Major Ontario city has no COVID-19 patients in intensive care for first time during pandemic
Brampton is commemorating a major COVID-19 milestone with no virus-related patients in intensive care units (ICU) for the first time in the pandemic, Mayor Patrick Brown says.
While speaking at the city’s weekly coronavirus press briefing on Wednesday, Brown said that there are currently zero patients with the deadly virus in ICU at Brampton Civic Hospital.
“The fact that we don't have a single patient in ICU is incredible, an incredible sign of progress and the success of the vaccination effort,” Brown said.
There are currently three people with the virus at Brampton Civic but they don’t have severe illnesses that would require them to be in ICU, Brown said.
The milestone is a dramatic improvement from the spring when nearly 140 patients were transferred out of Brampton Civic Hospital as the hospital system was overwhelmed with a spike in infections.
“There was a time when we were literally transferring out 100 patients a week from Brampton Civic Hospital. We'd be sending into hospitals around Southern Ontario by land, by air. We were so overwhelmed, our hospital capacity, that we had to depend on the hospital system throughout southern Ontario,” Brown said.
Skyrocketing hospitalizations during the height of the third wave, which surpassed 2,700 cumulative at one point in Ontario, resulted in a temporary halt to all non-emergent and non-urgent procedures across the province.
Health officials had linked the soaring infections to highly contagious and more deadly variants.
Brampton has been one of the hardest hit cities across the province throughout the pandemic, making up roughly 59.5 per cent of all COVID-19 cases in Peel Region.
To date, there have been nearly 112,000 lab-confirmed cases in Peel Region and 110,982 recoveries.
Over 3,200 patients have received treatment for the virus in Peel Region hospitals and 478 patients have been admitted to ICUs since January 2020.
There have been 845 confirmed virus-related deaths in Peel Region.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Fluid in eye cells can 'boil' if you watch the eclipse without protection: expert
Millions of people in parts of Eastern and Atlantic Canada will be able to see the rare solar eclipse happening on April 8. But they should only look up if they have proper eye protection, experts say.
He didn't trust police but sought their help anyway. Two days later, he was dead
Jameek Lowery was among more than 330 Black people who died after police stopped them with tactics that aren’t supposed to be deadly, like physical restraint and use of stun guns, The Associated Press found.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Being harassed at work? What to consider when deciding what to do next
If you've been the victim of workplace harassment, it can be difficult to feel you're not alone - and even more difficult to know where to go with a complaint.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Half of Canadians support TikTok ban, with U.S. concerns 'trickling' north: poll
A new poll indicates 51 per cent of Canadians support banning the social media app TikTok, after a U.S. bill aiming to do just that passed in the House of Representatives.
Where is the worst place for allergy sufferers in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
More unauthorized products for skin, sexual enhancement, recalled: Here are the recalls of this week
Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency recalled various items this week, including torches, beef biltong and unauthorized products related to skin care and sexual enhancement.