Winter storm batters Niagara

Seven of 10 US physicians say that the COVID-19 pandemic has heightened drug supply chain problems, limiting their ability to provide quality patient care, according to a new US Pharmacopeia (USP) survey.

Remote clinical trials with inclusive social media recruitment may help improve racial, ethnic, and geographic diversity among clinical trial participants, according to a US study published early this week in JAMA Network Open.

Guelph General Hospital says they are hopeful and cautiously optimistic as COVID-19 restrictions begin to lift in the province.But Melissa Skinner said in an interview this week that capacity issues the hospital had pre-pandemic have not gone away.“Over the past several years, based on the size of our hospital and the size of our community, each day we have struggled with having enough beds,” she said. “COVID has just exacerbated that and really shown how much pressure there really is on a system and on our hospital.” Doctors’ group proposes Ontario fund new surgical centres to catch up on procedures Even before the pandemic, one official described the situation at Guelph General in October 2019 as “bursting at the seams.”For example, the hospital’s emergency room was seeing 15,000 more annual visits than it was originally designed to handle.Construction to expand the department by 6,400 square feet is currently underway to address overcrowding.As for the current COVID-19 situation, Skinner said the hospital is still seeing high volumes in the emergency department but added that it is manageable and an improvement from just a few weeks ago while Omicron COVID-19 cases were peaking in the community.“The impact of COVID — we are seeing a decline.

Middlesex-London Health Unit reported no new deaths on Wednesday and 85 COVID-19 cases.This marks just the fourth day this month that no new virus-related deaths were reported by the MLHU, with the other days being Feb. 7, 9 and 14.

A new study comparing excess years of life lost (YLL) during the first year of COVID-19 in parts of England and Wales shows that economically deprived areas suffered three times as many deaths as affluent regions, and young adults (15 to 44 years old) were 11 times more likely to die from the virus in poorer parts of the United Kingdom. The study is published in PLOS Medicine.Though excess deaths have been used as a metric during the pandemi

COVID-19 testing clinic on Holiday Inn Drive was forced to close on Wednesday afternoon after its phones and internet access went down.A spokesperson for the hospitals says all of the tests and assessments for the afternoon have been cancelled.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - NASCAR on Wednesday named FOX CEO Lachlan Murdoch the honorary starter of the season-opening Daytona 500.Murdoch, the executive chair and chief executive officer of FOX Corp., will wave the green flag Sunday to start "The Great American Race." Murdoch served as Executive Chairman of 21st Century FOX prior to the closing of the merger of 21st Century FOX and The Walt Disney Company in March 2019. RELATED: 64th annual Daytona 500 is sold out(Photo by Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic) The 64th running will be aired live on FOX, which is in contract negotiations with NASCAR on the current television deal that expires at the end of the 2024 season.RELATED: Country music star Trace Adkins to sing national anthem at Daytona 500The Daytona 500 will have a heavy Fox presence: Pro Football Hall of Famer Charles Woodson, a Fox Sports analyst, will give the "Drivers, Start Your Engines" command as grand marshal for the Great American Race at 2:30 p.m. ET Sunday, Feb.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - APRIL 30: A boxed AirTag on display at the Apple Store George Street on April 30, 2021 in Sydney, Australia. Apple's latest accessory, the AirTag is a small device that helps people keep track of belongings, using Apple's Find My PHILADELPHIA - Attorney General Josh Shapiro is issuing a consumer alert Wednesday in regards to Apple AirTags. The consumer alert is an effort to share safety recommendations with Pennsylvanians that  "will protect them from the malicious misuse of Apple AirTags." Apple AirTags have recently been used to track people in many situations, which has raised an alarm for authorities. According to the AG Shapiro, some individuals have reported finding unknown AirTags attached to their cars, in their purses, coat pockets, and other personal property while others have reported receiving alerts on their phones that their location information is being shared.

