Ont. says 385 COVID-19 patients now in ICU; 30 more virus-related deaths confirmed today
Ontario is reporting 30 more deaths linked to COVID-19 today, the highest daily death toll confirmed in the province since May.
Provincial health officials say there are now 2,594 patients with COVID-19 in hospital, up from 2,472 on Friday.
Officials say the number of patients with COVID-19 in intensive care jumped to 385 today, up from 338 patients on Friday. There are now 219 patients with COVID-19 breathing with the assistance of a ventilator.
There are 13,362 new cases of #COVID19.
Today’s numbers will be available at 10:30 a.m. at https://t.co/ypmgZbVRvn.
— Christine Elliott (@celliottability) January 8, 2022
Canada’s health care system ‘stretched too thin,’ health minister says, as hospitals grapple with Omicron wave
Canada’s health care system is overwhelmed, and this problem existed before the pandemic, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos says.
“The capacity is stretched too thin, certainly in the current emergency context but more broadly, I think, most Canadians would agree that even before COVID-19, our capacity was often stretched too thin,” Mr. Duclos said at a briefing in Ottawa on Friday.
Mr. Duclos also said he believes provinces and territories, with the support of the federal government, will want to have a conversation over the next weeks and months about whether to make vaccination against COVID-19 mandatory. The decision would be up to the provincial and territorial governments, he said, adding that he personally thinks a mandate will be required at some point.
And a LIB MP says no booze for you!
