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Are thousands of uninsured Ontarians about to lose health coverage? Why some are worried

Even with her teenage brother in extreme pain, his knee swollen from a bad fall and looking like a melon, Luna Garcia’s family hesitated to take him to hospital.Instead, they waited a day to see a doctor, acting only when the suffering became excruciating for the 15-year-old — all because the undocumented Toronto family feared hospital staff would ask for their immigration status and demand fees upfront that the family couldn’t afford.But thanks to the Ontario government’s temporary measure to extend health care to uninsured residents during the pandemic, there was none of that. Garcia’s brother got the medical attention...

COVID-19 data: Ontario reports another week-over-week rise in hospitalizations

Ontario is reporting another week-over-week increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations amid suggestions that the province has now entered a new wave of the pandemic driven by the more contagious BA.5 subvariant. The latest data released by the Ministry of Health on Thursday afternoon shows that there are now 712 people in Ontario hospitals testing positive for COVID-19, including 110 individuals who are being treated in intensive care units. The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 is up nearly 22 per cent from this time last week and 46 per cent from two weeks ago. It is the highest number of COVID...

Ontario emergency rooms are closing amid health worker shortages

Jordan Omstead, The Canadian Press Published Tuesday, July 5, 2022 5:31AM EDT Last Updated Tuesday, July 5, 2022 5:31AM EDT The recent temporary closures of two Ontario emergency rooms and consolidation of staff at another have renewed concerns over the province's health-care worker shortage, with doctors and nurses calling on the government to tackle the problem. A hospital in Clinton, Ont., temporarily closed its emergency department Saturday through Monday and a Kingston, Ont., hospital reduced its urgent care centre hours over the weekend to...

‘Grave mistake’: Health care providers urge province to reinstate mask mandates in health-care settings

A growing group of health care providers is calling on the province to reverse its decision to remove mask mandates in settings with vulnerable people.A letter of appeal to the provincial government, launched by York Region emergency room Dr. Stephen Flindall and signed by almost 100 physicians and other concerned individuals, is seeking a return to provincial mandates in all Ontario health care settings.“We believe the recent decision by Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care was a grave mistake,” the letter says, because it puts vulnerable patients at risk and sends a...