Ontario fund a new model for outpatient health-care centres to help tackle a growing backlog of surgeries and other procedures.A new report from the Ontario Medical Association outlines a proposal to create Integrated Ambulatory Centres across the province, which would work with local hospitals to perform medical services insured by the province.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - NASCAR on Wednesday named FOX CEO Lachlan Murdoch the honorary starter of the season-opening Daytona 500.Murdoch, the executive chair and chief executive officer of FOX Corp., will wave the green flag Sunday to start "The Great American Race." Murdoch served as Executive Chairman of 21st Century FOX prior to the closing of the merger of 21st Century FOX and The Walt Disney Company in March 2019. RELATED: 64th annual Daytona 500 is sold out(Photo by Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic) The 64th running will be aired live on FOX, which is in contract negotiations with NASCAR on the current television deal that expires at the end of the 2024 season.RELATED: Country music star Trace Adkins to sing national anthem at Daytona 500The Daytona 500 will have a heavy Fox presence: Pro Football Hall of Famer Charles Woodson, a Fox Sports analyst, will give the "Drivers, Start Your Engines" command as grand marshal for the Great American Race at 2:30 p.m. ET Sunday, Feb.

RELATED: Remote schooling means snow days could become optional in NJIn Washington Township, New Jersey, Superintendent Jeffrey Mohre said remote learning or not, he’ll still call snow days."Easiest decision I’ve had to make all year," Mohre said in 2020.Young lions at the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, made the most of recent snowy weather on Jan. 19, running around and playing in the powder.

City of Toronto workers will start heading back to the office next week.In a statement issued Wednesday, City officials said that workers will begin returning to the office on Tuesday under a “hybrid model.”Office spaces will be opened to allow for maximum capacity based on health guidelines, the statement said. City of Toronto delays return to office after province issues new public health advice Office workers make up about 20 per cent of the City of Toronto’s total workforce.

PHILADELPHIA - Philadelphia health officials on Wednesday announced new COVID-19 response levels that will now tie the city’s mask and vaccine mandates to specific metrics. Under the new multi-tiered systems, city and health officials say they will stop enforcing certain mandates as COVID-19 metrics improve. Should the numbers worsen, officials say they will use the same system to determine when those mandates should be enforced again. Based on current metrics, officials announced on Wednesday that Philadelphia had reached a Masks Precautions Only level - meaning that the requirement to show proof of vaccination at indoor dining establishments that serve food for onsite consumption was dropped, effective immediately. Philadelphia’s Department of Public Health will focus on four key metrics to guide decisions on mandates and restrictions. The metrics include average new cases per day, number of hospitalizations, percent of tests reported as positive, and the rate of change of new cases. City officials say tying their response to these metrics will help the public understand why the city is enforcing specific mandates, as well as what needs to happen in order the enforcement to stop. Philadelphia’s COVID-19 website will be updated to included detailed breakdowns of the four key metrics.On Wednesday, Philadelphia health Commissioner Dr.

COVID-19 patients in the hospital are dropping, he still figures it could be months before the facility will be able to return to pre-pandemic surgical volumes.Dr. Craig Ainsworth, director of the cardiac care unit at Hamilton General Hospital, told 900 CHML’s Hamilton Today that Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) is still only operating at 50 to 60 per cent of surgical activity levels which will delay some non-urgent and non-emergent services.“It would be silly for me to say we’ll be back at 100 per cent by tomorrow or next week, but we’re trying very hard to get to get there as fast as we can, but it’s likely going to be months,” said Ainsworth.

Queen Elizabeth was photographed for the first time since the public was concerned for her safety.

Other symptoms to look out for

Covid-19 outbreak in the US are pointing sharply downward.

Ottawa blockade that has kept the capital at a standstill for nearly three full weeks are calling the federal government’s use of the Emergencies Act a scare tactic.Trucks, RVs and other vehicles with Canadian flags or banners with the word “freedom” in giant letters along their front grilles remain on Wellington Street in front of Parliament Hill, with drivers saying they will stay put until all COVID-19 vaccine mandates and restrictions are lifted.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the act on Monday for the first time in Canadian history, with details of the regulations contained in cabinet orders published Tuesday night.Under the act, bringing children to the antigovernment blockades, participating in the protests directly, or bringing aid such as food or fuel to those involved could result in a fine of up to $5,000 or five years in prison Bringing children, food or fuel to convoy blockades prohibited under Emergencies Act Blockades are not allowed on Parliament Hill and surrounding streets, official residences, war monuments, airports, harbours, border crossings, piers, lighthouses, canals, interprovincial and international bridges, hospitals and COVID-19 vaccine clinics, trade corridors and infrastructure needed for the supply of utilities including power generation and transmission.The cabinet orders are now in effect but must all be confirmed by motions to be put to both the House of Commons and the Senate for a vote.The government could take until next week to table the motion invoking the act itself, but has only until Thursday to do so for the motions on the specific powers being enacted, which will remain in place for 30 days unless the government revokes them sooner.

