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Month: September 2021

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Canada has approved a 15-minute COVID test. But the lineups will still go on for hours

Sep 16, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Health Canada has given the green light to a rapid test for , but experts say people shouldn’t expect the testing backlog — and lineups — will disappear anytime soon.

“It’s sort of sold as reducing the backlog,” Dr. Zain Chagla, an infectious disease specialist with McMaster University, said about the newly approved ID Now test. “I’m uncomfortable with this. I don’t think this is going to significantly reduce the backlog by any means.

“It is nice to have another tool to get people tested, but this is probably not the test that’s going to change the provincial testing queues altogether.”

Ottawa announced Wednesday it approved the test developed by Abbott Laboratories, which can deliver results in less than 15 minutes of a patient being swabbed, without having to first send the sample to a lab for processing.

Neither the company nor the federal government will be more specific about when the test kits will start arriving, other than “the coming weeks.”

The approval came a day after the federal government announced it had signed a deal to buy nearly eight million of the tests from the U.S.-based company, pending Health Canada approval, as well as 3,800 of the analyzer machines that process the results.

The ID Now test has been approved and used in the United States since the end of March under an emergency authorization, but not without controversy. Several clinical studies have since raised concerns over its accuracy, though others concluded with more favourable results.

“If you look at some of the literature that has come out around this machine, it does miss some positives,” noted Chagla. “From reading the U.S. experiences, people who are still having symptoms after a negative test are recommended to get another test.

“There’s limitation with this machine but it’s better than nothing at this point.”

According to an Abbott spokesperson, the test needs to be administered by a trained health-care provider.

A swab is taken either from the nose or the back of the throat, and then mixed with a chemical solution that can “recognize a unique section of the Coronavirus genome, while ignoring other viruses even if they’re similar strains,” the spokesperson told the Star in an email.

“ID NOW delivers reliable results in minutes, rather than hours or days, on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic with accuracy rates as high as 94.7% compared to lab-based PCR reference tests in the acute phase of illness.”

Dr. Andrew Morris, an infectious disease specialist at Sinai Health and University Health Network, called the approval of the rapid test “welcome” but not a surprise. The test “has been approved in almost every jurisdiction where there’s been an application,” he said.

The question now is when these tests are going to arrive.

Other countries and the World Health Organization have also purchased them, and it’s not clear “where we are in the pecking order,” Morris said.

“Inevitably it’s going to help us but we really needed it several weeks ago to avoid our backlog,” he said.

The province also needs to figure out how the new tests will be used as part of a larger strategy, which should include “surveillance, screening and diagnostic testing.”

That’s something “we’ve been really challenged by,” Morris said. “This will expand our capacity for testing, it probably won’t be used in the highest stakes, because almost certainly its quality is not going to be as good as the gold-standard PCR test.”

While the rapid test can relieve the pressure on the back end of the testing process at labs, Chagla said people still need to go through the same registration at COVID assessment centres and line up to get tested.

Local health authorities need to take a look at what their testing needs are and how the test can meet those needs.

The rapid test works best in remote areas where test centres and labs are far and apart, for asymptomatic people and at high-risk workplaces where routine testing is called for, said Chagla.

“We need to develop a system to determine who is best for what test,” Chagla said.

Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious disease specialist at the University Health Network, said the approval will “provide incremental help” and is “an excellent move” but “not a silver bullet.”

It might be particularly helpful in remote or northern communities that are far from labs, for some workplace outbreaks, or even in underserved urban neighbourhoods that have been hard hit by COVID, to “remove barriers” to testing.

The newly approved rapid ID NOW test is not to be confused with antigen tests, which test proteins on the surface of the virus. Health Canada said Tuesday it’s still reviewing those.

The goal, said Bogoch, would be a rapid antigen test that you could do at home, before heading to work or school, similar to a pregnancy test.

If it was positive, he said, it would trigger a more formal test at the centre. But in the meantime it would let you know not to go to work and to isolate, to avoid infecting others.

