COVID-19: Ontario imposes new restrictions, delays return to school as Omicron surges

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Ontario is reintroducing gathering limits, moving schools online and pausing non-urgent surgeries as an incoming “tsunami” of new COVID-19 cases threatens the province’s health system.

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Premier Doug Ford told reporters at a news conference Monday that plans are necessary to control the highly transmissible Omicron variant, which is driving COVID-19 infections to record levels.

“Omicron case counts are rising exponentially across the province,” he said. “Now we’re bracing for impact.”

Ford said recent data show that about one per cent of people infected with Omicron require hospitalization. Although its less deadly, Ford said the variant is so infectious that the sheer number of cases could still threaten to overwhelm hospitals.

“Under past waves, it might have been something we can withstand, but Omicron isn’t like the other variants,” he said. “It’s much, much more transmissible so the math isn’t on our side. One per hundred of hundreds of thousands is too many new patients for our hospitals to handle. ”

In response, Ford said, the government will revert to Stage 2-style restrictions for the next three weeks. Social gatherings will be limited to five people indoors and 10 people outdoors. Retail stores will be limited to 50 per cent capacity while indoor dining rooms, recreational facilities, theaters, cinemas and museums will be closed.

The new restrictions go into effect Wednesday at 12:01 am

Monday’s announcement is another blow to small business owners in Stratford bracing for a third year of economic uncertainty. Although the winter months are traditionally slower for the Southwestern Ontario tourism hub, officials have been trying to introduce pandemic-friendly cold weather attractions to make up some of the dollars lost since the pandemic was first declared in March 2020.

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“It doesn’t matter if you’re a person in leadership or a business owner, everyone’s really tired and I think everyone feels a bit defeated,” said Rebecca Scott, general manager of the city’s downtown business association. “We have to be responsible… and follow what the guidelines are and work together to get through this. I just think we’ve been doing that for so long that people are feeling there’s no break in it. ”

The province announced Monday an expanded rebate program for businesses affected by the new slate of restrictions. The government said certain businesses ordered to close will be reimbursed for 100 per cent of property tax and energy costs, and those that must reduce capacity to 50 per cent will receive a rebate payment for half those expenses.

A full list of eligible business types will be made available when applications for the program open later this month, the province said.

“I think that you’re going to see now after all this time that it’s more important than ever to ensure the stimulus packages and supports are continued,” Scott said.

Despite plans to reopen schools this week, Ford said Monday remote learning will continue until at least Jan. 17. The decision was made because the province couldn’t guarantee schools would be fully staffed with so many teachers expected to be off sick, Ford added.

Local school board officials said last week they are glad to have time to adapt to new pandemic-related guidelines announced by the government prior to the holidays , including new COVID-19 screening procedures. Before schools reopen, the province has promised to deliver N95 masks for teachers, three-layer cloth masks for students and an additional 3,000 HEPA-unit filters for its schools.

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The province also announced Monday its pausing all non-urgent surgeries to preserve critical care capacity. Health Minister Christine Elliott said the decision was made due to staffing pressures and the need for bed spaces in light of Omicron’s growth.

The Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance announced last week the postponement of non-urgent surgeries at its hospitals in Stratford, St. Marys, Clinton and Seaforth.

About 40 hospital group staff members were unavailable Monday because they had COVID-19 symptoms or were waiting for test results following high-risk exposures. That’s down from 80 reported last week, but Andrew Williams, the hospital group’s chief executive, said the figure is a “moving target.”

“This has been the highest number of staff we’ve had impacted on a consistent basis,” Williams said. “Each of the waves have brought (their) own challenges, but this one, because of the transmissibility of the Omicron variant, it’s affecting a lot more people.”

Five people from Huron-Perth were in hospital due to COVID-19 on Monday.

Intensive care beds at Stratford General Hospital are currently full, Williams said, though not all of them are occupied by COVID patients. While ICU capacity remains a concern, Williams added that the Omicron wave is expected to create more pressure than other variants on beds outside of the ICU.

“It’s that type of bed that we’re currently looking at now to see if we can add numbers, support them in different ways,” he said. “Part of our work over the next number of days is to see (whether there are) staff we can reassign to allow us to adjust. We do expect bed pressures to keep going up. ”

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Provincial figures released Monday revealed that 1,232 people are now in hospital with COVID, 248 of them in intensive care units (with not all hospitals reporting on the weekend). The day before, 1,117 people were in hospital, 224 in ICUs.

Ontario reported 13,578 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday. As of Dec. 31, Ontario restricted access to PCR tests to high-risk individuals who are symptomatic or are at risk of severe illness from COVID-19, along with front-line workers, residents in high-risk settings and other vulnerable populations.

The latest data for Huron-Perth show 521 active cases in the region as of Friday.

Huron Perth public health’s COVID-19 dashboard won’t be updated until Tuesday afternoon, but the health unit did support the additional measures announced by the province on Monday.

“Cases have increased significantly across the province, including in Huron Perth, and hospitalizations are rising,” Huron Perth public health said in a statement. “While none of us wants to face more restrictions, these measures are necessary to curb Omicron transmission and to protect health-care system capacity. We urge everyone to limit their close contacts, isolate if sick, and continue to follow all other public health measures. In addition, please get vaccinated as soon as you are able. ”

-With files from Postmedia News and the Canadian Press

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Ontario public health measures in place until at least Jan. 26

• Gathering limits limited to five people indoors and 10 people outdoors.
• Capacity at organized public events limited to five people indoors.
• Businesses and organizations required to ensure employees work remotely unless the nature of their work requires them to be on-site.
• Capacity at indoor weddings, funerals and religious services, rites and ceremonies limited to 50 per cent capacity. Outdoor services limited to the number of people that can maintain two meters of physical distance.
• Retail settings, including shopping malls, reduced to 50 per cent capacity. Physical distancing will be required in shopping mall line-ups and food courts will be closed.
• Personal care services limited to 50 per cent capacity. Saunas, steam rooms and oxygen bars closed.
• Indoor meeting and event spaces closed, with limited exceptions. Outdoor spaces remain open with restrictions.
• Public libraries limited to 50 per cent capacity.
• Indoor dining at restaurants and bars closed.
• Alcohol sales restricted after 10 pm
• Indoor concert venues, theaters, cinemas closed. Rehearsals and recorded performances permitted with restrictions.
• Museums, galleries, zoos, science centers, landmarks, historic sites, botanical gardens and similar attractions will be closed. Outdoor permitted establishments to open with restrictions and with spectator occupancy limited to 50 per cent capacity.
• Indoor sport and recreational fitness facilities including gyms are closed, except for athletes training for the Olympics and Paralympics and select professional and elite amateur sport leagues. Outdoor facilities are permitted to operate but with the number of spectators not to exceed 50 per cent occupancy and other requirements.