As temperatures drop in the north, COVID-19 cases climb
Colder temperatures are chasing people inside where it's warm, but health officials in the region say this is also forcing COVID case numbers and outbreaks to climb.
Some northern Ontario health units haven't seen such high numbers since winter 2022.
Health officials encourage people to get protected.
“We have now reached levels we have not seen since February and March 2022,” said Afzaa Rajabali of Public Health Sudbury & Districts.
“Hospitalizations have been steadily increasing and have also reached levels we have since February and March 2022.”
As of Tuesday, Rajabali said there are 122 new cases of COVID-19 in the Sudbury area, 36 new hospitalizations and seven new outbreaks in highest-risk settings.
“Public Health Sudbury & Districts released the new dashboard, it’s called the Respiratory Illness Surveillance Dashboard and it provides information about local activity levels of respiratory illnesses including COVID-19, influenza and RSV,” she said.
The dashboard is available on the health unit’s website and is updated every Tuesday at 4 p.m.
While the porcupine health unit says it doesn’t have numbers to report, it did say cases are rising.
Kendra Luxmore of the Porcupine Health Unit said they are recommending all individuals aged six months and older get an annual influenza shot as well as COVID-19 vaccine. (Photo from video)
“I don’t have the actual exact rate of new cases but I do know from our surveillance the rates from last week have gone up,” said Kendra Luxmore of the Porcupine Health Unit
“So we’ll be reporting either a lower, moderate or higher rate compared to the previous and this week we are reporting higher.”
Beginning this week, the health unit is booking people at its vaccine clinics.
“We’re recommending that all individuals aged six months and older get an annual influenza shot as well as COVID 19 vaccine,” Luxmore said.
And she said it’s OK to get both at the same time.
“Yes it’s absolutely OK and it’s actually recommended to come in and receive both vaccines at the same appointment.”
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
The health unit is also noticing an increase in vaccine-preventable diseases such as meningitis and pertussis and suggests ensuring all vaccines are up to date.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Poilievre kicked out of Commons after calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'wacko'
Testy exchanges between the prime minister and his chief opponent ended with the Opposition leader and one of his MPs being ejected from the House of Commons on Tuesday -- and the rest of Conservative caucus walking out of the chamber in protest.
Baby, grandparents among 4 people killed in wrong-way police chase on Ontario's Hwy. 401
A police chase which started with a liquor store robbery in Bowmanville Monday night ended in tragedy some 20 minutes later when a suspect fleeing police entered Highway 401 in the wrong direction and caused a pileup which killed an infant and the child's grandparents, as well as the suspect, investigators say.
Freeland leaves capital gains tax change out of coming budget implementation bill, here's why
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass a sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget, though left out of the legislation will be the government's proposed capital gains tax change.
Man dies after suffering cardiac arrest while waiting in ER, widow wants investigation
When an ambulance took David Lippert to the hospital in March of 2023, the 68-year-old Kitchener, Ont., executive was hoping to find out why he was feeling weak and unable to walk. Some 24 hours later, he was found unresponsive in the ER.
Sword-wielding man attacks passersby in London, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring 4 others
A man wielding a sword attacked members of the public and police officers in a northeast London suburb Tuesday, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring four other people, British authorities said.
WATCH Arnold Schwarzenegger spotted filming in Elora, Ont.
The name of the project has not been officially released although it’s widely believed to be the Netflix series FUBAR.
Eviction for landlord's use was legitimate, despite owners' partial move, B.C. court rules
A B.C. judge has upheld the eviction of a family from their North Vancouver townhouse, finding that the landlords did not take an unreasonable amount of time to move into the home after the tenants vacated it.
What's causing the catastrophic rainfall in Kenya?
The torrential rains and deadly floods that have hit Kenya since March have been some of the worst in the country in recent years. Here's how factors combined to create the deadly deluge.
BREAKING Hosting Vancouver's FIFA World Cup games could cost half a billion dollars
Hosting seven games in Vancouver during the 2026 FIFA World Cup could cost more than half a billion dollars, according to an updated estimate provided Tuesday.