Nicholas Keung is a Toronto-based reporter covering immigration for the Star. Follow him on Twitter:

May Warren is a Toronto-based breaking news reporter for the Star. Follow her on Twitter:

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‘They want to release the stress’: Having a bash in Orillia’s ‘rage room’

Sep 16, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Embroiled in a family drama?

Stiffed on that recent job promotion?

Workplace printer giving you grief?

There are myriad reasons people are grabbing a baseball bat or hammer, and blowing off steam while bashing bottles and other breakables in the ‘Rage Room.’

According to an owner of the local operation, the seemingly endless global pandemic is the latest stressor that is also driving a surge in business.

“Everyone’s cooped up inside and they want to get out and they want to release the stress,” said Rob Petrangelo, who runs the business with his wife, Kerri.

Located within Ax Men, a recreational axe throwing club on Ontario Street, the Rage Room opened shortly before the pandemic hit and was then closed for four months.

A return to business saw customers flock to the room to release pent-up stress.

“It’s actually more popular than the axe throwing at the moment,” Petrangelo added.

After signing a waiver, participants don protective jumpsuits, chest protectors, helmet/masks, and gloves before stepping into the room and unleashing their fury on smash-worthy items, ranging from beer bottles and computer monitors to printers.  

Many do this to a heavy metal soundtrack, having synced their phones to the business’s stereo system.

“People just take a bat or a hammer or a golf club, or just throw glasses up against the wall or beer bottles,” Petrangelo added.

Kelly Underhill travelled from Barrie with a friend on a recent Friday night to decimate a selection of wine bottles, plates and a printer.

“It gets the frustration out,” Underhill told Simcoe.com. “I’m a thrower naturally, so I can’t do it at home because I’ve got to clean up the mess, so here I don’t have to clean up the mess.”

Prices range from $35 for one person to $59 for two people to $99 for groups of up to four, with the number of breakables provided varying according to the package.

While the Rage Room has hosted couples, manager Amanda Wega said the majority of clients are women — often arriving fresh off a breakup.

Women, she said, tend to “hide our anger a lot better.”

For information, call or go to

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Doug Ford says COVID-19 trajectory trending ‘downwards’ as Ontario reports 834 new cases

Sep 16, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Premier says new computer modelling on the trajectory of shows it heading “downwards” after hitting back-to-back record highs on the weekend, including 1,042 cases Sunday.

“I wouldn’t go as far as flattening but we see it going in the right direction,” he told his daily news conference, revealing that new data will be presented by health officials Thursday.

The reassurance from Ford — who is under pressure over the closures of indoor dining and gyms in Toronto, Peel, York and Ottawa — came as Ontario reported 834 new cases of COVID-19 Wednesday, a minimal increase of seven.

Testing was up 25 per cent as health officials continue looking for a drop in new infections suggesting the modified Stage 2 restrictions in the four hot zones are taking hold and reducing the spread of the virus.

But Ford was he said the curve was being flattened — just days before the Thanksgiving Friday surge to a then-record 939 cases that prompted an abrupt reversal to impose a 28-day clampdown.

“I’ve said that before and it scares me because it comes back and bites you in the butt real quick if we don’t follow it up,” the premier acknowledged.

Experts later said a backlog in testing at the time hid the true picture of the spread of COVID-19, despite numerous warnings from Toronto Public Health and the Ontario Hospitalizations the pandemic was taking a bad turn.

Labs across the province processed 30,010 tests Tuesday with no backlog, an increase of about 6,000 from Monday but well below highs of around 48,000 and prompting concerns there is not enough testing.

“We see the curve going down, which is great news,” Ford added Wednesday, cautioning “just because we see it sloping down a bit doesn’t mean we can let our guard down” while expressing hopes more businesses can reopen soon.

Shortly after Ford spoke at Queen’s Park, Peel medical officer Dr. Lawrence Loh said a Thanksgiving surge in cases revealed in spiking numbers last weekend pushed the region into the second wave.

