HOW HOSPITALS ARE COPING & LATEST NEWS ON OMICRON IN ONTARIO

Libby Znaimer is joined by Dr. Kevin Smith, CEO of the University Health Network (UHN).

In response to the surge in COVID-19 cases in the province and the spread of the Omicron Variant, the UHN as well as Unity Health Toronto and Sunnybrook are tightening their restrictions on visitors. Meanwhile, Unity Health, which runs St. Michael’s Hospital,  St. Joseph’s Healthcare and Providence Healthcare, has put elective surgeries on hold for the time being amid the threat of Omicron. Is the University Health Network doing the same thing in this regard? And, just how serious will the backlog be because of this. And, Dr. Smith details his concern about the possibility of a shortage of front line medical staff should they get infected by the virus as we navigate the fourth wave.

SEVERAL MUNICIPALITIES THINK HIGHWAY 413 IS A BAD IDEA  

Libby Znaimer today is joined by Mike Schreiner, Leader of the Green Party of Ontario, and Jim Jones, Regional Councillor for the City of Markham.

In a unanimous vote, Markham City Council joins the municipalities of Vaughan and King in their opposition to the Highway 413 development. Councillor Jones of Markham tabled a motion against it back in April. It finally went before Council on Dec. 14 when the vote took place. York Region is endorsing the highway 413 proposed development. Mike put out a press release expressing his support for Markham and other municipalities in their decision to oppose the highway. He also said: “The highway is a climate and fiscal disaster.We don’t need a supersprawler highway that slices through the Greenbelt. We need smart transit connecting livable, affordable & healthy communities instead.”

HOW TO PROPERLY WEAR A COVID-19 MASK AND WHICH TYPES OFFER BETTER PROTECTION 

Libby Znaimer today is joined by Dr. Prabhat Jha, Epidemiologist, and Faculty Member at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto.

With a surge in confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ontario and amid the aggressive spread of the highly-transmissible Omicron Variant, the conversation about how one properly wears a face mask and the types that offer the best protection has resurfaced. Over the course of the pandemic, Canadians have been wearing cloth masks, those blue medical masks you often see discarded on the street as litter and the more expensive option of the N95 respirator masks. According to the health experts though, cloth masks are not the best in this current climate and it is the N95 masks that offer best protection. But an additional factor that makes all the difference and is most important in mask wearing is how you fit it on to your face and whether you are wearing it properly. Dr. Jha details just how you should be wearing your mask out in public and weighs in on why N95 masks offer best protection and what we can do if we can’t afford them on a regular basis.