TRUDEAU TALKS EMERGENCIES ACT, AS ONTARIO ENDING VACCINE PASSPORTS MARCH 1

Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com

SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — The end of vaccine passports March 1 in Ontario comes as 322 confirmed COVID cases were reported this weekend for Simcoe-Muskoka.

And Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is close to enacting federal emergency powers to end national protests, following Premier Doug Ford’s similar announcement last week to end Windsor’s border blockade.

There were 32 cases reported Sunday by the health unit (52 according to the province) and no deaths. And 1,744 Omicron cases remain active.

Vaccinations locally show 76.7 per cent of the population with two shots and 44.4 per cent with booster shots.

Provincially the Ministry of Health says Monday more than 90 per cent of Ontarians are now “fully vaccinated” with two doses.

As the province moves further to open up and end more restrictions, it says its public indoor mask mandate will remain for now. Also Thursday capacity limits will be lifted at restaurants and gathering limits go up to 50 indoors and 100 outdoors.

The news comes as street protests continue across the country, but are closer to being resolved through legal and negotiated channels.

So where does that leave one of the most long-affected health regions?

Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU) has 40 residents in hospital, including 3 admitted since Friday.

They include 11 in ICU as of Sunday.

The number of deceased remains at 383.

Meanwhile, the national focus on protests continues with the Ambassador Bridge back open and police watching guard over it after moving away the last dozens of trucks and protesters.

Across the country pockets of resistance remain at borders and in some cities.

Alberta RCMP have arrested 11 people and say officers seized long guns, handguns, multiple sets of body armour, a machete, a large quantity of ammunition and high-capacity firearm magazines at the lingering Coutts protest site, on the U.S. border with Montana.

In Ottawa, where many protesters have moved on but several remain, a court injunction extended noise restrictions on honking horns and idling trucks.

Meanwhile, Trudeau is talking to premiers about to enact the Emergencies Act, which replaced the War Measures Act in 1988.

This as citizens are taking the law in to their own hands by going on the picket lines and doing what they say the government is not doing, by confronting and vocally encouraging protesters to “go home.”

The Emergencies Act. allows a government to invoke temporary measures, including barring people from gathering or travelling to certain locations, to protect national security, public order and public welfare.

Youth 12-17 can get booster shots Feb. 18

The Ministry of Health says starting Feb 18 at 8 a.m., youth 12-17 will be able to book their booster dose appointment at: http://Ontario.ca/bookvaccine – by calling 1-833-943-3900 – at select pharmacies administering the Pfizer vaccine Appointments will be 6 months after a second dose.

MONDAY: PHO CONFIRMED COVID CASES: … 52 IN SIMCOE-MUSKOKA (119 YESTERDAY) … ONTARIO 1,765 AND 8 DEATHS; 1,369 IN HOSPITAL; 394 IN ICU … TORONTO 335 (249) … YORK 117 (115) … PEEL 134 (259) … NORTH BAY-PARRY SOUND 20 (21) …

Blue skies — nothing but blue skies do I see … Or is it the Northern Lights by day? That was Lake Muskoka yesterday as parents walked their dogs and kids out to see fish huts on a beautifully cold afternoon in Gravenhurst.

HEALTH UNIT HIGHLIGHTS:

  • 33,720 confirmed cases to date
  • 32 this week
  • 745 cases last week, 22% lower than the 953 cases reported for the week of January 30.
  • 21 deaths in February, 71 in January
  • From July 18 to February 13, the rate of COVID-19 hospitalizations among the unvaccinated vaccine-eligible Simcoe Muskoka population is 6 times higher than it is for those who have received at least two vaccine doses, the rate of COVID-19 ICU admissions is nine times higher and the rate of deaths is 3 times higher.
  • A video developed by the Eastern Ontario Health Unit helps to explain the number of vaccinated vs. not-fully vaccinated patients in hospital from COVID-19: A Visualization of Ontario Hospitalization and ICU Admissions Due to COVID-19.
  • 1,261,499 vaccines have been administered
  • 495,836 residents have received at least one vaccine, which represents 80% of the total population
  • 85% of the population 5+ have had at least one vaccine; including 81% of youth 12 to 17
  • 48% of children 5 to 11 years of age have received at least one dose of vaccine
40 residents are in hospital, 3 over the weekend, and 11 are in ICU.

IN OTHER COVID NEWS …

  • Quebec reports 2,095 cases and 17 deaths.
  • Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, 74, has tested positive after her husband Prince Charles, 73, got it a second time last Thursday.
  • Sunday, South Africa reported 1,769 cases and 8 deaths — almost the same as Ontario Monday.

EMAIL: news@muskokatoday.com

28 years of ‘Local Online Journalism’

Twitter: @muskokatoday, Facebook: mclairmont1

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