He urged residents to limit their in-person contacts and called on places of worship to return to virtual gatherings only, even though in-person services are allowed under the law.

“Assume that anyone else outside your immediate household could be carrying the virus,” Loh said.

Meanwhile, the possibility that regions could join Toronto, Peel, York and Ottawa in modified Stage 2 with bans on indoor dining and closures of gyms and theatres appeared less likely.

“The numbers in both Halton and Durham have remained relatively low,” said Health Minister Christine Elliott.

Halton had 24 cases, up from 10, and Durham 26, down from 44 with Hamilton reported 18, an increase of four. There were 299 new cases in Toronto, 186 in Peel, 121 in York Region and 76 in Ottawa.

In total, the Greater Toronto-Hamilton Area accounted for 81 per cent of the new cases, and 12 of the province’s 34 public health units reported no new cases — a proportion that is higher than usual.

The province is operating on a baseline of positive tests that is higher every day than the first wave of the pandemic last spring, when cases topped out at 640 on April 24.

Cases have not been below that level in three weeks and a record 7,474 Ontarians are fighting active cases of the virus after testing positive in the last 14 days.

There were five new deaths reported Tuesday, including two in nursing homes, raising the total to 3,108 since the first fatality in March. More than 72,885 cases of the virus have been confirmed and 62,303 are considered resolved, although many people who have had COVID-19 feel lingering effects.

The Ministry of Long-Term Care said 87 of the province’s 626 nursing homes remained in outbreak mode, a drop of one with another 32 additional residents and three staff diagnosed with COVID-19 raising the number of active cases to 396 and 297 respectively.

To date, 1,996 nursing-home residents have died from the virus,

Amid concerns that hospitals could fill up over the winter because of COVID-19 and the flu, there were 312 Ontarians in hospital for the novel coronavirus with 71 requiring intensive care and 51 on ventilators to breathe.

That is a marked increase from the same day in September, when there were 128 people hospitalized, 29 in ICU and 17 ventilated.

As has been the case for a few days, there were no schools closed because of outbreaks, but schools reported 92 more cases in students and staff and there were 595 of the province’s more than 4,800 schools with infections, or about 12 per cent of the total.

Rob Ferguson is a Toronto-based reporter covering Ontario politics for the Star. Follow him on Twitter:

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Orillia houses damaged as novice driver loses control of vehicle

Sep 16, 2021 , , , , by shlf

A 17-year-old driver is charged with driving offences after her out-of-control vehicle damaged two Orillia houses on Colborne Street Nov. 18.

Police received a call at about 8 a.m. about a vehicle that struck a home and came to rest at a house across the street.

Orillia OPP charged the Rama First Nation resident with careless driving. As a novice driver, she was also charged with driving without a qualified driver in the vehicle.

The driver was treated for minor injuries at Soldiers Memorial Hospital.

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‘Climate change mitigation has a cost’: Collingwood environmental group calls for specialist post at town hall

Sep 16, 2021 , , , , by shlf

A citizens’ environmental group is calling on the Town of Collingwood to put its money where its mouth is on the issue of climate change.

Collingwood Climate Action Team (CCAT), a group formed in 2019 to raise awareness of climate issues, says council needs to consider hiring a climate change specialist as part of the town’s 2021 spending plans.

David Ohrling, who leads CCAT’s community engagement group, said council should view the position as an investment, rather than a cost.

“If you invest $1 now in climate change mitigation, you save $6 later,” he said. “You can make the case that it’s an investment, and the potential is there as an investment to access funds that would be beneficial to the town.”

Council approved a motion declaring a climate crisis in 2019, and directed staff in July to sign the town on to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Partners for Climate Protection. It also asked staff to create a three-year, part-time contract position to support “green” initiatives in the 2021 budget.

However, in the first budget overview presented to council in October, the position — pegged at a cost of $35,000 — was determined not to meet the threshold for a staff recommendation. In budget documents released on the town’s public-engagement website, , the position is now identified as costing $50,000 annually.

