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TORONTO Ontario is expected to announce a 28-day province-wide “shutdown” Thursday to stop the spread of COVID-19 as an alarming spike in cases threatens the critical care system, The Canadian Press has learned.
A source with knowledge of the restrictions discussed at a cabinet meeting Wednesday night said the final details of the new measures will be worked out Thursday morning.
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The new steps would still allow both essential and non-essential retailers to remain open, albeit with occupancy limits, and schools will remain open after the Easter weekend. and not be closed ahead of a spring break slated for April 12, said the CBC, citing unnamed sources.
And as of yesterday, there were 430 patients with COVID-19 being treated in intensive care units in the province, according to Critical Care Services Ontario (CCSO), the most at any single point during the pandemic. CCSO is a government agency that compiles a daily internal report for hospitals and health organizations.
Ontario health officials reported more than 2,300 new cases of COVID-19 as the province reached a record high number of people battling the disease in its intensive care units.
LONDON, ONT. Intensive Care Units across the province are being stretched to their limits with COVID-19 patients, but so far London area hospitals have avoided the worst of it. That could soon change, however, warns the Chief of Medicine for London Health Sciences Centre. “Although we’re relatively spared today, I think it will be a very different story by this time next week,” said Dr. Adam Dukelow. The latest Critical Care Services Ontario report, obtained by CTV News, showed there are currently 421 patients with COVID-19 in intensive care units (ICUs) across the province. The total marks the highest number of COVID-19 patients in critical care at one time since the pandemic began. The last time the ICU admission total surpassed 400 was in January during the height of the pandemic’s second wave.