It's budget day — sort of. While all eyes are on the government's scaled-down economic statement, the COVID-19 news hasn't stopped. Here's a roundup of the other major stories from today.
Read our coverage of the financial announcement here.
New COVID-19 cases in Ontario
There have now been 688 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in the province. Eight of those people have recovered, and 13 have died.
The new numbers show a 100-person jump from Tuesday — the largest single-day increase in raw cases in Ontario since the beginning of the outbreak. The province has seen a 17.1-per-cent increase from Tuesday.
There have been a total of 35,635 tests deployed, according to the twice-daily updated provincial numbers, with 10,489 of those still waiting on results.
The backlog has been an issue for the province. Like many places around the world, Ontario doesn't have as many coronavirus tests as it needs, and doctors have struggled with unclear guidance about who to test amid the shortage.
But more than 2,700 new tests were conducted since yesterday, which is an increase from days before when tests hovered around 2,000. Health Minister Christine Elliott has said she hopes to get that figure up to 5,000 by the end of the week.
Of COVID-19 patients whom officials have been able to trace where they were exposed to the virus, 64 per cent had travelled outside Canada in the previous 14 days before they started showing symptoms, said Barbara Yaffe, Ontario's associate chief medical officer of health on Wednesday.
Thirty per cent of those who travelled outside Canada were in the United States — most commonly in New York, Colorado, California, Florida and Nevada, Yaffe said. Twenty-eight per cent had travelled to Europe.
Community spread of the disease is also happening, Yaffe said — 13 per cent of patients had no recent travel history.
The province's Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams encouraged Ontarians to continue social distancing and had some strong words for those who haven't been doing so.
"You know what to do. You can prevent it. You can protect yourself. It's not something that's mysterious. We've told you the evidence and the data around that. And if you're not doing that and you choose to do the activities, I would say that's a foolish — perhaps a better word is stupid — thing to do. I think it's irresponsible and inappropriate for yourself, for your family, and especially for the vulnerable populations here," he said.
"If we do this consistently over the next week or so, we think we can flatten the curve. And I'd like to think we can actually plank the curve," he said, referring to federal Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam's term of choice.
"Can we beat this? I think in Ontario we can beat this, but it's going to not be without the full dedication of our citizens and all you out there doing what you need to do over the next number of days," Williams said.
Nurses call for more PPE
Ontario, like much of Canada and the world, is facing a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) — a problem health-care workers say could escalate dramatically as the COVID-19 pandemic spreads.
The Registered Nurses Association of Ontario (RNAO) is calling on the provincial and federal governments to "dedicate themselves fully" to procuring as much PPE as possible, including masks, gloves and other equipment needed to shield front-line workers from the virus, RNAO CEO Doris Grinspun said.
Ontario must prepare for a "worst-case scenario" like what's happening in Italy and Spain, she said.
Grinspun said a "massive, massive procurement" of PPE is needed, and "much more massive" procurement of ventilators than Ontario has ordered so far.
Elliott has said Ontario is doing everything it can to acquire more PPE for workers — and that the province has ordered another 300 ventilators, and has been in talks with manufacturers to switch their production to the life-saving machines during the crisis.
Williams noted on Wednesday that there are promised orders of PPE on the way from Ottawa as well as through donations, and the province is "working on all fronts" to get it to the front lines.
"As you can imagine, it's a complicated supply chain issue," he said.
Medical workers without the proper supply of PPE should talk to their regional Ontario Health agencies, he said. "Because if we don't know about those, then we can't deal with those needs at that time."
There are currently 15 COVID-19 patients in the province on ventilators, Yaffe said. But that number could easily increase as Ontario is still seeing dozens of new cases every day.
The province's available ventilators, including the extra 300, "vastly underestimate the real need under a worst-case scenario," the RNAO said. Grinspun said the province should be aiming for around 5,000.
If the worst-case scenario doesn't come to pass, the U.S. will happily buy Ontario's overstock of ventilators, Grinspun said.
