Niagara Health reinforces the importance of vaccination against COVID-19
This pandemic is the most significant healthcare crisis of our time.
We continue to learn more about the Delta variant. Based on modelling from the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table, we expect to see another surge in cases in hospitals in our province over the next several months, impacting all age groups and all hospital services.
Community vaccination is our best defence against this highly contagious virus and will lessen the impact of the fourth wave. All vaccines approved by Health Canada are safe and effective in protecting against COVID-19 and its variants.
At Niagara Health, the majority of patients receiving care for COVID-19 are unvaccinated. Since Aug. 7, the health system has cared for 32 patients with COVID-19 of which 26, or 81%, have been unvaccinated.
For more information on getting vaccinated against COVID-19, please visit Niagara Health’s website at: https://www.niagarahealth.on.ca/site/vaccination-clinic or Niagara Region Public Health’s website at https://niagararegion.ca/health/covid-19/vaccination.
Learn more about COVID-19 vaccines here.
Niagara Medical Officer of Health offers new COVID-19 briefing
Fort Erie reports spike in COVID cases, Mayor Redekop renews appeal to unvaccinated
Fort Erie has experienced a spike in cases of COVID-19 in recent days, a troubling sign as children head back to school and a change in weather with the fall looms. On a positive note, Fort Erie remains the municipality in Niagara with the second-lowest case counts per 10,000 residents,with only rural Wainfleet being lower. But this is not a time for residents to become complacent, remarked Fort Erie mayor Wayne Redekop.
While over 70% of Fort Erie residents have received their first dose of a vaccine and over 65% are fully vaccinated, the Town is still behind the Regional and Provincial numbers for those categories. To alert those who wish to obtain their first or second dose of the vaccination, the Town is placing information on our website and social media regarding vaccination clinics being hosted in Town and pharmacies that are providing the vaccinations. Mayor Redekop urges everyone to become fully vaccinated, the one sure way to protect yourself, those around you and our community.
Click here to read the Mayor’s update (PDF link).
Click here to find a vaccination clinic in Niagara.
Learn more about COVID-19 vaccines here.
Welland launches communications survey
The City of Welland is reaching out to the community for input on corporate communications in the form of a communications survey on the City’s YourChannel engagement site. Feedback from this survey will assist in the creation of the City’s corporate communications plan.
From social media to the City’s website to print and radio, the communications survey allows respondents to provide feedback on various tools, providing a mix of open, closed, and ranking questions. Responses will help form a benchmark to measure future success.
Click here for more information (PDF link).
Brock reports greater than 90 per cent vaccination rate
With the return of in-person teaching and learning on Monday, Sept. 13, Brock’s community of students, faculty and staff is reporting a vaccination rate of greater than 90 per cent.
On Aug. 12, the University announced a vaccine mandate for anyone coming to campus. Since that time, tens of thousands of students, faculty and staff have uploaded their vaccine certifications for verification and have completed an online process confirming their status.
Click here for more information.
Learn more about COVID-19 vaccines here.
The Election Section
Niagara federal vote projections
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Seats (Projection)
| Niagara Centre | Niagara Falls | Niagara West | St. Catharines | Canada (338canada) | Canada (CBC) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bloc Quebecois | 7% (32 seats) | 6.8% (31 seats) | ||||
| Conservative Party | 30% | 38% | 46% | 32% | 31.4% (126 seats) | 31% (119 seats) |
| Green Party | 3% | 3.7% | 3.9% | 3.5% | 3.4% (2 seats) | 3.5% (1 seat) |
| Liberal Party | 35% | 31% | 29% | 36% | 31.9% (148 seats) | 31.5% (155 seats) |
| New Democratic Party | 24% | 21% | 14% | 23% | 19.3% (31 seats) | 19.1% (32 seats) |
| People's Party | 7.6% | 6% | 6.5% | 5.8% | 6% (0 seats) | 7% (0 seats) |
| Christian Heritage | - | - | 1.1% | - | - | - |
Data are provided by 338canada.com and the CBC using an aggregate of polls. Projections are updated daily. Click here for more information and margins of error.
Download the Canadian Chamber’s policy tracker, which summarizes party commitments made to date.
Niagara’s Prosperity Matters: Build infrastructure that supports commerce
Businesses will only reach new customers if they can get their products to market. Getting there requires high-quality infrastructure with sufficient capacity to carry goods across different modes of transportation.
The GNCC is calling on all parties to support agriculture with infrastructure. Niagara’s farmers are facing new challenges from climate change, with weather patterns becoming more unpredictable. Investments in, for example, irrigation infrastructure would both better support Niagara’s agricultural industry and encourage further investment in farming arable land.
Click here to read more about the GNCC’s Niagara Prosperity Plan.
Explainer: The Canadian federal election: what has happened and what is at stake
Reuters
Canadians go to the polls on Sept. 20 in an election that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called two years early, seeking to turn public approval for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic into a fresh, four-year mandate. Since 2019, Trudeau has only commanded a minority in parliament, leaving him dependent on other parties to govern. Trudeau argues the pandemic has changed Canada like World War Two did and Canadians should now choose who they want to make important decisions for decades to come.
