Sudbury Senator passes away due to COVID19 complications
Senator Josée Forest-Niesing of Sudbury has passed away due to complications from COVID19.
A statement from her staff on Saturday advised that Forest-Niesing had been fully vaccinated but had an autoimmune condition that affected her lungs for more than 15 years.
She was released from the hospital on November 14th, after spending a month in Sudbury hospital.
Tributes for her years of service as a Senator and a member of the bar, have been pouring in including those of her fellow Senators and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Funeral arrangements are being finalized.
She was 56.
COVID19 hospitalizations climbing in local districts
Algoma, Sudbury and Manitoulin districts COVID19 numbers are climbing.
Algoma Public Health is reporting 271 cases as of Sunday evening, most of them in the Sault Ste. Marie area.
There are currently 18 people hospitalized, the highest that it has ever been since the pandemic broke out.
The agency reports while most of the cases are in the Sault Ste. Marie area, but cases are growing in central & east Algoma.
Public Health Sudbury & Districts will release its weekend numbers later in the day, but Health Sciences North is reporting 28 people hospitalized with six individuals in intensive care.
Vaccines for kids arrives today
The first planeload of Pfizer’s children’s vaccine has arrived in Canada.
It was unloaded in Hamilton last night, following Friday’s decision by Health Canada to approve its use in kids between 5 and 11 years of age.
It will now be distributed to the provinces.
The federal government says 2.9-million doses will arrive before the end of the week, enough to give one shot to every child in that age group.
In Ontario, officials plan to expand current vaccination sites and use schools, after hours, to inoculate children.
Parliament resumes – COVID likely to dominate
Parliament resumes today, two months after the federal election that returned the Liberals with a minority government.
The New Democrats have said they’ll support the Trudeau administration on a case-by-case basis, as they did in the last Parliament.
The NDP’s priorities include a national pharma-care program, affordable housing, climate change, and higher taxes on wealthy individuals and corporations.
However, the first day will likely be dominated by questions about COVID-19 vaccinations.
The Conservatives have refused to say which of their MP’s have been inoculated, only saying they’ll follow the rules.
The parliamentary committee in charge of operations in the Commons says all members must be vaccinated, or have a medical exemption.
One Tory MP, from Quebec, tested positive on the weekend, despite being fully inoculated.