A look at the local numbers …
Public Health Sudbury & Districts is reporting six new cases of COVD-19 on Monday, all in the Greater Sudbury area.
Considering resolved cases, as of Sunday evening, there are 89 active cases of the virus in the agency’s jurisdiction.
Health Sciences North now has 26 admitted patients, 21 confirmed and five waiting for test results.
Of the 26, there are ten individuals in intensive care.
Algoma Public Health had one new case on Monday.
Considering resolved cases, there are 34 active cases in the Algoma District with two people in the hospital.
Espanola Regional Hospital is also reporting it has additional vaccination appointments available for tomorrow from 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm for pregnant individuals as well as those with the highest risk health conditions.
Booking for these additional appointments will end this evening at 9:00 pm or until the clinic is full.
For the link to book an appointment, call Mainline: call 705.674.2299 (toll-free: 1.800.708.2505), between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., seven days a week. Alternate line: call 1.844.782.2273, between 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week.
Calling in the military for assistance
Canadian military medical personnel will be deployed to COVID-19 hotspots in Ontario, following a request from the Ford government.
Three teams will be deployed in the coming days to help hard-pressed staff cope with the rising number of hospitalizations most likely in the Greater Toronto area.
The air force will also fly in volunteer medical staff from other provinces.
Nine volunteers from Newfoundland are expected to arrive in Toronto today.
The request comes just days after the provincial government refused a federal offer of assistance.
Vaccine supplies
Ontario’s pharmacies are expecting to run out of supplies of the AstraZeneca vaccine by the end of this week.
Demand for the vaccine has sharply increased since the province announced last week it could be administered to those 40 and older.
The next shipments aren’t due to arrive until the end of May.
With most of the supplies coming from India, they may be delayed further, as that country deals with a massive nationwide outbreak of COVID-19.
The Ontario Pharmacists Association is in talks with the province to launch a pilot program to deliver the Pfizer vaccine, which has much stricter cold storage requirements.
Almost two million doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are to arrive this week, as well as the first shipment of Johnson and Johnson’s one-dose inoculation.
Judge denies injunction
A federal court judge has denied a request to suspend Ottawa’s rules requiring hotel quarantines for airline passengers arriving in Canada.
The group of nine Canadians had requested the injunction, saying the restrictions violated their constitutional rights.
But Federal Court Justice William Pentney ruled that there was a significant public health risk that justified the controls being kept in place.
The Court will consider the full case brought by the complainants in June.