Trudeau has struggled to explain why an early election during a worsening fourth wave of COVID-19 was a good idea. Conservative leader Erin O’Toole consistently accuses the Liberal leader of putting Canadians in harm’s way for personal ambition. People also seem to be tiring of Trudeau, who carries the baggage of having governed for six years.
After Trudeau called the election, his hefty opinion poll lead vanished. Recent surveys point to a tight race in which he might retain power with another minority.
Singh’s recent dip in support might indicate NDP supporters swinging to Liberals: Nanos
CTV News
With only one more week left to go in the election campaign, a recent dip in support for NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh could indicate that some of his party’s supporters are swinging to the Liberals, according to pollster Nik Nanos.
According to Nanos Research’s nightly tracking data conducted for CTV News and the Globe and Mail, support for Singh as the preferred prime minister has steadily declined over the past four days. The latest polling data, which was released Monday, puts him at 16.3 per cent support – a marked drop from the 21.2 per cent support he enjoyed on Thursday.
Reading Recommendations
All day surgeries in Edmonton health zone postponed as hospitals struggle under pressure of COVID-19
CBC News
Up to 70 per cent of all scheduled surgeries and procedures in the Edmonton health zone will be immediately postponed as Alberta Health Services works to free up space and frontline staff to care for patients with COVID-19.
All day surgeries will be postponed and only “priority cancer, urgent and emergent surgeries” will go ahead, AHS spokesperson Kerry Williamson told CBC News on Monday.
The change comes as Alberta’s fourth wave of COVID-19 pushes Alberta hospitals to the breaking point.
Trailer parks could hold the answer to Canada’s national housing crisis
Financial Post
Happiness and a blistering hot national housing market, for those looking to crack into it, are not often complementary terms. The average price of a Canadian home has rocketed past $700,000, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association, beyond the scope of many people looking for a first home.
This cost-of-living crisis has politicians of every stripe throwing around affordable housing-themed pledges during the election campaign: build a million new homes (Conservatives); build 500,000 new homes (NDP); ban foreign ownership, hamstring would-be house-flippers and “build, preserve, or repair” 1.4 million homes (Liberals).
Apparently overlooked, amid all the promises and political talk, is a potential throwback answer to the nation’s affordable housing woes: the humble trailer park.
Niagara COVID-19 statistics tracker
These data show the status of the COVID-19 pandemic in Niagara. The Province of Ontario is now using a provincewide approach to reopening, and these data no longer have any influence on Niagara’s restrictions. Lower numbers are better in all metrics.
| December 18 | December 25 | January 1 | January 8 | January 15 | January 22 | January 29 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reproductive number | 1.4 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.9 |
| New cases per 100,000 | 101.2 | 267.3 | 469.8 | 575.8 | 507.1 | 295.5 | 250.6 |
| New cases per day (not including outbreaks) | 60.7 | 178.7 | 311.7 | 376.9 | 325.4 | 182.7 | 145.7 |
| Percent of hospital beds occupied | 97% | 95.2% | 98.2% | 103.2% | 104.5% | 103.6% | 106% |
| Percent of intensive care beds occupied | 78.8% | 77.3% | 87.9% | 87.9% | 90.9% | 89.4% | 93.9% |
| Percentage of positive tests | 6.1% | 15.6% | 28.1% | 28.6% | 26.6% | 21.2% | 16.2% |
Last updated: September 4, 2021
Click here for definitions of terms used in this table.
On September 10, there were 12 patients admitted to Niagara Health with COVID-19, of which 12 were unvaccinated, 0 were partially vaccinated, and 0 were fully vaccinated. There were 4 patients with COVID-19 in a Niagara Health Intensive Care Unit.
Over the last 28 days, a Niagara resident vaccinated with 1 dose was 3.7 times more likely to contract COVID-19, and an unvaccinated person was 8.4 times more likely.
Data are drawn from Niagara Region Public Health and Niagara Health.
Niagara COVID vaccination tracker
Niagara’s most up-to-date vaccination numbers are presented below, along with comparison data from Ontario, Canada, and G7 countries.
| Percentage of population with one dose | Percentage of population fully vaccinated | |
|---|---|---|
| Niagara | 82.7% | 78.2% |
| Ontario | 84.6% | 79.1% |
| Canada | 84.7% | 78.6% |
| United States | 75% | 64% |
| United Kingdom | 78% | 72% |
| Germany | 76% | 74% |
| France | 80% | 77% |
| Italy | 83% | 76% |
| Japan | 80% | 79% |
| World | 63% | 53% |
Total doses administered in Niagara: 677,855
New daily doses administered to Niagara residents: 661
Last updated: September 13, 2021
Data are drawn from Niagara Region, the Government of Ontario, and Oxford University’s Our World in Data project.
Free rapid COVID-19 testing kits are now available to businesses. Visit gncc.ca/workplace-self-screening-kits to learn more and reserve kits for your organization.
Information on government grants, resources, and programs, policies, forms, and posters for download and use, are available here. The GNCC is here to support you. Contact us with any questions you have.
Through the Daily Updates, the GNCC aims to deliver important business news in a timely manner. We disseminate all news and information we feel will be important to businesses. Inclusion in the Daily Update is not an endorsement by the GNCC.