Coun. Deb Doherty questioned the recommendation in October, and told Simcoe.com the town needs a staff person to put a “green lens” on “everything we do,” including policies such as the cycling plan, urban tree canopy strategy, and the accommodation strategy.

Doherty said the responsibilities could fit into the job description of another position, such as the additional staff position being asked for within the facilities management division in 2021.

“Climate change mitigation has a cost. We’ve taken the line of least resistance for years, until we find ourselves in a position where we’re at a critical juncture (for greenhouse gases),” she said. “If we’re going to turn it around, we have to make an investment in turning it around.

“It’s one thing to make the declaration (of a climate crisis), but if you don’t provide some kind of affirmative action, it’s nothing but an empty motion.”

Ohrling said the position must be separate as it doesn’t fall into the responsibilities or agenda of any one department.

“There has to be an overarching lens … that should be incorporated into decisions and how they’re made,” he said.

Having the position in place would also allow the town to chase after funding programs that address climate change issues from other levels of government, he added.

“Everybody is recognizing there’s a problem and we need to move in a certain direction, but the town needs someone who can oversee that work if we’re going to do it effectively,” he said. “It needs to be looked at as an investment; these things are looked at as liabilities and costs, and the reality is the potential liability to the town is fairly significant.”

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$1-million fundraising effort is for the birds — and humans: Orillia area’s Couchiching Conservancy

Sep 15, 2021 , , , , by shlf

A $1-million investment in a globally-important habitat will pay 10 times that in annual benefits to Mother Earth, according to an area conservation group partnering in the effort to purchase the property.

“We are working very hard with our partners to create wildlife corridors throughout the Lake Couchiching region to build natural resiliency in the face of a changing climate,” said Mark Bisset, executive director of the Couchiching Conservancy. “This property is an essential piece of that puzzle.”

The non-profit land trust is working with the Nature Conservancy of Canada to purchase the Cedarhurst Alvar property, a 551-hectare site located 35 kilometres northeast of Orillia.

It is home to some of Ontario’s most significant natural habitat, including forests, wetlands and grasslands that serve as sponges during spring run-off and major storms.

Protecting the property as a conservation reserve will provide $10 million a year in what the conservancies refer to as “ecosystem goods and services.”

These include carbon storage, the removal of air pollution and flood-water storage — vital functions in the age of climate change, the groups say.

“Doing conservation at this size and scale is incredibly important in today’s changing world,” said Kristyn Ferguson, program director, large landscapes Ontario Region, Nature Conservancy of Canada.

Alvars are naturally open habitats characterized by either a thin covering of soil or no soil, over a base of limestone or dolostone bedrock. They exist in just a handful of locations across the globe.

The two conservation organizations need to raise $1 million by spring 2021 to protect the area property for the long term, noting it has faced development pressures in the past.

The site is home to a diversity of grassland birds, including grasshopper sparrow, bobolink, eastern meadowlark and upland sandpiper.

“There are hundreds of species using its wetlands, forests, grasslands and globally rare alvars,” Ferguson added.

Once protected, the property will help form a conservation corridor between Carden Alvar Provincial Park to the south and existing conservation lands that extend north to Queen Elizabeth II Wildlands Provincial Park.

For information on how to contribute, go to .

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MADD Canada launches Ontario raffle as part of annual Red Ribbon campaign

Sep 15, 2021 , , , , by shlf

This year, MADD Canada’s campaign will look a bit different for Ontarians, but it still has the same goal: to promote sober driving as residents head into the holiday season.

As part of the campaign, MADD Canada has partnered with Ascend Fundraising Solutions to launch a 50/50 draw beginning Nov. 2, through which Ontarians can buy tickets to support the organization, and for a chance to win a minimum $2,000 jackpot.

“With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to affect our ability to host in-person awareness and fundraising events, MADD Canada is piloting new and creative ways to engage people,” MADD Canada chief operating officer Dawn Regan said. “We are very pleased to offer this new initiative that gives Ontarians a chance to win a great prize, while at the same time supporting our vital work to reduce impaired driving, save lives and prevent injuries.”

