Today’s coronavirus news: Staff shortages in Ontario hospitals, LTC homes feared due to new rules; 535 new cases in Ontario; U.S. businesses struggle with changing rules

The latest coronavirus news from Canada and around the world Sunday. This file will be updated throughout the day. Web links to longer stories if available.

1:20 p.m.: Quebec is reporting 612 new COVID-19 cases, along with three more deaths related to the virus.

In a news release Sunday, health officials say hospitalizations fell by one to 296, while the number of patients in intensive care dropped by four to 80.

The seven-day average of cases is 546.

Of the latest reported infections, 400 were among people who were either unvaccinated or who had only received a first dose within the past two weeks.

The province’s public health institute says about 90 per cent of Quebecers aged 12 and older have received at least one dose, while 85 per cent are considered fully vaccinated with two shots.

12:22 p.m.: Hundreds of Ontario workers in hospitals and long-term care could be off the job in the coming weeks because they did not get vaccinated against COVID-19, further complicating what advocates call a “perfect storm” of staff shortages.

The president of a union representing workers in long-term care, hospitals and retirement homes said the staffing problem, driven by low wages, lack of full-time jobs and poor work conditions, predates the pandemic, and vaccine mandates will likely add to it.

“It’ll have an impact on staffing levels that are already at a critical point,” Sharleen Stewart of SEIU Healthcare said in an interview. “It’s kind of stirred up the perfect storm now.”

A deadline of Nov. 15 has been set for Ontario long-term care staff to get immunized or lose access to their workplaces. It’s up to the homes what happens after that, but many operators had already set dates to place unvaccinated people on leave, citing the devastating impact of COVID-19 and the risk of the highly transmissible Delta variant.

Dr. Kieran Moore, the province’s top doctor, said Ontario is watching closely for the “unintended consequence” of staff shortages related to vaccine mandates but maintained that they are necessary in some jobs to protect the vulnerable.

A spokeswoman for the long-term care minister said the ministry will work with homes to provide supports if necessary.

Read the full story here.

12:17 p.m.: Canadian food banks faced with a second pandemic-era Thanksgiving are counting on COVID-friendly donation events to keep the non-perishables rolling in at a time of year that’s pivotal to their operations.

The pandemic’s fourth wave has put the kibosh on large-scale, in-person food drives typically held at Thanksgiving, which are needed to keep the doors open year-round, said Neil Hetherington, CEO of the Toronto-based Daily Bread Food Bank.

“Demand doesn’t increase over Thanksgiving, but between Thanksgiving and the holiday season is when our supply changes and allows us to plan out for the next year,” Hetherington said. “So we need to get the food in now that we will distribute over the coming quarters.”

To do that, Daily Bread pivoted to a drive-thru model that saw cars and vans line up to drop off canned and boxed food.

Hetherington said he was hopeful the event would bring in the donations his organization needs, but that the joy of their usual Thanksgiving food sorting event is hard to replicate.

Read the full story here.

10:53 a.m.: Ontario is reporting 535 new cases of COVID-19 and two new deaths from the virus on Sunday.

Of the new cases, 388 of the infected people are not fully vaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status. Health Minister Christine Elliott says 147 of the cases are in fully vaccinated people.

There are 153 people in intensive care units due to COVID-19 and 14 of them are fully vaccinated. The province cautions, however, that not all hospitals report COVID-19 data on weekends.

Provincial data shows 87 per cent of eligible Ontarians have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 82 per cent have both doses.

Read the Star’s full story here.

10:37 a.m.: For a brief moment this summer, it seemed like U.S. small businesses might be getting a break from the relentless onslaught of the pandemic. More Americans, many of them vaccinated, flocked to restaurants and stores without needing to mask up or socially distance.

But then came a surge in cases due to the Delta variant, a push for vaccine mandates and a reluctant return to more COVID-19 precautions. Now, small business owners are left trying to strike a balance between staying safe and getting back to being fully open. Navigating ever-changing coronavirus reality comes with a number of risks, from financial hardship to offending customers to straining workers.

New York City ordered a vaccine mandate for customers in August. For Dan Rowe, CEO of Fransmart, which runs the Brooklyn Dumpling Shop, the mandate has been a financial burden, and a headache. Brooklyn Dumpling Shop first opened in May and has six staffers. Its pandemic-friendly format is contactless and automated.

“It was engineered to be a restaurant with less employees,” Rowe said. Glass separates the kitchen and staff from customers, who order food from an app. When the kitchen is finished making the food, it’s placed an automat-style window, so workers don’t come into contact with customers.

“We’ve engineered this great low-labour restaurant, and the government is making us go backward,” he said.

Read the full story here.

7:45 a.m.: This weekend, people all across the country will be gathering with family and friends, many for the first time in ages. But how does one greet others without breaking pandemic protocol?

As Minister Frank McGee and his dog Grundy demonstrated in 1963, when this photo was captured by Star photographer Frank Tesky, touch — whether it be shaking hands or hugging — is how many of us say hi. It’s a hard habit to break. But should handshaking become a thing of the past?

“Hand-to-hand contact isn’t likely to be a major risk [for COVID transmission],” says Colin Furness, infection control epidemiologist at the University of Toronto, “but coming in close to someone long enough to shake their hand is an issue, if the people involved aren’t wearing high-quality masks that are properly fitted.”

Still, Furness admits he’d like to see an end to handshaking. “Objectively,” he says, “hands are gross. Touch may not matter so much for COVID, but it almost certainly does for other serious viruses. The other reason is bacterial contamination. Most bacteria are harmless or beneficial. Our bodies are covered in bacteria, inside and out. But some types, associated with the ‘two Fs’ (food and feces) are very harmful. Between kitchens and bathrooms, our hands can get dangerously dirty.”

Even though people have learned over the past 18 months to wash their hands frequently, Furness says that’s not enough. After conducting extensive research on hand-hygiene behaviour of hospital patients, staff, and visitors, he found that “all three groups had the same rate of hand washing in bathrooms: 30%. That’s low.

“I’m not a germaphobe,” he adds, “but I’m a real fan of hand sanitizer. If we shook hands less, we’d sure need it less. And we’d get sick less.”

Read more on Jessica Dee Humphreys’ “Now that Thanksgiving’s within reach, is it safe to shake hands?”

Sunday 7:44 a.m.: Tea party firebrand Allen West, a candidate for the Republican nomination for governor of Texas, said Saturday that he has received monoclonal antibody injections after being diagnosed with COVID-19 pneumonia.

The antibodies are used to treat those in the early stages of a coronavirus infection.

“My chest X-rays do show COVID pneumonia, not serious. I am probably going to be admitted to the hospital,” West wrote. “There’s a concern about my oxygen saturation levels, which are at 89 and they should be at 95.”

He also said his wife, Angela West, also tested positive and has received monoclonal antibodies. According to his Twitter account, Allen West did not get vaccinated against the virus, but his wife did.

Allen West on Thursday said he had attended a “packed house” Mission Generation Annual Gala & Fundraiser in Seabrook, Texas. On Saturday he tweeted that he is “suspending in-person events until receiving an all-clear indication.”

Read Saturday’s coronavirus news.