Niagara Region lifts state of emergency spurred by COVID-19 pandemic

COVID-19 pandemic, Niagara Region has lifted the measure as of 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday morning, deeming it “no longer necessary.”In a release on Monday, Regional Chair Jim Bradley and municipal mayors cancelled the condition in a joint statement thanking residents who did their part wearing masks, following directions to stay home, limiting personal contact and getting vaccinated.“As the heads of council, we declared the State of Emergency together in an effort to help save lives, protect our hospital system and to underscore the critical nature of the situation,” councillors said in a release.“After two years, we are in a significantly different position and appears that it is now the appropriate time to move forward as a community.” Ontario to table legislation making PSW wage increase permanent, government source says The region declared the situation on April 3, 2020, saying the pandemic was “a real and pressing risk” to the health of the community and that residents needed to work with government to slow the spread of the virus.“We recognize how hard this time is for everyone, and the sacrifices you are making to practice physical distancing, and even complete isolation in some cases,” the mayors and Bradley said in an April 2020 joint statement.As of Tuesday, Niagara Health hospital reported just 22 patients with COVID-19 among its network, with three people requiring the intensive care unit (ICU).In all, the hospital has treated 1,899 total COVID-19 patients since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020.

There were 355 COVID-19-related deaths during the same period.Public health reported just a single ongoing institutional outbreak as of March 15, at Niagara General.