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Today’s coronavirus news: Toronto has had 2,432 new cases of COVID-19 in the past five days, prompting Mayor Tory to urge people to stay home; Ontario projects 6,000 daily cases by mid-December

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Today’s coronavirus news: Toronto has had 2,432 new cases of COVID-19 in the past five days, prompting Mayor Tory to urge people to stay home; Ontario projects 6,000 daily cases by mid-December

Oct 22, 2021 , , , , by shlf

The latest news from Canada and around the world Thursday. This file will be updated throughout the day. Web links to longer stories if available.

3:55 p.m. Yukon is confirming a new case of COVID-19 in Whitehorse, bringing the total number of cases in the territory to 24 since the start of the pandemic.

3:48 p.m. Ontario’s new modelling for COVID-19 shows that at 3.5 per cent growth, the province could top 2,000 new cases daily and at 5 per cent growth the province could top 6,000 new infections daily by December. That would be four times today’s record level of 1,575 new COVID-19 cases.

3 p.m. Toronto has had 2,432 new cases of COVID-19 in the past five days, said Eileen de Villa, medical officer of health for the City of Toronto. “The medical community knows this is just the tip of the iceberg,” she said.

Toronto is reporting 500 cases in the past 24 hours, and there are 164 people in hospital, 36 of which are in the ICU, de Villa said.

“Please stay home!” said Toronto Mayor John Tory. “Don’t socialize with people outside your home!

“If everyone stays home, less people will get COVID-19,” Tory said.

“I’m asking you to stay home,” said Tory, speaking of this weekend’s Diwali festival celebration in the South Asian community, and of weddings.

Tory suggested people not focus on the complicated system of colour codes, stages and different categories of tests that make up the Ford government’s framework for determining whether communities could remain open or be subject to lockdown restrictions.

He said the thing to do is to focus on just staying home.

“Assume COVID-19 is everywhere,” said de Villa, who spoke of the City’s efforts to boost its contact-tracing system. It’s a team of 900 people and has been able to contact 90 per cent of new cases. It’s been enhanced to use automation to reach people more quickly and now has a system to notify people if they have been in contact with someone who has COVID-19. It has reached 600 people for a success rate of 97 per cent.

Tory dismissed the idea the City was singling our restaurants and the prohibition of indoor dining to set an example to other businesses, and mentioned that the experience of other jurisdictions showed this was essential to stop the spread of the virus.

“We’re preventing something much, much worse from happening to avoid a long, long, long lockdown.”

2:23 p.m.: Manitoba’s top doctor is clarifying a public health order as the province enters a self-imposed economic and social hibernation to try to bring surging COVID-19 numbers back under control.

“The current restriction on the Pandemic Reponse System is critical,” Dr. Brent Roussin said in a statement Thursday. “It says stay home. I say stay home.”

The province has been struggling to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus since it started spiking in recent weeks after a summer lull.

Roussin, chief public health officer, announced earlier in the week that enhanced restrictions which came into effect Thursdaywould ban social gatherings.

The public health order, however, was written with a limit of five people on gatherings to accommodate caregivers and others who may have to enter a household

2:15 p.m. (updated): Toronto is reporting 500 new cases, the city’s medical officer of health Dr. Eileen de Villa said Thursday. She said there are 164 people in hospital and 36 of them are in intensive care.

In last five days, there have been 2,432 new cases of COVID in Toronto.

Medical community agrees what’s reported is “just the tip of the iceberg” so more virus is out there.

“You should assume COVID-19 is everywhere” and without proper precautions you are at risk, de Villa says.

1:40 p.m.: Manitoba has matched its deadliest day as the province enters a second lockdown period in an effort to get surging infections under control.

Health officials say there have been nine more deaths — matching the record set the day before — and 474 new cases of COVID-19.

There are 227 people in hospital with 34 people in intensive care.

Dr. Brent Roussin, the chief public health officer, says restrictions that came into effect today are the strictest public health orders yet.

Private gatherings are limited to five people, and everyone is asked not to socialize outside their households.

Churches can’t hold in-person services and non-essential stores and restaurants are limited to curbside pickup and delivery.

1:30 p.m.: Quebec Premier Francois Legault says he is to reduce COVID-19 transmission.

The premier says the province had to close 324 schools in the past two days following COVID-19 outbreaks.

He says closing schools is a last resort but his government is considering either advancing or prolonging the winter break to keep children home.

Legault says Quebec is suffering through a strong second wave of COVID-19 and that the next few weeks are going to be tough.

1:30 p.m.: The Opposition wants the Saskatchewan government to make it mandatory provincewide to wear a mask in public to try to stem rising COVID-19 infections.

NDP Leader Ryan Meili says Premier Scott Moe has yet to present a plan on how to deal with the spread of the novel coronavirus.

More than 400 doctors signed a letter calling for more action from the provincial after a month of rising infections and hospitalizations.

Health officials reported 112 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday and said 48 people were in hospital, 11 of them receiving intensive care.

Meili suggests Saskatchewan talk to other provinces where cases of COVID-19 are higher to get advice on what should be done to avoid ending up in the same situation.

Moe said earlier this week that no added public health measures were under consideration to deal with the caseload.

“Let’s expand that mask mandate to the whole province and let’s be looking at what could prevent us (from) getting into a situation like Manitoba, Alberta, North Dakota are in,” Meili said Thursday.

Masks have been made mandatory in indoor public spaces in Regina, Saskatoon and Prince Albert for about a week.

Private indoor gatherings are restricted to no more than 10 people, and nightclubs in Saskatoon must close at 11 p.m.

1:16 p.m. Nova Scotia’s premier says the next two weeks with be “absolutely critical” for the province as health officials deal with a small but sudden spike in COVID-19 cases.

Stephen McNeil says he’s concerned that Nova Scotians are becoming complacent about health protocols, given that the province has only 19 active cases among the 1,134 positive cases recorded since the pandemic was declared in March.

No new cases were reported today, but the premier has said he is concerned by the fact that more than a dozen cases have been reported since Nov. 3.

The province has recorded 65 deaths since April, though 1,050 people infected with the virus have recovered.

1:15 p.m.: Nunavut has shut down two communities after announcing its first cases of COVID-19.

The territory’s chief public health officer says all schools and non-essential services in Rankin Inlet and Sanikiluaq are closed.

Officials say travel to and from Rankin Inlet is not recommended after a positive case was announced in the community Wednesday.

Officials also say all contacts with two positive cases in Sanikiluaq have tested negative and an additional 27 residents in the community of 880 have also tested negative.

There are currently three active cases of COVID-19 in Nunavut.

1:15 p.m. New Brunswick says a COVID-19 outbreak tied to a special care home in Moncton is over.

Health officials say it’s been 28 days since the last person connected to the outbreak at Notre-Dame Manor tested positive.

Officials say the outbreak involved a total of 44 cases, including 22 residents and six staff members.

Public health is reporting one new case of COVID-19 today in the Saint John region and a total of 13 actives cases in the province.

1:07 p.m. A group representing tens of thousands of Ontario physicians for imposing stricter COVID-19 measures, as the province reports another record tally of new daily infections.

The Ontario Medical Association says the tiered and colour-coded framework that determines when regions across the province can loosen or tighten restrictions is too lax, particularly at a time when case counts are surging.

