Posted on 02/14/2022 9:21:35 PM PST by SeekAndFind
Ontario ramped up plans to drop a raft of COVID-19 restrictions, including the province's vaccine certificate system, while Alberta schools opened Monday without mask mandates for children.
Saskatchewan residents also started the day with relaxed measures as the province lifted its proof of vaccine or a negative test requirement to enter most businesses. Meanwhile, Quebec said it would discuss ending its vaccine mandate.
As provinces tailored policies to their own COVID-19 trends, the Public Health Agency of Canada said there will be "variability" in when and how jurisdictions lift measures.
"With the decline of the Omicron wave, and as we transition away from the crisis phase, it is now time to rebalance our collective efforts towards a more sustainable approach to long term management of COVID-19," PHAC said in a statement.
"As populations and health care capacities differ across jurisdictions, there will be variability in how each province, territory and community assesses risk and responds to the needs of their respective jurisdictions."
In Ontario, Premier Doug Ford said vaccine passports will end March 1, but masking requirements will remain for now.
Ford also said restrictions meant to lift next Monday, including capacity limits in restaurants, will instead lift this Thursday. Social gathering limits will also increase.
He insisted the change was not due to pressure from anti-vaccine mandate protesters who have occupied Ottawa and Windsor over the last several days.
Chief medical health officer Dr. Kieran Moore said the province's vaccine certificate system had "served its purpose" and was no longer needed.
"We are now down the slope from the peak of Omicron activity," Moore said.
Ford said Ontario is able to soon lift restrictions because public health indicators have been improving, with the positivity rate of COVID-19 tests dropping to 13 per cent from a peak of nearly 40 per cent.
Ontario reported 1,369 COVID-19 hospitalizations, down from the more than 4,000 on Jan. 18. The province also reported eight more deaths linked to the virus.
In Quebec, gyms and spas, which were closed in December, reopened at half capacity.
Quebec Premier François Legault said he will meet with public health officials to discuss whether the province's vaccine passport system should remain. He said he still needs approval from public health officials before loosening the requirement.
"We want to remove most of the measures, but we have to be careful because of the hospital situation."
Quebec reported Monday 17 more deaths linked to the virus and a rise of 14 COVID-19 hospitalizations, bringing the total in the province to 2,095.
In Alberta, children are no longer required to wear masks in schools. Children 12 and younger also don't have to wear masks in any setting.
The move has sparked criticism from some who say COVID-19 community transmission and the threat of the Omicron variant have not yet subsided significantly.
The Alberta Federation of Labour, on behalf of five parents with immunocompromised children, asked court for an injunction on the change. But a judge ruled Monday there was "no evidence of irreparable harm," and dismissed the application.
Premier Jason Kenney on Twitter called the application "ridiculous" and said kids shouldn't be forced to wear masks.
Some students also walked out of classes early and protested at the legislature in support of teachers and health-care workers.
"I have many friends who are immunocompromised and they are terrified," said 17-year-old organizer Samuel Clark in Edmonton.
There were 1,528 patients in Alberta hospitals with COVID-19, a decrease from last week of 38, including 124 in intensive care.
In Saskatchewan, which now reports its COVID-19 data once a week, the province ended its passport system. Requirements for people to wear masks in indoor public places and to self-isolate when they test positive for COVID-19 are expected to lift at the end of the month.
The province's chief medical officer has said the Omicron wave there has peaked but that hospitalizations will likely rise for the next week before tapering off.
Tamara Hinz of Saskatoon said she and her partner planned to enjoy Valentine's Day by ordering in from a restaurant. She said they will monitor COVID-19 trends in the coming weeks before mingling in crowds that now include the vaccinated and unvaccinated.
Nik Selanos, co-owner of Memories Fine Dining and Bar in Regina, said he had a full house booked for the evening. He said customers have not expressed much hesitation over dining out without the health order in place.
"For the most part … they are fine with it," Selanos said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 14, 2022.
Cave!
Really? A 17 year old with many immunocompromised friends? I’m 70 and don’t know any.
You aren’t burning history books written by white authors either
The kid is probably counting his autistic friends as immunocompromised. I never even heard of autism when I was growing up in the 1980s and into the 2000s, but now it seems like every third kid is diagnosed as "on the spectrum" .
All the mandates need to go or they’ll just bring all this crap back next fall, or even sooner.
Plans? Two weeks to drop the restrictions? Lol
And the check is in the mail? And I promise baby....
Everyone over 70 is immunocompromised in comparison to younger people. The 17 year old is probably confused about the term; though I wonder if autoimmune issues (such as allergies) is what his friends may have?
“ “I have many friends who are immunocompromised and they are terrified,” said 17-year-old organizer Samuel Clark in Edmonton.”
Tough. Their problems aren’t mine and my problems aren’t their’s. We didn’t go into the Dark Ages over peanut butter and bee allergies and should have never gone this far over this.
Now that he's got a mind of his own, he'll look you square in the eye and plays in a band.
These teachers who see behavior that doesn't conform to the perfect child...are insane.
My friends were called in to discuss their daughter...they said she had ADHD and should be on meds. The parents told the school to go to hell. The daughter is now an MD.
We went through the same with my oldest son in second grade and the school wanted us to put him on adhd meds. I pulled him, homeschooled him and by middle school he had grown out of it. No issues with grades, SATs or paying attention in college. He is successful in his career as an adult. A lot of normal active boys were drugged up during the ADHD craze.
Re: ADHD
Did they check for allergies?
A close relative had allergy tests done on his young son who couldn’t sit still and focus; shortly after taking any offending foods etc out of his diet, he calmed down and could focus.
Allergies are always a hypersensitivity response caused by low immunity.
The idea that removing the offending “allergen” only reduces the immediate symptom (the allergic response).
Better to work toward building the body’s immunity through proper diet, vitamins, and exercise.
In schools here, students for the past ten years are not allowed to bring in home baked goods for parties. It has to be prepackaged, individually wrapped store-bought goodies due to those who may be at risk for food allergies.
His gay lovers maybe...
"immunocompromised": AIDS
I don’t believe it either.
I just thought I had pollen allergies. I had not idea I had a full blown autoimmune condition. Should I get a medalert bracelet for that. Really, I just had no clue.
It is debilitating. I can’t get through a season without taking at least a few doses of Claritin.
It's a devastating problem for society. Spirit and energy leads to refusal to subscribe to the prescribed social order and their diktats.
“The kid is probably counting his autistic friends as immunocompromised. I never even heard of autism when I was growing up in the 1980s and into the 2000s, but now it seems like every third kid is diagnosed as “on the spectrum”.”
They needed to come up with something to make parents who refuse to spank their kids feel better regarding the results they got.
“Fast track”? Since they are more or less dictatorial decrees, why do they need to be fast tracked? Why not use your power as a dictator an just lift them?
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