BARRIE, ONT.
CTV s Craig Momney speaks with Dr. Barry Nathanson, Chief of Staff at Stevenson Memorial Hospital in Alliston:
Craig Momney - With your experience in critical care, what are you seeing right now?
Dr. Barry Nathanson - We re seeing critical care units fill up across the province, and in my direct purview, I m seeing the units that I oversee and work in filling up with patients unfortunately with COVID who are younger, on average, and who are, as we ve heard in other outlets of the media getting sicker more quickly and of course the impact of that is far and wide on other medical programs and surgical programs throughout the province.
BARRIE, ONT. The province s third shutdown has some business owners taking a firm stand, outright refusing to close their doors, with every customer counting towards survival. We are going to be open for full dine-in service, as well as takeout service. And we will be having our patio set up as well, says P zza owner Stefano Agostino. The Ontario government implemented a 28-day shutdown for the entire province that came into effect Saturday amid souring COVID cases. Despite the restrictions, which force restaurants and eateries to close to in-person dining and offer takeout or delivery only, Agostino says he s firm on remaining open. It s a decision of livelihood. We need to survive, and we need to operate at our fullest capacity to be able to survive at this point.
BARRIE, ONT. Dr. Barry Nathanson isn t mincing his words as he urges residents to heed the warnings from public health during the third wave of COVID-19. This is really a very different experience, this wave, the chief of staff at Stevenson Memorial Hospital in Alliston said. It s not something to be trifled with. It is as dangerous as we ve been saying, and people must start to get that message. Nathanson expressed his disappointment after seeing busy shopping malls this past weekend first-hand while he shuttled life-saving equipment from one medical centre to another. Malls filled to the brim, with people either waiting in line or going inside for things that can t be all that critical. And that s where this virus is being spread, he said. And those cases we re going to see, together with cases that arise from Easter gatherings, Passover gatherings, two weeks from now. Those are the things that need to change.
Written By BROCK WEIR
It might as well have been a lifetime ago, it seems a world away and, in some respects, I wouldn’t mind the chance to hit the rewind button for a few seconds to make a few tweaks. Of course, all this comes with the benefit of hindsight.
Around this time last year, we were preparing to wind down the paper for a week ahead of ringing in the New Year.
It was, at least on the surface, a holiday season like any other. We gathered, as we did every year, at an area restaurant for the office Christmas party, a great opportunity to catch up with our coworkers before we each went our separate ways for the couple of weeks that followed.
BARRIE, ONT. The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU) reported the region s 57th COVID-19-related death Wednesday. The health unit says a woman in her 80s becomes the fourth person to die with COVID-19 in the past week alone. On Tuesday, a man 35 to 44 died at the Muskoka Algonquin Health Centre. On Monday, a man in his 80s died at Stevenson Memorial Hospital in Alliston and on Thursday, a woman, 65 to 79, died at Georgian Bay General Hospital in Midland. The health unit listed 52 new cases, including 17 people who are in the hospital. There are currently 401 active COVID-19 cases across Simcoe Muskoka, with most residing in Barrie, Bradford West Gwillimbury, New Tecumseth, Essa, and Innisfil.