It says the criteria to move from one alert level to the other should be much lower — as much as 50 per cent lower in some cases — and the higher levels should include a ban on indoor dining in restaurants and bars.

The group’s comments come on the heels of a Toronto Star report that said the provincial government ignored the advice of its own public health agency in designing the system introduced last week.

12:47 p.m. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will face questions from senators Thursday afternoon as they scrutinize the government’s latest bid to provide pandemic aid to hard-hit businesses.

Freeland is scheduled to testify to the Senate’s national finance committee that is reviewing the aid bill, known as C-9.

The House of Commons agreed last week to pass the proposed package of measures quickly, but none can be enacted until the Senate passes it as well.

Bill C-9 would extend the federal wage subsidy until next summer, cancelling a previously planned decline in its value, as well as expanding a popular business loan program.

The legislation would also redo a program for commercial rent relief that was widely criticized because its original design needed buy-in from landlords, many of whom did not participate.

And it would provide more top-up help for businesses whose revenues crash because of local lockdowns, similar to those being imposed in parts of the country right now as COVID-19 case numbers rise.

More than one-third of small businesses are still seeing revenue declines of 50 per cent or more, Canadian Federation of Independent Business president Dan Kelly told the Senate finance committee Thursday.

The second wave of COVID-19 has prompted a further sales drop at more than half of the country’s 110,000 small and medium-sized enterprises, he said.

“That’s deeply worrisome to us.”

11:35 a.m.: Manitoba is entering the first day of a partial lockdown meant to stem a surge in COVID-19 cases.

Manitoba has the biggest per-capita caseload of active infections in Canada and reported its deadliest day Wednesday with nine new fatalities.

Social gatherings in the province are limited to five people, in-person religious services are cancelled and non-essential stores and restaurants can only offer curbside pickup or delivery.

Bars, museums and theatres are closed and recreational activities suspended. Schools remain open.

11:33 a.m.: Quebec is reporting 1,365 new COVID-19 infections and 42 more deaths linked to the novel coronavirus, including nine that occurred in the past 24 hours.

Authorities say hospitalizations increased by ten, to 583, and 86 people were in intensive care, a rise of two.

Health Minister Christian Dube said today the virus is claiming too many victims.

Dube is scheduled to join Premier Francois Legault and the province’s director of public health for a news conference about the pandemic later in the day.

Officials say 843 more people recovered from the disease, for a total of 101,407.

The province has reported 119,894 COVID-19 infections and 6,557 deaths linked to the virus since the beginning of the pandemic.

10:50 a.m.: Ontario is reporting an additional 103 new cases in public schools across the province, bringing the total in the last two weeks to 1,046 and 3,166 overall since school began.

, the province reported 51 more students were infected for a total of 619 in the last two weeks; since school began there have been an overall total of 1,794.

The data shows there are 14 more staff members infected for a total of 110 in the last two weeks — and an overall total of 397.

The latest report also shows 38 more infected individuals who weren’t identified for a total of 317 in that category in the last two weeks — and an overall total of 975.

There are 653 schools with a reported case, which the province notes is 13.5 per cent of the 4,828 public schools in Ontario.

One school is closed because of an outbreak. The data doesn’t identify that school or where it is.

There is a lag between the daily provincial data at 10:30 a.m. and news reports about infections in schools. The provincial data on Thursday is current as of 2 p.m. Wednesday. It doesn’t indicate where the place of transmission occurred.

The Toronto District School Board updates its information on current COVID-19 cases throughout the day . As of 10:30 a.m. Thursday, there were 219 TDSB schools with at least one active and/or resolved case — 282 students and 71 staff.

The Toronto Catholic District School Board also updates its information . As of Thursday at 10:20 a.m., there were 122 schools with at least one active/resolved case — 113 students and 15 staff.

Epidemiologists have that the rising numbers in the schools aren’t a surprise, and that the cases will be proportionate to the amount of COVID that is in the community.

10:20 a.m. (updated): Ontario is again reporting a daily record of COVID-19 cases, with 1,575 new infections recorded. The province is also reporting 18 new deaths related to the coronavirus.

Just last Thursday, there were 998 infections in Ontario.

Ontario’s seven-day average increased by 83 to 1,299 cases per day — or about 63 cases a week per 100,000, the Star’s Ed Tubb reports.

Health Minister Christine Elliott says there are 472 new cases in Toronto, 448 in Peel Region, 155 in York Region and 91 in Ottawa.

The province says 917 more cases are considered resolved, and the nearly 39,600 tests have been completed since the last daily report.

In total, 431 people are hospitalized in Ontario due to COVID-19, including 98 in intensive care.

Ninety-four long-term-care homes are currently experiencing an outbreak of COVID-19, with 695 active cases among residents and 435 among staff.

The latest figures bring the total of COVID-19 cases in Ontario to 89,784, with 3,293 deaths, and 75,228 cases resolved.

Meanwhile, Ontario is set to release new COVID-19 projections later today.

10:11 a.m.: To ensure the merriment of millions of children, the government of Belgium is offering a special exemption from the country’s strict coronavirus measures to beloved St. Nicholas, who always delivers bountiful presents on the morning of Dec. 6.

In a tongue-in-cheek letter Thursday, the Belgian health and interior ministers soothed the worries of children fearing they might go without presents this year. The officials said Nicholas wouldn’t have to quarantine after arriving in Belgium from Spain, where he lives, and would be able to walk rooftops to drop gifts into chimneys even during curfew hours.

“Dear Saint, do what you do best: make every child happy. We are counting on you,” Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden and Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke said in the joint letter.

For generations, the visit of St. Nicholas at the onset of winter has been a holiday highlight for Belgian kids, much like the work of Santa Claus on Christmas Eve is in so many other nations.

With Belgium one of the European countries hit worst by the coronavirus, the government is enforcing a nightly curfew, tough quarantine rules and other measures to curb infections. The resurgence of the virus has started to show signs of abating in the past few days.

10:08 a.m. British Columbia’s children’s representative says the as experts brace for rising rates of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress in children and young people.

“Going forward, we would be very wise to invest significantly more in mental health,” given the pre-pandemic shortfalls and the benefits over time, said Jennifer Charlesworth in an interview.

Her office released a review Thursday of previous studies focused on kids’ mental health after infectious disease outbreaks and natural disasters.

The review was led by Dr. Charlotte Waddell, the director of the children’s health policy centre at Simon Fraser University.

Long-term studies and data are needed to assess exactly how the pandemic is affecting kids’ development and mental health in B.C. and beyond, said Waddell, but she’s concerned.

“The studies that we examined really strongly predict that we’re going to see significant increases in the number of kids with anxiety, post-traumatic stress, depression and behaviour challenges,” said Waddell, who’s a specialist in child and adolescent psychiatry.

9:11 a.m. Dr. Adalsteinn Brown and other top provincial health officials are expected to provide new modelling this afternoon.

The new projections for how the virus might spread in Ontario come as the province has reported daily case increases above 1,000 for the past week.

The province reported 1,426 more COVID-19 cases on Wednesday.

According to provincial data, the seven-day average for daily case increases is now 1,217.