Ontarians can purchase tickets at . The raffle will run until Dec. 10, with a winner drawn on Dec 11.

As well, an early bird draw for $500 in American Express gift cards will close on Nov. 17 and the winner will be announced the following day.

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People 60 and older make up 96% of COVID-19 deaths in Ontario. Here’s why one advocate calls it ‘ageism in action’

Sep 15, 2021 , , , , by shlf

As wave two of the rages on, people 60 and older — a group disproportionately represented in Ontario deaths — are looking for more supports to avoid becoming infected, one advocate says.

According to the province’s daily epidemiological report, 3,298 people 60 and older have died as of Nov. 19, accounting for 96 per cent of the province’s total deaths. Of those deaths, 2,193 were residing in long-term-care homes.

Of the 3,298 deaths, 904 were people between the ages of 60 and 79, and 2,394 were 80 and older.

Though COVID-19 has had a on those living in long-term care, the virus’s wide reach is also being felt by those who reside in the community.

About 92 per cent of people 60 and older live in the community rather than congregate settings in Canada, said Laura Tamblyn Watts, CEO of CanAge, a national advocacy organization that “educates, empowers and mobilizes people on the issues that matter most to older Canadians.”

Tamblyn Watts says the concerns are around community transmission to people 60 and older as they go about their daily tasks.

“I think what we’re seeing is ageism in action, that there’s been a sense that it’s all right that seniors die of COVID-19,” Tamblyn Watts said.

The more often people in this demographic need to enter the community, the more likely those at high risk have to make the “really terrible choice” between getting things they need or staying home and avoiding outside contacts she said.

“Older people in the second wave may have fewer supports as people get more used to living with COVID-19. So they have to go into the community in many cases to do things like grocery shopping and getting medication.”

Community support is a must if seniors are to stay protected, Tamblyn Watts said.

“Whether it’s an increased support for grocery delivery, whether it’s extra community-based wellness checks, whether it’s making sure that we support … care at home as opposed to home care, older people need to get care in the place that they are and not be exposed to the broader community spread wherever possible.”

She pointed to podiatry, physiotherapy, nursing services and dialysis as procedures that could be broadly supported for people at home instead of requiring folks to leave their homes for treatment.

There needs to “less hand-wringing, less professions of hearts breaking, and more action in the way that will make the lives of seniors better and safer,” Tamblyn Watts said.

Tanya McKay, 83, said that the threat of becoming infected by COVID-19 has meant she has lost a lot of the joys she found pre-pandemic alongside her husband, Nelson.

“Much of the fun has gone from our lives. We were always socially active, loved to travel, loved to entertain friends, loved to attend cultural events such as concerts and plays,” McKay, who lives in Niagara Falls, told the Star. “All this has been suspended.”

The pandemic has put a damper on any motivation in day-to-day life, McKay said. “We have more time and yet seem to accomplish less. We have to push ourselves mentally. Sometimes we feel ‘why bother?’” she said.

She realizes the privilege she and Nelson enjoy: while there is an element of fear and disruption, “we are very fortunate compared to many others as we live in a house with a backyard in a small city with easy access to lovely countryside,” McKay said. “We are both healthy and have never had many worries.”

Jenna Moon is a breaking news reporter for the Star and is based in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter:

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Ontario announces $13.6 million in pandemic funding for schools in 4 regions

Sep 15, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Ontario will provide $13.6 million to be split between schools in four regions of the province recently designated COVID-19 red zones, Premier Doug Ford announced on Nov. 26.

“We know schools in red control zones or higher need extra support to keep students and staff safe,” Ford said during a media event at St. Marcellinus Secondary School, in Mississauga. “This is funding to hire even more teachers, to allow for physical distancing, to hire more custodians, to enhance cleaning in schools and increase remote learning supports for students.”

Here’s what you need to know about the additional funding.

