As COVID numbers climb in Ontario, experts say focus not in the right places

Ontario health officials confirmed 666 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, the highest daily case count since October 2nd and the seven-day rolling average of new infections continues to rise, now sitting at 563.

Medical experts say this steady climb in cases is expected. But while the province is taking steps to try and slow the spread, some say their efforts aren’t focusing on the right places.

“The question is where is it happening and why is it happening?” says epidemiologist Colin Furness. “What we’re not seeing is uncontrolled scary growth in large city centres. That is not happening. What we are seeing is local explosions, and they’re distributed in different places across the province. It will be a religious group here, a school there, a factory or workplace, and then close contacts of that outbreak.”

Health Minister Christine Elliott reiterated in a tweet Sunday that the province was pausing to lift capacity limits in “remaining higher-risk settings,” including food or drink establishments with dance facilities, adult entertainment establishments, sex clubs and bathhouses.

Furness says what the province is doing is punishing those businesses because they’re not taking the steps that would allow them to open safely, such as having full capacity at sports stadiums. “To me, that is dumb.”

“If we had HEPA filters in places like restaurants and gyms and made our air safe, then I think we would be able to open these other places,” he explains. “In a sense, we’re trying out wrong things, and we’re going back to our usual ‘let’s not open or close things down’ – we’re beyond that.”

While hospitalization numbers are underreported on weekends, there are currently 133 people in ICUs diagnosed with COVID-19. Toronto emergency room physician Dr. Kashif Pirzada says if we get a handle on the situation now, there shouldn’t be a strain on hospitals in the weeks to come.

“If you’re sick, stay at home. If you have symptoms that match COVID, get a test, especially if you have a loss of smell – that’s a symptom that’s almost always associated with COVID.”

Dr. Pirzada adds wearing an N95 mask indoors, avoiding poorly ventilated areas and avoiding big gatherings, especially this holiday season, are just some of the other preventative measures individuals can take.

Meanwhile, updated provincial data shows that children aged 12 to 17 – followed by adults between the ages of 18 and 29 – lag when it comes to vaccination rates in Ontario.

As of Sunday, 84.7 per cent of youth (12-17) have received one dose, while 84.2 per cent in the latter age cohort are partially vaccinated. Only 79 per cent of adults (18-29) are fully immunized, while 80 per cent of eligible youth have both shots.

The province reported school-related COVID-19 cases on Friday; 84 of which involved students.

Health Canada is expected to authorize the COVID-19 vaccine for five to 11 year-olds before the end of the month. This prompted the City of Toronto to recently unveil a plan for youth vaccination, saying the upcoming immunization clinics will be needs-based, data-driven, neighbourhood specific and equitable.

With files from Lucas Casaletto of CityNews