Some hot spots such as Toronto and Peel Region have introduced local COVID restrictions in addition to provincial government measures.

9 a.m. The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment benefits fell last week to 709,000, a still-high level but the lowest figure since March and a sign that the job market might be slowly healing.

The figures coincide with a sharp resurgence in confirmed viral infections to an all-time high above 120,000 a day. Cases are rising in 49 states, and deaths are increasing in 39. The nation has now recorded 240,000 virus-related deaths and 10.3 million confirmed infections.

As colder weather sets in and fear of the virus escalates, consumers may turn more cautious about travelling, shopping, dining out and visiting gyms, barber shops and retailers. Companies in many sectors could cut jobs or workers’ hours. In recent days, the virus’ resurgence has triggered tighter restrictions on businesses, mostly restaurants and bars, in a range of states, including Texas, New York, Maryland, and Oregon.

Last week’s new applications for unemployment benefits was down from 757,000 the previous week, the Labor Department said Thursday. The still-elevated figure shows that eight months after the pandemic flattened the economy, many employers are still slashing jobs.

8:30 a.m. In an effort to revive its tourism industry, South Africa has opened up international travel to visitors from all countries, President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced.

South Africa will now admit foreign visitors providing they produce negative COVID-19 test results, Ramaphosa said in a broadcast address Wednesday night.

This step, making South Africa one of the world’s countries most open to international travel, comes as cases of the disease are slowly increasing in the country. Ramaphosa said his government will closely monitor any signs that international visitors increase transmission rates.

“By using rapid tests and strict monitoring we intend to limit the spread of the infection through importation,” said Ramaphosa. “We expect that these measures will greatly assist businesses in the tourism and hospitality sectors.”

After closing its borders as part of one of the world’s strictest lockdowns imposed at the end of March, South Africa has gradually reopened, resuming international flights on Oct. 1 but not admitting travellers from countries with high infection levels. Now that restriction has been removed, Ramaphosa said.

8:28 a.m. German soccer club Hoffenheim says a sixth player has tested positive for the coronavirus.

Hoffenheim says defender Kevin Vogt was found to be positive in a test taken Wednesday after an earlier sample gave an inconclusive result.

The whole team was placed in isolation on Wednesday.

Five other Hoffenheim players and two staff members have tested positive for the virus in the last week. Two of those players were only found to be positive after they had joined up with their national teams.

Two more Hoffenheim players were withdrawn from their national teams as a precaution despite testing negative.

8:11 a.m. Taking care of an infant while juggling work as a freelance writer would be stressful enough in a normal year. Add in the additional stress of the , and 39-year-old Ayano Hodouchi Dempsey feels much older.

“I feel old physically — backaches and stuff. And by the time my baby is in bed at 7:30 pm, I feel ready to go to bed myself!” she said.

Although Dempsey feels lucky to live in northwestern Ontario, where cases are relatively low, her extended family lives elsewhere and COVID-19 restrictions mean she hasn’t received the kind of support she would have normally.

People as young as in their twenties have told the Star they were initially shocked to discover streaks of grey in their hair, but once they thought more about it, they weren’t surprised.

8:06 a.m. Two weddings in late October and related events have been linked to at least 17 confirmed positive tests for COVID-19, according to York Region Public Health.

The weddings occurred Oct. 28 and 30 at venues in Vaughan. Related activities occurred in other municipalities in private residences. The case total was based on reports until Nov. 10.

Of the confirmed cases, York Region residents account for 12, and five are Toronto residents. Between the two weddings, 12 cases attended a pre-event for the Oct. 28 wedding and 16 attended the ceremony for the Oct. 30 wedding. Nine of the cases attended both wedding ceremonies, according to public health.

In the case of the Oct. 28 wedding, a pre-wedding event attended by approximately 14 people was held at a private household in Markham. Public health says attendees did not observe sufficient physical distancing and masking protocols.

Attendees are considered at high risk of exposure.

Additionally, a post-wedding event attended by 10 people at a Markham residence is considered high risk.

The wedding ceremony was held at the Chateau le Jardin, 8440 York Regional Road 27, Vaughan, and attended by between 130 and 140 people. The risk of exposure there is considered low.

A pre-wedding event for the Oct. 30 wedding was attended by an unknown number of participants at a household in Ajax in which physical distancing and masking protocols were not observed. The event is considered a high risk for exposure.

The wedding ceremony was held at Paradise Banquet Hall, 7601 Jane St. Approximately 130 attendees are considered at low risk of exposure.

There was no post-wedding event.

York Region residents in attendance will be contacted by York Region Public Health.

Individuals who attended only the ceremony for either or both weddings are considered to have a low risk exposure to COVID-19.

7:52 a.m. A Norfolk county farm fired a migrant worker and tried to send him back to Mexico as reprisal for raising concerns about a massive COVID-19 outbreak, the provincial labour board has found — a historic ruling highlighting the power imbalance between seasonal labourers and their employers.

In a decision issued earlier this week, the Ontario Labour Relations Board said Scotlynn Growers broke the law when it terminated Gabriel Flores Flores shortly after he spoke out about poor living and working conditions at the farm. Some 199 migrant workers at the multimillion-dollar operation tested positive for , including Flores himself. His bunkmate died from the virus.

It is illegal to terminate or discipline any worker for raising health and safety issues. But advocates have long argued that it is difficult for temporary foreign workers to enforce this protection because they do not have permanent residency and can be sent back to their home countries for almost any reason. Flores’s lawyer John No said he believes this week’s ruling is a first for the province’s migrant farm workers.

7:48 a.m. India reported 47,905 new cases of coronavirus infection, with New Delhi setting another daily record Thursday.

The surge of 8,593 cases in the nation’s capital is the highest for any major Indian city and comes as people crowd shopping areas ahead of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, on Saturday.

Deaths, too, are climbing again, with 85 in New Delhi in the past 24 hours. Deaths are a lagging indicator of the virus due to long periods of illness and medical treatment.

Overall, India’s new cases held steady. The Health Ministry reported 550 deaths in the past 24 hours, taking total fatalities to 128,121.

7:46 a.m. The Serbian soccer federation says defender Luka Milivojevic has tested positive for the coronavirus ahead of the European Championship playoff match against Scotland.

The federation says the 29-year-old Crystal Palace defender left the squad’s training ground near Belgrade and put himself in isolation.

7:44 a.m. Loblaw Companies Ltd. raised its dividend as its third-quarter profit and sales climbed higher compared with a year ago and topped expectations.

The grocery and drug store retailer says it will now pay a quarterly dividend of 33.5 cents per share, up from 31.5 cents per share.

The increased payment came as Loblaw reported a profit attributable to common shareholders of $342 million or 96 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Oct. 3, up from $331 million or 90 cents per diluted share in the same quarter last year.

Revenue for what was a 16-week period totalled $15.67 billion, up from nearly $14.66 billion in the same quarter a year earlier. Food retail same-store sales gained 6.9 per cent in the quarter, while drug retail same-store sales climbed 6.1 per cent.

On an adjusted basis, Loblaw says it earned $464 million or $1.30 per diluted share, up from an adjusted profit of $458 million or $1.25 per diluted share a year ago.

Analysts on average had expected an adjusted profit of $1.26 per share and $15.6 billion in revenue, according financial data firm Refinitiv.