Who will receive funds?

The funds will be made available to schools in Durham, Halton, Hamilton and Waterloo, since those regions were recently designated COVID-19 red zones. 

How far will this money go?

Ford said the $13.6 million is enough to hire 135-175 additional teachers or 240 custodians, or to purchase around 27,000 tablets and laptops for remote learning.

Where is the money coming from? 

This funding is part of the government’s existing $1.3-billion plan to reopen classrooms across the province.

In addition to the new funding for schools in Ontario’s four red zones, Ford also announced the province will launch voluntary COVID-19 testing for asymptomatic students in regions with high numbers of active cases, including in Toronto, Peel, York and Ottawa. 

“This will build on our work with school boards and local public health units to ensure testing is made available to the schools and communities where they need it most,” Ford said.

Education Minister Stephen Lecce, who joined Ford for the announcement, said boards across the province will also receive additional funding stabilization to offset some of the impacts of enrolment declines caused by the pandemic. The funds are intended to respond to budget shortfalls and prevent boards from being forced to make staffing reductions. 

“We’re taking further action to keep schools open and keep them safe,” Lecce said, adding that, on the first day back from the holiday break in January, all students in Ontario will undergo a refresher on the fundamentals of COVID-19 safety, including proper mask use, hand hygiene, distancing and mental health.

The province will also launch two new interactive learning portals in partnership with TVO and its French-language counterpart, TFO. 

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Here’s where Wasaga’s budget discussions sit

Sep 15, 2021 , , , , by shlf

The tax rate hike for Wasaga Beach taxpayers has been whittled down to just under three per cent.

Town councillors received an overview of the third draft of the municipal budget on Dec. 3. The municipality’s spending plans for 2021 include more than $42.9 million in operating costs and $53.9 million in capital expenditures.

All told, the municipality plans to collect more than $27.1 million from taxpayers in 2021.

Taking the county and education portions of the tax bill into account, the average-assessed residential property would see a tax rate increase of 1.69 per cent. For the average-assessed residence ($330,000), it would mean an additional $55 annually.

Director of finance Jocelyn Lee noted that Wasaga Beach’s tax rate would remain as one of the lowest among its comparator municipalities. Neighbouring Collingwood, for instance, has a tax rate of 0.7109 per cent, compared to Wasaga’s 0.5767 per cent.

Coun. David Foster emphasized that taxpayers would not be faced with a double-digit increase, as some in the community have suggested.

Anyone who is making that claim, said the councillor, “has their pants on fire, if you ask me.”

The public will have a chance to comment on the budget on Dec. 15. The budget is expected to come to council for ratification on Dec. 22.

Noting the draws on the town’s reserve and development charge accounts in 2021, Coun. Joe Belanger continued to raise concerns about any proposed hike to the town’s development charges.

Municipal officials anticipate drawing more than $36.3 million from reserve accounts in 2021 for capital projects. According to budget documents presented to council, the town will have $34.8 million left in savings at the end of 2021, down from $63.6 million at the end of 2020.

Meanwhile, development charges on a single-detached residence are expected to climb by more than 40 per cent, and the fee for non-residential development could jump by more than 220 per cent.

Communications officer Michael Gennings told Simcoe.com that municipal staff are reviewing options to phase in the charges, and a report will be presented to council later in December.

Belanger said the increase in contributions to the town’s development charge accounts could have a “significant impact” on the overall tax rate, and could discourage investment in the community.

“We’re a town with no furniture stores, car dealerships or cinema … and we’re going to put (non-residential) development charges well ahead of the Village at Blue and Collingwood,” he said. “We could be making some decisions that are going to encourage developers to develop somewhere other than Wasaga Beach.”

Chief administrative officer George Vadeboncoeur said the conversations that municipal staff have had with developers are that the pace of development is unlikely to abate, and, “in fact, it’s quite the opposite.”

“If anything, things have picked up, just because … this area generally is a very attractive area for people to move to, and we are seeing people coming to the area in droves,” he said.