Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is making an effort to provide more funding.
Despite closing in March 2020 and taking strict social distance measures, Toronto sees hospitals and intensive care units nearly full as the city battles its worst COVID-19 wave yet.
“Sick Kids, our main pediatric hospital, has had to open IC beds for adults,” said Dr. Kayla Wolofsky from Toronto. As of Thursday, strict stay-at-home orders – people allowed to leave home only for essential reasons – were back in place for at least 28 days.
This third increase is likely due to new virus variants, pandemic fatigue, community spread as schools and stores reopen, as well as a relatively slower vaccine rollout due to a lack of manufacturing capacity.
While more than a third of all Americans have received at least one dose of vaccine, only about half (15%) have received Canadians, according to the public health statistics of both countries.
“The combination of slow vaccine roll-out and the emergence of variants has put incredible pressure on Ontario’s health systems, and unfortunately has left public health departments with few options to control the spread,” said John Brownstein, Boston Children’s Chief Innovation Officer. . Hospital and an ABC News employee.
According to epidemiologist Dr. Ashleigh Tuite from the University of Toronto, there are several variants of concern. Most cases in Ontario are currently from the B.1.1.7 (UK) strain, but some cases have been reported from the P.1- (Brazil / Japan) and B.1351 (South Africa) – tribes.
“In terms of what is happening in Ontario,” said Tuite, “the variants of concern have become predominant – at this point about 70% of the reported cases have been identified as a variant of concern.”
Dr. Hiren Patel, an emergency physician in Toronto, added, “Increasing vaccinations and enforcing strict lockdown guidelines may be the only way to keep this wave from getting worse.”
Toronto residents have expressed frustration with the introduction of the vaccine and its effect on their social lives, as have business owners with a number of restaurants, gyms, salons, and other non-essential services now closed for more than 300 days in a row.
“Toronto has experienced some of the most intensive infection control measures of any city in the world,” said Brownstein. “While lockdowns are ultimately a last resort when other measures fail and healthcare is stretched too far, we cannot ignore the profound economic and health impacts.”
Some of those health consequences include the mental health of Toronto residents.
Born in Toronto, Elizabeth Whelan said that “in terms of high schools, all extracurricular courses have essentially been canceled, and kids are instead playing games or exercising with their teams on Zoom to try to maintain a certain human connection. “
Many believe that the latter blockage could have been avoided if the vaccine had been available earlier or rolled out differently, perhaps preferring more younger essential workers rather than just the elderly.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is committed to providing additional funding to assist with contact testing and tracking, and is providing a $ 19 billion incentive to reboot the economy and provide continued support for Canadians.
Karine Tawagi, MD, a hematology and oncology fellow at Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans, is a contributor to the ABC News Medical Unit.