6:10 a.m.: Dozens of hospital workers have , demanding more medical staff be hired as the country struggles to contain a resurgence of the coronavirus that has led to a new lockdown being imposed.

An increase in the number of people seriously ill with COVID-19 has led the country’s health system to come under increasing pressure. As of Wednesday night, Greece had a total of 1,104 intensive care unit beds, of which 496 were set aside for COVID-19 patients. Of those, 335 are already occupied.

The government has stressed it has massively increased the country’s intensive care capacity, noting there were a total of just over 500 ICU beds in Greece when it came to power after elections in mid-2019.

6:02 a.m.: The majority of Canadians are aware of the public health risk of COVID-19, but 15 per cent say they don’t believe the virus poses a big health risk to the population or are undecided, according to a new survey by Morneau Shepell.

The findings have raised questions among public health experts about how to address those who don’t believe in the seriousness of a virus that has killed more than 10,000 Canadians, and whether their skepticism poses a risk as COVID-19 cases rise at an unprecedented rate.

In a survey of 3,000 workers across Canada conducted Sept. 28 to Oct. 19, focused on COVID and its mental health impacts, 86 per cent of respondents agreed the virus is a serious public health risk. Six per cent said they do not, and eight per cent said they were undecided.

6:01 a.m.: Taking care of an infant while juggling work as a freelance writer would be stressful enough in a normal year. Add in the additional stress of the COVID-19 pandemic, and 39-year-old Ayano Hodouchi Dempsey feels much older.

“I feel old physically — backaches and stuff. And by the time my baby is in bed at 7:30 pm, I feel ready to go to bed myself!” she said.

Although Dempsey feels lucky to live in northwestern Ontario, where cases are relatively low, her extended family lives elsewhere and COVID-19 restrictions mean she hasn’t received the kind of support she would have normally.

People as young as in their twenties have told the Star they were initially shocked to discover streaks of grey in their hair, but once they thought more about it, they weren’t surprised.

6 a.m.: Texas on Wednesday became the first state with more than 1 million confirmed COVID-19 cases, and as a surge of coronavirus infections engulfs the country.

In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said all restaurants, bars and gyms statewide will have to close at 10 p.m. starting Friday, a major retreat in a corner of the U.S. that had seemingly brought the virus largely under control months ago. He also barred private gatherings of more than 10 people.

Texas, the second-most populous state, has recorded 1.02 million coronavirus cases and over 19,000 deaths since the outbreak began in early March, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. California, the most populous state, has logged more than 995,000 cases.

The U.S. has recorded over 240,000 deaths and more than 10.3 million confirmed infections, with new cases soaring to all-time highs of well over 120,000 per day over the past week. Health experts have blamed the increase in part on the onset of cold weather and growing frustration with mask-wearing and other precautions.

5:43 a.m.: Africa’s top public health official says as infections creep up again in parts of the continent of 1.3 billion people.

John Nkengasong says “we expected it to happen” and warns that when the virus comes back for a second wave, “it seems to come back with a lot of full force.”

The African continent is approaching 2 million confirmed cases, with just over 1.9 million now including more than 45,000 deaths.

5 a.m.: Italy, which shocked the world and itself when hospitals in the wealthy north were overwhelmed with coronavirus cases last spring,

The Italian doctors federation called this week for a nationwide lockdown to forestall a collapse of the medical system, marked by the closure of non-emergency procedures. The government is facing tougher criticism than in the spring, when the health crisis was met with an outpouring of solidarity.

As of Wednesday, 52 per cent of Italy’s hospital beds were occupied by COVID-19 patients, above the 40 per cent warning threshold set by the Health Ministry. Nine of Italy’s 21 regions and autonomous provinces are already securely in the red-alert zone, above 50 per cent virus occupancy, with Lombardy at 75 per cent, Piedmont at 92 per cent and South Tyrol at an astonishing 99 per cent.

4:17 a.m.: Germany’s health minister is cautioning that restrictions meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus are likely to last through the winter as numbers of new infections remain high.

Health Minister Jens Spahn told RBB radio on Thursday that large Christmas parties or other social gatherings of more than 10 to 15 people are not likely to be feasible.

“We have to manage together to get through this winter overall with lower numbers,” he said.

The country’s disease control centre, the Robert Koch Institute, reported 21,866 new infections overnight, down about 1,500 from a record set on the weekend but still stubbornly high.

4:35 a.m.: The British economy remained nearly 10% smaller at the end of the third quarter despite posting a record bounceback in the summer, when many of the restrictions that had been placed on businesses to control the pandemic were lifted. The imposition of new limits on public life in the autumn means the economy will likely end the year even smaller.

The Office for National Statistics said Thursday that the economy grew by 15.5% in the July to September period. Though that was in line with market expectations, the data shows that the recovery was already running out of steam in September, before a resurgence of the coronavirus led to the economically damaging reimposition of new restrictions.

4:02 a.m.: Today is the day to try to bring surging COVID-19 numbers back under control.

The province has been struggling to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus since it started spiking in recent weeks after a summer lull.

Gatherings are limited to five people, but the restriction does not apply to those who live in the same household.

Churches can’t hold in-person services and non-essential stores and restaurants are limited to curbside pickup and delivery.

Bars, museums and theatres are closed and recreational activities suspended, although schools remain open.

The province reported 5,676 active cases on Wednesday, the deadliest day of the pandemic for Manitoba, with nine new deaths for a total of 123.

4:01 a.m.: Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will face questions today from senators scrutinizing the government’s latest bid to provide pandemic aid to hard-hit businesses.

Freeland is scheduled to testify early this afternoon to the Senate’s national finance committee that is reviewing the aid bill, known as C-9.

The House of Commons agreed last week to pass the proposed package of measures quickly, but none can be enacted until the Senate passes it as well.

4 a.m.: The latest numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Canada as of 7:01 p.m. EST on Nov. 11, 2020:

There are 277,061 confirmed cases in Canada.

_ Quebec: 118,529 confirmed (including 6,515 deaths, 100,564 resolved)

_ Ontario: 88,209 confirmed (including 3,275 deaths, 74,303 resolved)

_ Alberta: 35,545 confirmed (including 383 deaths, 26,407 resolved)

_ British Columbia: 19,239 confirmed (including 284 deaths, 13,704 resolved)

_ Manitoba: 9,308 confirmed (including 123 deaths, 3,509 resolved)

_ Saskatchewan: 4,326 confirmed (including 29 deaths, 2,934 resolved)

_ Nova Scotia: 1,134 confirmed (including 65 deaths, 1,049 resolved)

_ New Brunswick: 355 confirmed (including 6 deaths, 332 resolved)

_ Newfoundland and Labrador: 298 confirmed (including 4 deaths, 287 resolved)

_ Prince Edward Island: 68 confirmed (including 64 resolved)

_ Yukon: 23 confirmed (including 1 death, 22 resolved)

_ Repatriated Canadians: 13 confirmed (including 13 resolved)

_ Northwest Territories: 11 confirmed (including 10 resolved)

_ Nunavut: 3 confirmed

_ Total: 277,061 (0 presumptive, 277,061 confirmed including 10,685 deaths, 223,199 resolved)

2:21 a.m.: Turkey’s interior ministry has across the country to curb the spread of COVID-19.

