Tag: Canada Coronaviru

Like so many others across the country, London, Ont., restaurant owners are facing an uncertain future as the novel coronavirus pandemic forces businesses to close their doors for an indeterminate amount of time.

A survey from not-for-profit Restaurants Canada estimates 800,000 jobs have been lost in the sector across Canada, with 300,000 of those in Ontario.

Nicole Istifan, owner of The Singing Chef at Fanshawe Park and Hyde Park roads, said it’s been difficult not just from a business perspective, but personally as well.

“It’s hard, because these people that work for us, they’re amazing people, this is their full-time income. This is what’s paying the bills for their families,” she said.

“We have so many regular customers that come in that we wonder how they’re doing. We have a lot of elderly customers that do come in and see us for their daily breakfast, their daily lunch and we miss seeing them.”

The restaurant tried offering delivery and pickup services, but Nicole says it just wasn’t feasible.

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“We’re so thankful to those customers that did give us a call and place a pickup order, however, there just wasn’t enough of it to keep that going so we made a tough decision about three days later to close the doors and just take this time with the family, be home, self-isolate, and just do our part.”

Mike Smith owns a handful of bars and restaurants in London and acknowledges it’s “tough all over.”

Smith says since the buildings are closed to the public, they’re also offering some work painting and cleaning.

While Smith acknowledges that the future is uncertain, he stressed there have been many examples of kindness and thoughtfulness from customers.

He highlighted the actions of one man in particular.

“Those sales aren’t enough, but it’s that kind of spirit. She had a tear in her eye because it made her feel good, made me feel good to see people like that.”

Smith says that same man visited another restaurant in the city and offered to buy $1,000 in gift certificates for when local restaurants do reopen.

“I said why don’t we wait ’til we’re close to that point in case we never reopen. I don’t want you being out the money.”

–With a file from The Canadian Press.

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Premier Doug Ford says he has instructed Ontario health officials to release their projection numbers on where the province is headed amid the coronavirus pandemic on Friday.

Ford made the announcement alongside Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott and Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Michael Tibollo at Queen’s Park Thursday afternoon.

“They’re going to tell the public exactly what they’re telling me and it’s going to be very clear where we were, where we are now and where we could be if we don’t follow the chief medical officer’s protocol,” Ford said.

The Premier said they are releasing the numbers on Friday rather than earlier because they now have a “better sense” of numbers now that people have returned from travelling, among other things.

“We have to be fully transparent with the people of Ontario, no matter how hard it will be,” he said, adding he hopes the people that “packed” the beaches and parks last weekend won’t be doing so again once they hear the projections.

“That will be a real wake up call to folks.”

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Ford said Ontario is the first government who will be releasing such numbers. The Premier said he is doing this because he wants to be as honest and upfront with Ontarians as much as possible.

The Premier said he couldn’t “comprehend” why people weren’t listening to social distancing protocol.

“They make think ‘it’s not going to happen to me.’ Well, it can happen to anyone, anyone in the world,” Ford said. “Not only doing that is unsafe — you can say selfish — because God forbid they get COVID-19 and all of a sudden they’re touching items that people go by and touch and then it spreads rapidly.”

“It’s disappointing to say the least.”

When asked if he was “breaking rank” due to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau refusing to release such numbers to the country, Ford said he is not.

“In no way would I break rank with any other Premiers or the Prime Minister,” he said, adding he’s responsible for the people of Ontario.

As of Thursday afternoon, Ontario has 2,973 cases of coronavirus cases and 53 deaths.

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Canadian passengers on board a cruise ship where four people have died from the novel coronavirus will be removed from that ship and a second vessel carrying healthier passengers and repatriated back to Canada, U.S. President Donald Trump said.

Trump told reporters during his daily COVID-19 briefing on Wednesday that both the Canadian and British governments are “coming to take the people that are on the ship back to their homeland” once the MS Zaandam docks in Florida Thursday.

“Canada is coming, the U.K. is coming, and we have Americans,” he said. “We have some people that are quite sick, and we’re taking care of that.

“We’re going to take the Canadians off and giving them to Canadian authorities, they’re going to bring them back home. … We have to help the people, they’re in big trouble, no matter where they’re from.”

Global News has reached out to Global Affairs Canada to confirm Trump’s comments.

About 250 Canadians are among the passengers aboard Holland America’s Zaandam, which was denied entry by several countries before Trump gave it clearance to dock in Fort Lauderdale.

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None of the passengers who died were Canadians, Global Affairs Canada has confirmed. It’s not yet clear as of Wednesday if any Canadians are among the dozens who have fallen ill.

Roughly 1,200 passengers and 586 crew members were on board the ship when it set out March 7 for Buenos Aires, bound for San Antonio, Chile.

Guests were placed under lockdown in their staterooms on March 22 after a number of guests and crew members came down with flu-like symptoms.