Freedom Convoy” blockade of downtown Ottawa are being warned by police to “leave the area now” as questions heat up about when police will act to remove the demonstrators who have paralyzed the nation’s capital for 20 days.“You must leave the area now. Anyone blocking streets, or assisting others in the blocking streets, are committing a criminal offence and you may be arrested.

As the Emergencies Act is invoked to stop the convoy protests in Ottawa, the federal government is aiming to cut off the movement’s financial resources.

PHILADELPHIA - The Wells Fargo Center says fans will no longer be required to show proof of vaccination when attending events at the arena.The announcement comes as Philadelphia announced on Wednesday that it was immediately ending the vaccine requirement for establishments that serve food for onsite consumption. The arena fell under the city’s criteria for establishments that were required to ask for proof of vaccination from customers and staff.The vaccine requirement had gone into place on Jan. 3.

Renfrewshire children between the ages of five and 11 are to be offered a Covid-19 vaccine.

The Department of Health has been notified of a further 5,268 PCR-confirmed cases of Covid-19.

SAN FRANCISCO - Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has agreed to pay $90 million to settle a decade-old, class-action lawsuit over the social media giant’s use of "cookies" in 2010 and 2011 that tracked people online — even after they logged off of Facebook.The company, which posted profits of $39.37 billion in 2021, will pay the $90 million settlement to users who previously submitted verified claims, after lawyer fees are deducted. Meta has also agreed to delete all the data it "wrongfully collected" during that period. The proposed settlement was filed late Monday in the U.S.

BRISTOL TOWNSHIP, Pa. - Authorities in Bucks County say they are looking to identify and locate a person of interest in a homicide that occurred on Tuesday. Bristol Township police responded to the 700 block of Winder Drive at 7:15 p.m. and found a deceased 78-year-old man inside of a home. After a preliminary investigation, authorities say they identified Brian Joseph Carey, 41, as a person of interest. The Bucks County District Attorney’s Office identified Carey as the victim’s stepson.Carey is believed to be driving a 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer that belonged to the victim.

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COVID-19 as the province began phasing out its vaccine passport system Wednesday.The daily tally showed pandemic-related hospitalizations stood at 1,995, a drop of 57 compared with the previous day. This includes 129 patients in intensive care units, a decrease of three.Officials say 130 people were admitted to hospitals in the past 24-hour period, while 187 were discharged.The province reported 2,328 new novel coronavirus cases, but the number isn’t representative of the situation since only high-risk groups can access government-run screening clinics.On that note, 23,053 tests were administered Monday.

Manitoba COVID-19 hospitalizations and ICU admissions down while no new deaths reported Global News will stream the press conference on this page.

Frank del Duca and Hakeem Abdul-Saboor; Emily Sweeney (inset right) and Kelly Curtis (inset left). (Patrick Goosen/BSR Agency, Johann GRODER / APA / AFP, and Dean Mouhtaropoulos via Getty Images.)They’re already serving their country in the military. Now, four U.S.

COVID-19 pandemic.In a letter, Dr. Kieran Moore suggested Dr.

Howard Stern has suggested that hospitals across the US should deny Covid treatment to patients who are unvaccinated against the virus.The 68-year-old radio host was speaking on Wednesday’s episode of his SirusXM programme The Howard Stern Show, which he often uses to condemn anti-vaxxers.In a segment, the host was asked by a listener what he thought ‘about just letting the pandemic run wild and move through the unvaccinated?’In response, Stern insisted: ‘If it was up to me, anyone unvaccinated would not be admitted to a hospital’‘At this point, they have been given plenty of opportunity to get the vaccine.’He went on to suggest the unvaccinated will ‘die’, and that they ‘don’t trust the government’.‘They think that there’s a conspiracy to turn them into a magnet or something like this.‘They think they are going to become magnetised if they take the vaccine. I’ve taken this vaccine three times, and the worst side effect is for a day, I think I had a little bit of a headache.’The native New Yorker also explained that there were enough Americans who’d taken the vaccine by now.‘Look at us sampling where nothing has happened to us.