In a statement late Wednesday, the ministry said smoking would be banned in busy streets, bus stops and public squares when necessary. It said the nationwide mask mandate in public spaces, which has been in effect for several months, must be followed at all times and smokers were routinely violating the mask rule.

The ministry also said provinces can decide to impose curfews on senior citizens above the age of 65 if they are seeing increases in the number of critical patients. The governors of Istanbul and Ankara have already reintroduced measures this week, allowing senior citizens to leave their homes only between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

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Worried about your health during the pandemic? You’re not alone, poll finds

Oct 22, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Ontarians are more worried about their physical and mental health — as well as their personal safety — than they were earlier in the pandemic, a suggests.

Eight months into the that has killed 3,800 people in the province, Campaign Research found more and more poll respondents are expressing concerns about their well-being.

“It’s clearly taking a toll. People are feeling it,” Campaign Research principal Nick Kouvalis said Wednesday.

The firm found 64 per cent are concerned about their physical health while 56 per cent are worried about their mental health.

In June, Campaign Research asked the same questions and found 57 per cent were worried about their physical health and 46 per cent had mental health concerns.

Similarly, the latest poll found 59 per cent are worried about their personal safety compared to 43 per cent about six months ago.

Campaign Research polled 1,001 people across Ontario from last Tuesday through Thursday using Maru/Blue’s online panel.

It is an opt-in poll, but for comparison purposes, a random sample of this size would have a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

“Not to be critical of any level of government, because they have all spoken about mental health and put dollars toward it,” said Kouvalis, who has worked with Conservative and Liberal candidates across Canada and managed the winning Toronto mayoral campaigns of Rob Ford and John Tory.

“But the mental health discussion has taken a back seat to all of the other emerging issues that are also important, such as the vaccines,” he said.

“Relatively speaking, people are more concerned today than they were in June.”

The increased anxiety around personal safety may be a combination of a number of factors.

“It could be that some people are feeling unsafe in their homes due to domestic abuse,” said Kouvalis.

“Or it could be that they have to go out to work and are more worried about catching COVID-19 because the (infection) numbers are up,” the pollster said.

“Of course, it could be that there’s a perception crime is on the rise due to shootings (in Toronto) and so on. We can’t be sure,” he said.

“It’s hard to say, but all of these issues combined may be connected to the mental health number being up (poll over poll) and the physical health number being up.”

Overall, it appears to “point to a deterioration of mental health” among Ontarians since the pandemic took hold last March.

“All levels of government, all (political) parties, all health officials, and the media need to let the public know what supports there are to help them,” said Kouvalis.

“Because basically, people are more worried about everything except for their personal rights and freedoms,” he noted.

In June, 37 per cent expressed worry that those liberties were being trampled on due to the various authorities’ response to the pandemic.

This month, 34 per cent shared that concern.

“That’s within the margin of error so relatively speaking people are feeling the same way in December as they did in June.”

Another worry that is essentially unchanged over the past six months is concern “about your ability to visit with extended family” due to restrictions designed to stop the spread of the virus.

About two-thirds — 64 per cent — said they were worried about that compared to 60 per cent in June.

But 51 per cent are worried about the impact of COVID-19 on their social life, up from 43 per cent in the summer poll.

“All of that stuff is going to have some bearing on how happy you are,” said Kouvalis.

Robert Benzie is the Star’s Queen’s Park bureau chief and a reporter covering Ontario politics. Follow him on Twitter:

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No injuries reported in Springwater barn fire overnight

Oct 22, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Springwater Fire and Emergency Services was busy with a large barn fire that happened overnight.

Emergency crews were called shortly before midnight Nov. 25 to Flos Road 5 between Crossland and Vigo roads.

No injuries were reported, but crews are still on the scene this morning.

Wasaga Beach and Tiny Township fire departments were also called to assist.

It’s the second fire in as many days, as a . That fire started around 4:30 p.m. at a barn on the 11th Line. The cause of that fire remains under investigation.

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Water shut-off in Gilford on Thursday: here’s where to get water if you’re impacted

Oct 22, 2021 , , , , by shlf

InnServices Utilities Inc. has scheduled a water-shut off in Gilford from 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 26 to 10 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 27.

During this time, operating staff will conduct necessary maintenance on the Bradford transmission line, states InnServices Utilities Inc. 

“To ensure the safety of our workers, water pressure will need to be lowered. These repairs are necessary to avoid the instance of a possible failure in the water line,” InnServices Utilities Inc. said. 

During this time there will be little to no access to water. There will be reduced pressure in the system to allow enough water for toilet flushing. It is imperative that water is not used in excess as it will strain the system and could cause complete failure to all residents. InnServices Utilities Inc. recommends impacted residents fill containers ahead of time to have extra water on hand during the shut off. 

InnServices will be providing bottled water to impacted residents. It will be available for pickup at the water plant located at between the hours of 8 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. on Nov. 25 and Nov. 26. There will be a limit of two cases per household, and proof of address will be required.

When water is restored you may experience air in plumbing or discoloration in water. InnServices recommends running your cold taps for a few minutes to flush out any sediment which may have accumulated within your water service line and any air trapped in the line. It’s recommended you don’t use the water until the discoloration is gone.

If you have any concerns contact the Town of Innisfil at . If you have an emergency after hours contact South Simcoe Police at

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A vision for the future: CAMH unveils new emergency department, therapeutic recovery complex

Oct 22, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Juveria Zaheer eagerly volunteered to work the sleepless overnight shift on the Centre of Addiction and Mental Health’s new emergency department. Other clinicians, she said, requested the same.

“There’s just so much excitement happening,” said Zaheer, a psychiatrist at CAMH.

This excitement is driven by the long-awaited unveiling of two new buildings at Canada’s leading mental health hospital: a new emergency department and a state-of-the-art recovery complex at CAMH’s Queen Street West campus, both featuring central themes of bright, open space and natural light.

The new spaces are part of an ongoing, ambitious redevelopment plan that began in 2006 to integrate CAMH into one campus and build a vision for what the future of mental health care could look like, CAMH’s CEO Catherine Zahn said.

The goal, Zahn said, is for CAMH to move away from an institutional environment by building a bridge with the community that surrounds it, lending to “the acceptance of mental illness, not as something that’s behind walls anymore,” but something that is central to the overall health of the community.

“There’s no health without mental health,” Zahn said.

Over a two-day period starting Wednesday, more than 200 patients were to be transported from the old building on College Street to the new buildings: The Crisis and Critical Care Building, which includes the new emergency department, and the McCain Complex Care and Recovery Building.

It’s a challenging feat due to the pandemic, but one that proved to be timely due to the new buildings’ abundance of space.

“Moving into these new spaces is actually extremely desirable for us during the pandemic,” Zahn said. The new emergency department is double the size of the old one and features more spacious patient rooms, each equipped with a private bathroom, which will limit the sharing of common spaces.

As of Tuesday, CAMH had two patients and seven staff who tested positive for COVID-19, according to the hospital’s website. Zahn said patients will be transported to the new building with the help of moving companies who are following rigorous sanitation procedures to ensure a safe move.

The move includes COVID-19 positive patients, where Toronto Public Health was also consulted.

