A look at the local numbers …
Public Health Sudbury & Districts is reporting five new cases of COVID-19, all in the City of Greater Sudbury.
Considering resolved cases, there are now 81 active cases within its jurisdiction.
Health Sciences North has 31 admitted patients, 20 confirmed and 11 waiting for test results.
Of the 20, 10 are in intensive care and of the 11, two more are in ICU.
Algoma Public Health is reporting two new cases of COVID-19, both in the Sault Ste. Marie.
Considering resolved cases, there are 33 active cases with two people in the hospital.
More vaccinations means a possible speedup for second shots
An increased supply of vaccines means Ontario is looking at reducing the interval between the first and second inoculations.
Currently, most people are scheduled for their second shot four months after the first.
But, with more than seven-million doses of the Pfizer vaccine to arrive in the next two months, Health Minister Christine Elliott says they may be able to reduce the wait.
The province has also asked federal health authorities whether first and second shots could be mixed.
Ontario’s associate chief medical officer of health, Doctor Barbara Yaffe says they’re asking for recommendations by mid-May.
Meantime, Health Canada says it has received an application from Pfizer for the use of its vaccine on children as young as 12.
Reports from the U-S say health officials may approve the reduced age for Pfizer shots next week.
Long-term care review
Long-Term Care minister Merrilee Fullerton is blaming inadequate staffing, lack of protective equipment, and previous governments for the devastation in Ontario’s long-term care homes caused by COVID-19.
The provincial commission of inquiry published its final report last Friday, concluding the province simply wasn’t ready to detect, or prevent, the spread of the virus through the facilities.
More than 39-hundred residents and staff have died of COVID-19.
Fullerton says her government is bringing in new protections and plans to make sure this doesn’t happen again.