period, although details on this are still minimal. .
In addition, the prime minister says that the provincial government is working to accelerate expanded support for small businesses that “have already taken on much of this pandemic.”
The Ontario government says eligible businesses will be reimbursed for a portion of the property tax and energy costs they incur while restricted by these measures.
Businesses that must close for indoor activities are expected to see 100% of their costs covered by the province, and specific grants are being considered for affected workers and businesses.
Recently, Kingston took some similar improved measures as part of a Dec. 13 Section 22 Order, including putting a pause on live music performances and lowering indoor meeting limits.
The province’s director of public health, Dr. Kieran Moore, says that while hospitalization has become the main metric of interest, it is important to note that Omicron represents a challenge for the entire health care system.
“It’s about home care, it’s about long-term care, it’s about primary care,” Dr. Moore said.
“The whole system has to be on its feet working together to make sure we are supporting our citizens where they need care the most.”
Moore says we face health human resource challenges in all sectors, and that public health measures are in place to support all those sectors and not just hospitals.
“Everything we can do together to keep rolling back that wave gives us more time and helps our hospitals, but helps our entire health care system in our response to COVID.”
There are currently at least 1,232 hospitalized with COVID in Ontario (pending possible missing data from the weekend), while Kingston currently has 13 hospitalized cases.
Reference-ygknews.ca