In addition to more physical space, the Crisis and Critical Care Building features an outdoor terrace for patients to access fresh air, and more rooms for group therapy sessions and other recovery programs. It also offers more space dedicated to triaging patients.

“In our current space, I’ll walk into the (emergency) department and there will be people in rooms, but there will also be people in stretchers and people sitting in seats and sleeping there,” Zaheer said. “Having more rooms will make a world of a difference.”

There are 235 new patient beds in total between the new Critical Care Building and the Complex Care and Recovery Building. This includes an increase of Psychiatric Intensive Care Units from nine to 41 — more than quadrupling the previous capacity of beds that were fully at use by both CAMH and patients from other area hospitals.

Alongside housing patient beds, the McCain Complex Care and Recovery Building will also serve as a unique, transformative hub for patients to learn life skills needed on their path to recovery.

Part of this is a “therapeutic neighbourhood,” which holds a laundry room, an exercise room and an industrial-sized kitchen affiliated with George Brown College, where patients can take classes and learn how to perform daily tasks. The building is also home to music and art studios for various forms of art therapy.

Erin Ledrew, a recreation therapist at CAMH, said the McCain complex was created with the help of existing literature on what mental health care can and should look like, and will serve as “a central programming space” for patients.

“I think that will create a real sense of community,” Ledrew said.

The McCain building also features a library that is open to the public and tied to CAMH’s larger vision of connecting the hospital with its surrounding community. Both buildings also feature artwork from previous CAMH patients, some of whom are Indigenous and channelled their culture and recovery journey into their art.

For now, patients will be engaged in physically distant in-person tours of the new space, while virtual ones will be offered simultaneously. Ledrew said the building is large enough to offer some programming in a safe and distant manner as well.

“Right now, we have a hybrid model that will allow us to still offer all of that programming, while maintaining not mixing (units) and continuing to follow all the protocols during COVID,” Ledrew said.

The hope is that the new buildings will offer better care for patients and their families while providing the space and facilities to guide them in life beyond their time at CAMH, Ledrew said.

“We’re really trying to offer spaces for people to feel safe to explore the strategies that work for them in their recovery,” she said.

Nadine Yousif is a Toronto-based reporter for the Star covering mental health. Her reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative. Follow her on Twitter:

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Martin Regg Cohn: Unmasked amid COVID-19, Sam Oosterhoff is a politician of faith who lost face

Oct 21, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Let us forgive Sam Oosterhoff for committing the cardinal sin of hypocrisy. Seriously.

He has been unmasked — huddling , in defiance of his own government’s guidelines. A revelation on social media for all to see — a politician of faith losing face on Facebook, until he deleted his photo-op.

The moral of the story? Do unto others, and breathe unto others, as you would have them breathe unto you.

Behold, : “I should have worn a mask when we took a quick pic, given the proximity of everyone, and I apologize for failing to do so.”

Oosterhoff is not the first public figure guilty of a breach of faith, nor will he be the last to stray from the true path. Many federal politicians more famous than he — from — have revealed themselves as two-faced, exposing their faces in public places while exhorting all others to mask themselves.

Premier Doug Ford has forgiven him his sins. But before this episode is forgotten, Oosterhoff has an opportunity to atone — by making amends.

While his faith warns of the Antichrist, Oosterhoff can be the antibody who inoculates everybody — the embodiment of an antiviral, a proselytizer in a pandemic, a preacher for true believers, a role model for fellow travellers in the Progressive Conservative movement.

We worry about all those who worship the false idols of immunity and immortality, so who better than the moralizing Oosterhoff — always avowedly pro-life — to take a vow of fidelity to save lives in mid-pandemic? Surely that is the moral of the story here.

First elected as an MPP in 2016 at the tender age of 19, thanks to the embrace of the Canadian Reformed Church flock in his Niagara riding, he has long worn his faith on his sleeve and put his heart and soul into his politics. Forever chaste, belatedly chastened, he has now seen the light.

Henceforth, Oosterhoff shall go forth and disseminate the public health mission of saving people from themselves, shielding them from the evil of the virus, the sin of temptation and the folly of defiance in the time of COVID-19. On this matter of life and death, Oosterhoff could be a true servant of the Lord, not just Ford.

As a man of faith, who better to make the case to his fellow worshippers to pray at home, not in a house of worship?

With COVID-19 cases rising inexorably, the danger is growing in places where people congregate. That’s why you hear public health officials fretting about “congregate care” in nursing homes, but houses of worship are also places of congregate caring.

That’s why they’re called congregations. After all, fellowship is part of worship in the best of times.

But the worst of times are no ordinary times. Gyms and restaurants are facing new restrictions, called upon to make enormous economic sacrifices to keep people apart.

It’s worth asking why churches and synagogues, temples and gurdwaras, are still allowing people to make sacrifices of themselves in the middle of a plague. Yes, many religious leaders insist they are faithfully following the path of social distancing, but at a time of heightened anxiety, when public health officials are demanding maximum restraint — asking people to avoid work and stay at home — why risk the peril of prayer in public places?

If people can stay connected to their friends and officemates remotely via the new technology of Zoom, why not stay connected to God through the timeless miracle of remote prayer? Why risk infecting others by inflicting themselves on a house of worship, rather than worshipping from home via Wi-Fi?

Faith demands sacrifices, but surely the life of no human being is worth sacrificing to a supreme being. Church choirs have agreed to stand down and go silent, so that we might all sing from the same song book rather than spread the devil’s virus, but why are all other congregants free to gather up close and in person?

There has been enormous hand-wringing about restrictive rules for restaurants, but the clasping of hands in public prayer stirs little discussion in Canada. Across the U.S., religious groups have pushed back — litigating and congregating in large numbers against governing authorities that try to restrain or constrain the supposedly inalienable rights of evangelical Christians or ultra-Orthodox Jews — but as the COVID-19 caseload increases, the time for long-distance praying is surely drawing closer.

That’s the discussion that people of faith, and politicians of faith, must have. There is no better time than now, after the public folly of Oosterhoff’s Facebook photo-op.

We now know that masks save lives — not just for the wearer but for others in the vicinity. But we also know — now more than ever — that keeping our distance keeps us that much safer.

In mid-pandemic, no life is worth risking on a wing or a prayer.

Martin Regg Cohn is a Toronto-based columnist covering Ontario politics for the Star. Follow him on Twitter:

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‘None of the other kids feel safe.’ Hundreds of elementary school students forced into oversubscribed classes in TDSB

Oct 21, 2021 , , , , by shlf

As cases across Ontario, hundreds of elementary students across the Toronto District School Board have been forced into oversubscribed classes where they may be so close to their peers, they feel unsafe.

When Anjula Gogia’s 12-year-old daughter, a Grade 7 student at Winona Drive Senior Public School, came home from class last week, she told her mom she and her classmates could not maintain a proper physical distance while studying.

“My daughter is safer going into a liquor store or a grocery store than she is going into her own classroom every day,” Gogia said. “She doesn’t feel safe. None of the other kids feel safe. What happens if a kid tests positive?”

Less than two months after the Toronto board approved a plan to reduce class sizes in kindergarten to Grade 8, nearly 4 per cent of its roughly 7,600 classes, both in-person and virtual, exceed the size limits promised at the start of the year, according to TDSB data released last week.