There is evidence of a new type of Omicron Covid, according to experts.

weather this week as officials issued a public health warning for subzero temperatures.The Met Office has applied an advisory for cold weather in England for the West Midlands, East Midlands, East, South East, and South West from 6pm on Wednesday 19 January to 9am on Sunday 23 January.Overnight lows of -6C are expected in Oxfordshire on Thursday, with mist also likely to cause issues in many parts of southern England.The UK Health and Security Agency (UKHSA) has even asked Britons to drop in on elderly or vulnerable friends and neighbours when the so-called 'big freeze' hits.Agostinho Sousa, Consultant in Public Health Medicine at UKHSA, said: "Cold weather can have a serious impact on health, particularly for older people and those with heart and lung problems, as it increases the risks of heart attacks, strokes and chest infections."Remind vulnerable relatives and neighbours to heat their home to at least 18°C – particularly if they have reduced mobility, are 65 or older, or have a health condition. Should they need to go outside, it’s important for them to wear shoes with a good grip."Steve Ramsdale, Chief Meteorologist at the Met Office, has offered an explanation for the temperature drop and said that things should warm up by the weekend.He said: "A change in conditions brings cold air to the UK, spreading from the north later on Wednesday then lingering over England and Wales for the rest of the week and into the weekend.With easing winds and good clear spells, a widespread frost is likely on Thursday and Friday morning with temperatures recovering somewhat by day.

heavy snow and ice over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend.The setup involves an arctic high-pressure system pushing a cold front through the South and East over the next few days, ushering in another blast of frigid temperatures in the wake of the front.Moisture will be fed into the southern and eastern periphery of the cold air mass, and where temperatures are below freezing, there is an increasing threat of heavy snow and/or ice from the Southeast to the mid-Atlantic states into Friday.(FOX Weather) ((FOX Weather))Another piece of the puzzle includes the potential for a coastal low to develop along the cold front, which would enhance the threat of heavy snow for the mid-Atlantic and Northeast on Saturday.However, uncertainty remains high with respect to this potential coastal storm.

More than 24 hours after the worst of Toronto snow storm subsided, more than 350 buses remain stuck in snow bags. The union representing transit workers is calling for a comprehensive plan to prevent its drivers from being stranded, But the TTC says that’s not realistic.

A driver had to be rescued by local residents after the car ended up in an icy river in Canada. (Credit: @MammaMitch/Twitter) ()OTTAWA, Ontario - It took a team of local residents and a kayak to rescue a driver after a car started to sink in a river of ice.Police in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, said the incident happened Sunday around 4:30 local time in the area of Old Milly Way. Authorities responded to a call about a vehicle that had been partially submerged through the ice along the Rideau River.

Thousands of drivers out along Toronto-area highways are stuck in snow as a historic winter storm blasts southern Ontario on Monday morning. OPP Sgt.

With today’s snowfall of up to 50 centimeters in some parts – projecting to be the biggest in recent history, we asked our Chief Meteorologist, Anthony Farnell to remind us that we’ve been here before – and we’ve had it much worse.

A major winter storm postponed a return to in-class learning in Ontario. Caryn Lieberman reports.

New federal modelling is projecting a surge in COVID-19 hospitalizations over the next few weeks, adding to the strain on the health-care system. Abigail Bimman looks at the predictions for the days ahead.

Global’s Keith Baldrey has more on the strain we’re starting to see on hospitals and health care workers province-wide and what health officials are considering when it comes to contingency plans.

As COVID-related hospitalizations climb, the province of Quebec has announced that those who refuse to be vaccinated will have to pay for their choices.

The pandemic has caused a lot of strain on many emergency services operating in Toronto and as Erica Vella reports, union leaders say it has resulted in delays for ambulances in the city.

After the winter break was extended an extra week due to COVID-19, students returned to in-person learning across Alberta on Monday. Kendra Slugoski has more on how parents feel about it.

Omicron continues to spread throughout Scotland - with daily Covid infection numbers remaining in the tens of thousands.

Scientists have cast doubt over the discovery of the so-called ‘Deltacron’ Covid strain, which is said to combine the Delta and Omicron variants of the virus.

A new mutation of Covid-19 is reported to have been discovered in Cyprus, and has been entitled the Deltacron variant.

It has been a pretty tough start to the year for some who were forced to miss out on festive celebrations because of Covid.