New COVID pandemic projections, announcement on Ontario long term care set for Tuesday

Science experts advising the Ontario government on the pandemic are expected to release new COVID-19 projections today.

That will come a few hours before Premier Doug Ford is expected to make an announcement with his government’s new minister for long-term care.

Ontario began easing restrictions yesterday as part of a plan to roll back measures imposed amid soaring cases of the Omicron variant.

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Several restrictions remain in place for the long-term care sector.

Long-Term Care Minister Paul Calandra is due to take questions at today’s announcement for the first time since he took over the file, following the resignation of former minister Rod Phillips last month.

Calandra has stepped into the job amid rising COVID-19 outbreaks and deaths in long-term care homes due to the highly transmissible Omicron variant.

More than 56 per cent of the province’s long-term care homes were reporting virus outbreaks as of Monday and 129 deaths were reported among residents over the past week.

The government gave long-term care workers an extension until March 14 to get mandatory third COVID-19 vaccine doses — after Jan. 28 was set as the initial deadline — because of pressures from the Omicron variant.