Heavy snow means GTA students will have to wait to return to class

Plus, Ontario hospitals running low on life-saving COVID drugs and the need for border testing [The Star] First Up [By Lex Harvey] By Lex Harvey Good morning. It’s just another pandemic Monday, and Heather Mallick wants to know: [How are you getting through it?]( Here’s the latest on Ontario’s delayed return to the classroom, the run on life-saving COVID drugs and what to do about airport testing. DON’T MISS Gary Yokoyama/Hamilton Spectator snow day [The return to in-person learning is being bumped by today]( forecast]( GTA students will have to wait another day to return to class after all school boards announced in-person learning was called off due to heavy snowfall — up to 25 cm of snow is expected to hit the city today. The province’s two million students were meant to resume in-person learning today after an Omicron “tsunami” moved classes online for two weeks. While most school boards are offering the option of online learning today, the Halton board will have a proper snow day. [Here’s what you need to know](. - What we know: Snow aside, [some parents say they’re wary of sending their kids back]( with infection rates peaking. The province has said it will continue temporary remote learning for kids who stay home but it’s unclear what that’ll entail. - Context: Schools’ delayed reopening gave the government time to provide boards with more HEPA filters, rapid tests, three-ply cloth masks for students and N95 masks for staff. - Silver lining: Toronto reached a happy milestone Sunday with more than 50 per cent of five to 11-year-olds having received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Kevin Van Paassen/Sunnybrook health care [Ontario hospitals are running out of critical drugs to treat COVID-19]( Spiking hospitalizations across the province have caused shortages in life-saving COVID-19 medications, and at least one Toronto-area hospital is using a lottery system to decide which patients get the drugs, Megan Ogilvie reports. Pharmacists and physicians are sharing information on how to access therapeutics and share doses, but with limited stock available, medications are going to the patients at highest risk — primarily the immunocompromised or unvaccinated. [Here’s what you need to know](. - Context: The science table published [clinical guidance on recommended drugs and biologics for adult COVID patients]( on Jan. 8, outlining which drugs should be used for mildly, moderately and severely ill patients and listing alternatives if those run out. - What we know: Key drugs to treat hospitalized patients include tocilizumab and sarilumab, which reduce the risk of mechanical ventilation and death. Supplies of both drugs are either depleted or extremely limited. - Why it matters: “There is a unique moral injury happening now when there is actual evidence showing there are good drugs that can save people’s lives and help prevent this onslaught of patients coming to the ICU, and to know these drugs are just out of reach,” said the head of the science table working group that published the guidance. Steve Russell/The Star testing [Testing at the border is draining Canada’s limited resources. Should we scrap it?]( Ottawa’s COVID-19 testing requirements for travellers entering the country are overwhelming the already-strained system to the extent that officials can only guess the real number of daily infections, Alex Ballingall reports. While Canada’s top public health officer Theresa Tam stopped short of calling for testing requirements to be scrapped, she said it’s time to stop “sequencing” travellers’ COVID-19 samples — since “the whole world has Omicron.” [Here’s where things stand at the border](. - Context: After the Omicron variant was first detected, Ottawa announced it would test all travellers coming into Canada. As of last week, the government’s website said only the unvaccinated and a random selection of vaccinated people will be tested. - By the numbers: Between Nov. 28 and Dec. 25, around 1.6 per cent of unvaccinated or partially vaccinated travellers — and around 1.1 per cent of vaccinated travellers — entering Canada were positive for COVID-19. - Go deeper: Experts are questioning whether we should scrap border testing given Omicron’s high prevalence in the community. “What are we trying to prevent here?” asked one epidemiologist. “The border is sort of the least of your worries.” WHAT ELSE This student spent years advocating for a federal minister of mental health. [Now that it’s a reality, what’s next?]( So, you finally got Omicron. [Does that mean you’re now immune from getting it again?]( The search for a [missing Indigenous logging protester]( is growing tense in B.C. Tennis Star [Novak Djokovic was deported from Australia]( after losing his visa appeal. Canadian teammates are making the case for Stephanie Labbé to win [FIFA’s top goalkeeping award](. With Lowry sitting out tonight’s game, the Kyle-Raptors [on-court reunion will have to wait](. POV Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick [Susan Delacourt has an idea of what to do with the prime minister’s residence: Tear it down.]( PREVIOUSLY... Andrew Stawicki/The Star JANUARY 17, 1987: About 200 people sampled a free vegetarian lunch sponsored by the Toronto Vegetarian Association and the Mahavira Jain Mission to promote good health and plant-based eating. From left, Rushabh Gudka, 7, Pauliomi Gudka, 10, Vidya Shah, 7, and Devika Shah, 9, helped serve the meal at the Glen Rhodes United Church on Gerrard St.  Thanks for reading. You can reach me and the First Up team at [firstup@thestar.ca](mailto:firstup@thestar.ca?source=newsletter&utm_source=ts_nl&utm_medium=emailutm_email=6C53B63A8E3FAD70AD4EF13004527437&utm_campaign=frst_100051). I’ll see you back here tomorrow. 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