Healthy guests were transferred to a second ship, the MS Rotterdam, which is now also headed for Fort Lauderdale. But some of those passengers have now also gotten sick.

As of April 1, Holland America says 83 Zaandam passengers and 14 on the Rotterdam have presented with influenza-like symptoms, along with 136 Zaandam crew members.

“We have seen a significant decline in the presentation of new cases on Zaandam, with only one new case reporting in the past 24 hours,” the company said in a statement Wednesday.

Carnival Corporation — the parent company of Holland America — did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters Saturday that federal officials were working to bring Canadians home from the Zaandam, which at that time was anchored off the coast of Panama as it awaited a country that would accept its entry.

Despite protests from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis, Trump said he would do “the right thing” for humanity and allow the ships to dock there.

He said Wednesday that “we don’t have a choice” but to take the ships in, and said he was in touch with both officials.

“I don’t want to do that, but we have to,” he said. “People are dying.”

With files from the Associated Press and Canadian Press

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TORONTO — Two more residents of a central Ontario nursing home dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak have died.

Fourteen residents and the spouse of a resident of Pinecrest Nursing Home in Bobcaygeon have now died amid what the local health unit is calling the largest COVID-19 outbreak in the province.

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The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in London and Middlesex rose by 14 on Wednesday while health officials in Lambton and Elgin counties confirmed additional cases and deaths from the novel coronavirus.

Details about the 14 new cases, including age, gender, transmission source and current status, were not immediately available from the Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU). The increase is being attributed to the clearing of a backlog of lab tests.

The new cases bring the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in London and Middlesex to 66. The tally includes eight resolved cases and three deaths. Two deaths were reported on Tuesday and one over the weekend.

The deceased include a woman in her 80s who tested positive on March 25 after becoming infected through close contact with another case, and a woman in her 90s who tested positive on Monday but whose transmission source remains unclear.

The area’s first death involved a man in his 70s who tested positive March 19 and who became infected during travel to Portugal.

On Tuesday, officials with London’s Grand Wood Park reported that two people confirmed positive on Monday by the MLHU were residents of the retirement home. No further details were provided, but Grand Wood said the two were in self-isolation.

The spread of the novel coronavirus within long-term care and retirement homes has been of particular concern, as the elderly are at increased risk of serious complications from the virus.

Provincially, Ontario reported 426 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, including four new deaths. It represents a nearly 22 per cent increase and brings the provincial total to 2,392. That includes 37 deaths and 689 cases that have been resolved.

The number of pending test results in Ontario has dropped by 1,145 in the past 24 hours to 3,135.

Nationally, just over 9,000 confirmed cases had been reported across Canada as of late Wednesday morning, including just over 1,200 cases that have been resolved and 105 deaths.

Sarnia and Lambton

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Health officials in Lambton County say another patient who tested positive for COVID-19 has died and eight more people have tested positive.

It brings the number of deaths in the county to five and the number of confirmed cases to 47.

Details were not immediately available about the fifth deceased patient or the newly confirmed cases.

Like in Middlesex, the increase in cases is being attributed to the clearing of testing backlogs.

The county’s first four COVID-19-related deaths, reported on Sunday and Monday, involved patients over the age of 70 who had been hospitalized at Bluewater Health in Sarnia, Ont., and who died on March 26, 27 and 29, according to Lambton Public Health (LPH).

Questions about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know:

Health officials caution against all international travel. Returning travellers are legally obligated to self-isolate for 14 days, beginning March 26, in case they develop symptoms and to prevent spreading the virus to others. Some provinces and territories have also implemented additional recommendations or enforcement measures to ensure those returning to the area self-isolate.

Symptoms can include fever, cough and difficulty breathing — very similar to a cold or flu. Some people can develop a more severe illness. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease. If you develop symptoms, contact public health authorities.

To prevent the virus from spreading, experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. They also recommend minimizing contact with others, staying home as much as possible and maintaining a distance of two metres from other people if you go out.

For full COVID-19 coverage from Global News, click here.

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The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit says there is now a coronavirus outbreak at a second long-term care facility in its catchment area.

On Monday, the rural public health unit announced that three residents and one staff member at Almonte Country Haven, in Almonte, Ont., have tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

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Tuesday, the public health unit said one resident and one staff member have now contracted COVID-19 at Carolina Retirement Residence in Perth, Ont.

“Staff who have been in contact with the resident have been instructed to wear personal protective equipment at all times and to self-monitor for symptoms,” the public health unit said in a news release sent out Tuesday.

The affected staff member is currently at home in self-isolation.

Numbers are growing rapidly in the rural region. The first case of COVID-19 was identified last Thursday, and by Tuesday, the total number of cases had jumped to 29. Three health-care workers in the region have the disease, and one person is currently hospitalized.

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