That amounts to roughly 300 classes, both in-person and virtual, that have too many students, the data show, some with as many as five extra kids.

As well, roughly 40 of these oversubscribed classes are located in communities Toronto Public Health identified as high risk for spreading the coronavirus. Fifteen “high priority” kindergarten classes have more than the targeted 20-student limit. One virtual classroom in Grades 4 through 8 has 38 students. The cap is 35.

TDSB spokesperson Ryan Bird said the vast majority of oversized classes only have one extra student. As part of its commitment to keeping kids safe this year, Bird said the board spent $30 million of its reserves to reduce class sizes, approving 20-student class size limits for in-person kindergarten and Grades 1 to 3.

Most other classes were capped at 27 students. Most virtual classes have been capped at 35 students.

“From the beginning we did say that it was a possibility that one or two students may be over that targeted class size limit,” he said.

The new, unexpected bigger class sizes are a direct result of a massive reorganization of elementary school teachers and students earlier this month to accommodate an overwhelming demand for virtual learning. Nearly 10,000 students switched learning modes in October with close to 8,000 kids leaving brick and mortar classrooms for online school.　

Oversized classes are just one more issue the TDSB has been forced to grapple with since the start of the school year. The board is scrambling to deal with a shortage of tech devices and now a budget shortfall of roughly $41 million.

The TDSB expected about 5,500 more students than are enrolled this year. That figure includes roughly 4,700 elementary school students, including 2,000 kids who were expected to enter kindergarten.

Jacob Beck, 43, was angry when he found out a couple of weeks ago that his son’s 16-person class at McMurrich Junior Public School near Oakwood Avenue and St. Clair Avenue West would swell to 22 students, two students over the 20-kid limit.

It was a shock to Beck and his 6-year-old son Emil because earlier that same week the school board sent out an email reiterating its promise to keep class sizes within the reduced caps. The email, in fact, uses the words “will not exceed” in bold and underlined font. It felt like insult added to injury the week Emil’s class grew because that’s when the school reported a positive case of in another Grade 1 classroom.　

“The whole point is that having the bigger classes increases the risk of contracting the coronavirus,” he said. “The fact that my son has not come down with coronavirus yet does not mean the risk is any lower.”

That’s why Gogia was furious when she heard about her daughter’s class. To express her frustration, she wrote letters to Premier Doug Ford and Education Minister Stephen Lecce.

In the meantime, it seems her daughter’s class may have shed a couple of students because, she said, parents were unhappy. Gogia said she appreciates how hard teachers and principals are working to keep her kids safe and learning properly, and that the provincial government should step up to give schools the resources they need to reduce class sizes once again.

In a statement emailed to the Star on Tuesday, Minister of Education spokesperson Caitlin Clark did not address the oversized elementary schools specifically but said the government’s plan to “safely reopen schools is fully endorsed by the Chief Medical Officer of Health and it includes every layer of prevention — including the hiring of over 1,000 new custodians to clean schools, over 2,000 educators to enhance distancing, and over 600 new public health nurses to support our school communities. This is supported by our government’s $1.3 billion investment to keep students safe.”　

Michele Henry is a Toronto-based reporter for the Star, writing health and education stories. Follow her on Twitter:

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Clear off the snow: warns Barrie police

Oct 21, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Barrie police are reminding motorists to make sure they clean the snow off their vehicles before hitting the road. Barrie police took to Twitter to send out the reminder. 

“#BarriePolice remind you that not properly cleaning the snow from your vehicle is dangerous. Driving without a clear view to the front, rear or sides may cost you $110 or it may cause someone else their life. Plan ahead & give yourself enough time to properly clear all the snow!”

The OPP launches its Festive RIDE campaign tomorrow, so expect to see more officers on the roadways. 


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Calvin Little died alone this fall at 63, his past a mystery. His passing has raised questions about early deaths among those who have lived on Toronto’s streets

Oct 21, 2021 , , , , by shlf

When Calvin Little died, no one noticed for a while.

For the last two years of his life, the 63-year-old Torontonian lived in a nondescript east-end apartment — alone, save for a rotating cast of animals he would watch for periods of time.

Little had lived inside the building since August 2018: a place for him to land after a decade of episodic homelessness.

He was funny, friendly and charming, those who knew him said. But he kept his past close to his chest. Sometimes, he’d disappear for a day or two, or venture out to panhandle in the Beaches. When he died, he died in his apartment, quietly and alone.

Neighbours were only alerted that something was wrong when a strange odour floated through the halls, police said. From there, they faced a challenge — no one knew how to find his next of kin.

On Nov. 5, nearly a month after his death was first discovered, police turned their fruitless search over to the public — issuing a rare appeal for information leading to Little’s family.

The investigator tasked to his case was puzzled. “Usually, it’s people in the building that give us good leads to the next of kin,” said Det. Const. Dennis Inniss.

But none he spoke to seemed to know anything substantial about Little’s life. They couldn’t find a phone book, and had no luck via doctors, social services or the public trustee’s office.

It took weeks of searching. Eventually, a spokesperson for the police force confirmed that Little’s next of kin was found.

But his case, according to the head of the agency that housed him, is an illustration of a broader trend.

“Throughout the city, vulnerable, older, single adults pass away, and too often, it’s totally anonymous,” said Mainstay Housing’s Gautam Mukherjee, adding that many who were once homeless were dying prematurely. “You see that here … it’s not just the hidden death, or the unacknowledged or unknown death, but also everything leading up to it that’s part of the story.”

Before Calvin Little, there was John Cunningham. And before him, there was Harold Dawes.

Each of the three men — Little in his 60s, the other two in their 70s — lived along the same streetcar line, and died at home. And each time, Inniss was tasked with finding their families.

More than a year after Dawes died in 2018, Inniss said police decided to try something new by issuing a public appeal.

Within a day, Dawes’s family was located. Deeming the tactic a success, Inniss asked police brass to do the same after Cunningham died in January.

The plea did coax out some people who knew him. Neighbours, , painted a picture of a loner: a limo driver who told elaborate tales but, like Little, kept his personal life private.

But none of the information led to his family, Inniss said. So in March, his remains were claimed by social services to be put to rest.

While police appeals are rare, unclaimed remains are not. Coroner’s data shows that, in 2006, there were 145 unclaimed bodies across Ontario. Last year, there were 438, and so far in 2020, there have been more than 630, though there were some carry-overs from last year’s deaths.

Separately, the number of Canadians living alone has risen from nine per cent of the population aged 15 or older in 1981, to 14 per cent in 2016. The data stoked concern about isolation and loneliness, especially among seniors, even before COVID-19 cloistered households away.

Innis wishes apartments would keep records of their tenants’ family contacts for these situations. Little was asked repeatedly to give an emergency contact to staff, Mukherjee said, but he always declined.

“We were it,” he said.

Little was born March 5, 1957. Records tell part of his story, but there are gaps that those who spoke to the Star couldn’t fill.

When his housing worker, Ben Kershaw, asked on occasion about Little’s past, he said the older man would brush the questions aside. “We have to respect other people’s way of life. Everyone has their reasons for doing what they do,” Kershaw said.

