A look at the latest COVID-19 developments in Canada

A look at the latest COVID-19 news in Canada:

— More than 300 Ontario schools reported staff and student absences of more than 30 per cent by the end of last week, after students returned for in-person learning following the latest pandemic-related shutdown. But the data includes all absences, not just those that might be related to COVID-19, making it tough to gauge the impact of the Omicron variant on Ontario’s school system. Some schools reported high absences due to the weather or technical errors. Data was also missing for about 1,400 of the province’s 4,844 schools.

— Quebec is reporting 52 more COVID-19 deaths. The Health Department says COVID-19-related hospitalizations rose by 16 compared with the prior day, to 3,299, after 254 patients entered hospital and 238 were discharged. The number of patients in intensive care dropped by 10, for a total of 263.

— Premier Scott Moe and his Saskatchewan Party government are staying away from additional measures to try to contain the spread of the Omicron variant, despite acute care hospitalizations nearing record levels. Moe says the virus is not going away and society needs to learn to live with COVID-19 as it does with other diseases. Saskatchewan has a mask mandate and requires proof of vaccination or negative tests in many settings, but Moe says he won’t introduce more measures because he doesn’t believe they would have a significant benefit.

— The head of a St. John’s shelter for people experiencing homelessness says there are 17 cases of COVID-19 among the facility’s guests. Paul Davis, executive director of The Gathering Place, says the first case was detected Friday night and numbers rose over the weekend. Davis says all of the affected guests are isolating at the facility and the regional health authority has been in to offer testing.

— The number of deaths and hospitalizations related to COVID-19 continues to rise in New Brunswick. Health officials are reporting three more deaths, involving a person in their 90s in the Moncton region, someone in their 80s in the Saint John area and a person in their 70s in the Edmundston region. There are currently 131 people hospitalized with COVID-19, up from 126 reported on Sunday. There are 12 people in intensive care and four patients on ventilators. 

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— Nova Scotia is reporting an additional five COVID-19-related deaths, as well as 15 new hospital admissions due to the disease. Officials say three of the new deaths were reported in the central zone, while the two others were in the western region. With the latest deaths, a total of 131 people in the province have died after contracting COVID-19. Officials say there are 92 people being treated for COVID-19 in hospital in a designated unit, including 14 people in intensive care.

— There have been two more deaths due to COVID-19 in Prince Edward Island, bringing the total death count on the Island to eight. The two latest deaths involve people between the ages of 60 and 79 years old. Dr. Heather Morrison, the chief public health officer, also announced the Island has 157 new cases of novel coronavirus and 219 recoveries, bringing the number of active cases to 2,422. There are nine people in hospital being treated for the illness, including two people in intensive care.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 24, 2022.

The Canadian Press