A Hamilton-based pediatric doctor is joining a call for a return to in-person learning as soon as possible in an effort to limit afflictions in youth she believes have been brought on by isolation amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Martha Fulford, an infectious disease specialist with McMaster Children’s Hospital and Hamilton Health Sciences, says marked increases in eating disorders, obesity and mental health challenges among youth are likely the results of “social starvation.”
The physician says school typically provides more than an education but benefits of human interaction and organized events that create a critically important itinerary for young people.
“When we talk about what we’re seeing now in young children and teenagers, these are very important formative years,” said Fulford.
Premier Doug Ford issued a letter on Thursday asking for input from doctors and educators as to whether or not schools should reopen during the third wave.
Most Ontario students have been remote learning since April with exceptions in Peel, Toronto and Guelph who resumed online learning earlier.
Last week, the Canadian Paediatric Society – which represents 3,000 specialists in Canada – called for the reopening schools for the sake of children’s mental health.
The premier said his concern was with modelling numbers from the science table that pointed to a six to 11 per cent increase if schools reopened on June 2, after the current stay-at-home order expires.
Fulford believes even with an 11 per cent increase, it likely only means 100 additional cases per day based on current provincial case counts averaging 1,000 to 1,500 per day.
“The cases, of course, don’t mean hospitalizations,” Fulford said. “The worst-case scenario is that 11 per cent increase would be three to five extra hospitalizations a day, and that’s in a province of 14.7 million people. I think we can cope with that.”
Recent Public health modelling suggested Hamilton might see an additional 422 cases, one death and 13 hospitalizations added to it’s overall pandemic totals in the first month if students returned on May 31.
As of Thursday, Hamilton has 691 active cases with more than 73 per cent of the newest cases occurring in people under 50.
However, just under 25 per cent of the cases are among youth under 19 and there have been no fatalities from the virus in the city for anyone in that age group.
With those aged 12 to 17 now eligible to book COVID-19 vaccine appointments, Fulford expects spread to and from youth populations should be minimized leading to less stress on the hospital system in the coming months.
“We’re going to be over the worst of it in terms of the need for hospitalization. So this is the good news,” said Fulford.
“But, yes, now we need to turn to letting people begin to have normal lives.”
Hamilton reports 64 new COVID-19 cases, 1 death
Hamilton reported 64 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday as well as its 381st death tied to the pandemic.
The city says the deceased was a person in their 80s.
On Thursday, the city revealed two new outbreaks and four others that closed on Wednesday.
There were two new staff cases each at the Baywoods Place long-term care home in Central Hamilton as well as at the Smith Brothers Contracting Corporation based in Ancaster.
Closed outbreaks include automotive supplier Orlick industries and three workplaces – Fortinos on Mall Road, La Luna on King Street West and the Food Basics on Barton Street East.
The largest of the surges was at the Fortino’s which accounted for 10 cases among staffers over 13 days.
As of Thursday, the city has 104 total cases among 15 active workplace outbreaks. The city has 39 total outbreaks involving at least 460 cases.
Hamilton’s reproductive number is still at 1.03 as of Thursday — signifying that the average number of people an infected person is passing COVID-19 on to.
The city’s seven-day moving average of cases was at 79, last reported on May 25.
The percentage of Hamilton tests returning from Ontario labs as positive for COVID-19 is 8.3 per cent, above the province’s last reported daily number, 3.6 per cent, on May 27.
The number of patients with COVID-19 in Hamilton hospitals went down again day over day by five people to 79 as of May 27.
Hamilton Health Sciences says they have 46 patients, with 23 in intensive care units (ICU) while St. Joe’s has 34 patients, 22 of them in an ICU.
St. Joe’s says its ICU occupancy rate is now at 111 per cent as of Thursday, while HHS facilities are at 117 per cent.
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