Some of their tenants, he added, just wanted a fresh start.

By the time he arrived at Mainstay, Little had been well-known to Toronto’s Streets to Homes team for years.

To many, he was known as “Papa Smurf,” a kind man who would give his own clothes and belongings to others, and make dream catchers or carvings for those he cared about. He tried to make people laugh, staff recalled, and focus on what good fortune he had.

The Kingston Road unit was one of those strokes of good fortune. Kershaw remembers Little’s joy moving into unit 421, one of 136 bachelor apartments in the building. “He’d had enough of life on the streets. He wanted somewhere to call a home, somewhere to keep warm.”

The east-end site offers various supports in addition to shelter. It’s unique among Mainstay’s buildings in that it accepts new tenants, including Little, by referral from Streets to Homes, instead of just through a waiting list.

Little had been housed in at least two other locations before, between periods of homelessness — including in social housing. But it didn’t last.

At Mainstay, Little cared for multiple animals — at first a dog, and later a cat that scampered out when Little answered his door, prompting Little to hurry down the corridor after it.

He had challenges still. Inniss noted that Little battled cancer many years ago, and was in remission for five years before it returned again.

“He dealt with it better than I imagine I would, or most people,” said Kershaw. The diagnosis didn’t seem to dampen his mood.

To Mukherjee, Little’s death at just 63 years of age speaks to the toll that homelessness can take, even after someone is housed. In 2007, a Toronto street health report found that, compared to the overall population, homeless people were 20 times as likely to have epilepsy, five times as likely to have heart disease and four times as likely to have cancer, among ailments.

It’s unclear whether Little’s health challenges were connected to the periods of time he spent homeless, but Mukherjee has found himself wondering. The average man’s life expectancy in Canada was 79 as of 2017. Little’s death, he noted, was more than a decade premature.

Cancer and cardiovascular disease are the most common causes of death among older people who have been homeless, said Dr. Stephen Hwang, director of St. Michael’s MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions, who described stark inequalities.

“The life expectancy of someone who is homeless is comparable to someone living back in the Great Depression, before we had antibiotics or pretty much any of the effective medical treatments that we have today,” he said.

Even if someone got into better housing and had more care, it may not be enough to undo the damage inflicted on their body — and their mind — during years of homelessness, said Dr. Sean Kidd, a senior psychologist with Toronto’s Centre for Addictions and Mental Health.

COVID-19 may change things. Kidd expects it will take a year or two to see the impacts of economic instability and job losses on homelessness. But he also believes the pandemic has prompted officials to focus more on creating permanent housing, rather than temporary fixes.

“These are the things that will turn the boat around,” Kidd said.

Joe Cressy, Toronto’s health board chair, noted that public health data shows homeless men in the city living 20 years less on average than the overall population.

“Entrenching homelessness, simply sheltering the homeless, does not reduce the lower life expectancy rates — ending homelessness does,” he said.

For now, in far too many cases, people were dying without anyone to remember them, said Mukherjee. Toronto’s homeless memorial lists dozens of John and Jane Does for 2020 alone.

But Little won’t be one of them. To those who knew him, he will be remembered for the animals he doted on, the artwork he made for those around him, and his perpetual sense of hope.

“He was a really nice guy,” Kershaw said. “We miss him.”

Victoria Gibson is a Toronto-based reporter for the Star covering affordable housing. Her reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative. Reach her via email:

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Susan Delacourt: Donald Trump’s health is a national concern. So why is Justin Trudeau’s top secret?

Oct 8, 2021 , , , , by shlf

would never trade jobs with , but right now, the U.S. president might opt for Canadian-style privacy around the health of political leaders.

The U.S. is currently awash in contradictory reports on just how badly Trump has been hit by . The actual details may conflict, but they are at least details — the type that would likely not be disclosed in Canada about any political leader.

Trudeau, in fact, only revealed on Monday that he had been tested for COVID-19 a month ago and did a brief time in self-isolation because he had a “raspy” throat and his doctor recommended that the prime minister get checked out.

As well, it was only a couple of weeks ago when Canadians learned that members of Parliament had a separate COVID-19 testing system available to them — and only after Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole stood in a public lineup first.

Canada may be in a public-health crisis, but there is nothing really public about the health of our politicians, even in the age of COVID-19. So far, Canadians seem fine with this distinction, some even proud of it.

This contrast between Canadian and American standards surrounding political leaders’ health was hard to ignore this past weekend with all the Trump drama unfolding south of the border. Journalists and political commentators in the U.S. fumed that they were not being told enough; that Trump owed Americans every scrap of medical data available. To some extent, Trump’s doctors obliged that outrage, emerging from the hospital to clarify the sketchy information they initially provided.

Here in Canada, even that first, vague report from the Trump doctors went well past the standards of health disclosure. Then again, Canada is also a country that does not expect political leaders to make public their tax returns or even their detailed daily itineraries. The none-of-our-business policy stretches past medical issues.

On Saturday, for instance, while Americans were trying to find out blood oxygen levels from Trump’s doctors, Canadians knew only that their prime minister was in “private meetings.”

Trudeau, to be fair, is the first Canadian prime minister to issue any kind of daily itinerary tod reporters and the public, but it’s usually extremely light on details, especially in comparison to the itinerary that comes out of the White House. In the U.S., reporters know when, how and where Trump is spending his days off (usually on the golf course) but Canadian media is normally notified with one word — “personal” — that Trudeau is not on the job that day.

When I made the observation on Twitter this past weekend about the different standards for health disclosure in Canada and the United States, various theories were offered: it’s the difference between a republic and a parliamentary democracy, or the fact that the president, unlike the prime minister, can trigger a nuclear war.

Actually, the difference is rooted simply in two different political cultures. Americans, and particularly the U.S. media, basically expect a much greater degree of openness from political office-holders.

Stephen Harper was annoyed when the media learned about a visit to the emergency room shortly before he was sworn in as prime minister in 2006; Jean Chrétien disappeared for a while when he was opposition leader in 1992 to have an operation on his lung. Neither leader said more than the bare minimum about these medical dramas.

The closest that Canada came to debating the lack of transparency here was in 2011, when New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton, after battling cancer, went into an election campaign brandishing a cane to deal with a broken hip. Layton died several months after that election, prompting a large discussion about whether enough hard questions were asked and answered about his fitness to run for the prime minister’s job.

One of the most thorough analyses of how Canadians deal with politicians and their health was done by Radio-Canada journalist Catherine Lanthier, in an investigation that also was .

Seven years later, it’s still an enlightening exploration of the questions around whether Canada want to be more American in what citizens are allowed to know about the health of our politicians. Lanthier talked to many experts about how we could be more transparent here without going wide-open American style — requirements that office-holders privately file their medical-health data with someone like an ethics commissioner, for instance.

Trump is no poster boy for political transparency, but his COVID-19 diagnosis has shown that even the most powerful leaders owe the public some assurances about their fitness for office — healthwise, anyway.

Canada’s none-of-our-business approach seems almost quaint in the age of COVID-19, when politicians are not just human beings but potential superspreaders, too.

Susan Delacourt is an Ottawa-based columnist covering national politics for the Star. Reach her via email: or follow her on Twitter: @susandelacourt