BY SABRINA S. – 13 YEARS OLD
It’s the start of April and things are already taking a turn. First, where has the time gone? It feels like just yesterday was the beginning of 2022 and now we are 4 months into the New Year. Near the end of March, the government removed all mask mandates. I still wear a mask when I’m going outside and it seems that a lot of people do too, I was at Walmart last week and almost everybody was wearing a mask. I don’t mind masks since they help me from contracting any germs, sometimes it does fog up my glasses but that doesn’t bother me much. After the use of masks was put to a stop by the government, people chose this chance to party and act like there wasn’t a huge virus that could take them out at any point. When they started hanging out in big groups, corona sprang into action.
Ontario reported 857 COVID-19 hospitalizations and 168 patients in the ICU on Monday. This is an increase of 30% from the week before. Monday’s hospitalization numbers are up from 763 on Sunday and 655 at this time last week. At least 10% of hospitals do not report their figures on the weekend. Out of those hospitalized, 168 of these patients are in intensive care. That number is up by two, up from 166 reported the previous day and 158 reported a week earlier. The province reported another 2,248 COVID-19 cases through limited PCR testing Monday, with 11,195 tests completed the day before. Test positivity rate has gone up to 19%, the highest since mid-January, when it hit 24.5% during the Omicron wave. That’s why you should always take precautions while outside. Wear your mask, wash your hands, and stay safe.