"We want to look back six months from now and still we will feel the pain of the families that lost people, but we will know that we saved every life that we could because we had the PPE and the ventilators needed to save those lives," Grinspun said.
"We have a lot of ventilators available in our stockpile as well as in our hospitals," Williams said, noting that many have been freed up through the province's cancellation of elective surgeries.
"It doesn't mean we're satisfied," he said, adding that the province is looking to purchase more.
Self-isolation becomes mandatory
"We have for some time now been urgently advising people coming into Canada to self-isolate for 14 days upon their return. We have decided that now is the time to make that measure mandatory," Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said at a press conference Wednesday.
Health Minister Patty Hajdu announced the government is invoking the Quarantine Act to make sure that happens, effective immediately.
Officials will collect travellers' contact information and follow up with random inspections to make sure they are not in violation of the order, Hajdu said. Those in violation of the order could face fines or imprisonment under the Act.
"Everywhere in the world there is COVID-19, so when you come back home it's important to protect your fellow Canadians by self-isolating for 14 days. So this is an appropriate step, certainly from a public health perspective." said Dr. Howard Njoo, Canada's deputy chief public health officer.
MPP returns to the front lines
PC MPP Natalia Kusendova, a registered nurse, has answered the call for more front-line workers in light of the pandemic.
Kusendova said she had a "great" experience during her 12-hour shift at Etobicoke General, where she works on a casual basis to maintain her license.
Things were certainly different than usual, she said. Staff now have a separate entrance where she was screened by security guards asking about her travel history before she was let in. And the usual amount of patient friends and family were now totally absent due to the strict no-visitor policy in place.
The hospital itself wasn't actually very busy, likely because people are hesitant to check themselves in for more minor medical issues and risk infection, Kusendova said.
"It felt a little bit like the calm before the storm. That's a phrase that several of my colleagues used," said Kusendova, who worked in the ambulatory treatment centre, away from COVID-19 patients — though that could change in the future, she said. "That we are two, three weeks before the situation that's been happening in Europe and that the surge will happen."
She said health-care workers at her hospital were generally in good spirits, though they were aware that things will likely get worse soon. Workers at Etobicoke General are "lucky," Kusendova said, as there is no shortage of personal protective equipment at the hospital. "I saw it with my own eyes," she said.
Kusendova acknowledged health-care workers' concerns about PPE shortages at other hospitals, but said the Ministry of Health is working hard to procure the necessary equipment.
She expressed her thanks for health-care workers on behalf of her, her party and colleagues on both sides of the aisle.
"The dedication and compassion of my colleagues is what keeps me going and what inspires me each and every day," she said.
Kusendova said she plans to go back to the hospital on Friday and Saturday, with more shifts next week.
Brampton MP tests positive
Kamal Khera has tested positive for COVID-19, the Liberal Brampton West MP said in a statement posted to Twitter. She is the first federal politician to test positive for the virus.
Khera said she began developing flu-like symptoms on Saturday night and was tested on Monday. She got the results back Tuesday night, she said.
“While I am still experiencing symptoms, I am in good spirits. I know that many Canadians are in much worse circumstances,” she said in the statement.
“I want to assure the constituents of Brampton West that I will continue to serve them as their MP and they can count on me to be back on my feet in short order. My office remains fully operational and my staff continue to work from home to ensure constituents are well supported during these unprecedented times.”
Khera, a registered nurse, had signed up to provide virtual care for Ontarians after the RNAO put out a call asking for help.
In response to @RNAO's call to action, I registered to help ease the nurse shortage during #COVID19. As a RN there couldn't be a more important time to give back to my community.
This support can significantly reduce wait times. @canadanurses sign up here: #StepUpAndBeSmart https://t.co/kkTmrtbrC5
— Kamal Khera (@KamalKheraLib) March 17, 2020
"I remain indebted to the incredible health-care workers fighting this disease on the frontlines and risking their lives every single day to keep the rest of us safe," she said. "Your service to [Canada] is immeasurable. Thank you."
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