Hospitals are seeing more kids with COVID

Plus, Toronto's patio crackdown and potential conflicts of interest at Metrolinx [The Star] First Up [By Lex Harvey] By Lex Harvey Good morning. Here’s the latest on the uptick in pediatric COVID hospitalizations, the city’s crackdown on outdoor dining and potential conflicts of interest at Metrolinx. DON’T MISS Canadian Press/Nathan Denette health care [Ontario hospitals are seeing more kids with COVID-19 than ever before]( Children under five who are currently ineligible for COVID vaccines are being admitted to hospital in higher numbers than older kids, Megan Ogilvie reports. Though doctors stress most children who get the virus can be treated at home, they also say Omicron seems to affect kids differently than previous variants, causing inflammation in the airway that can lead to a dry, barking cough and breathing difficulties. [Here’s what we know](. - By the numbers: 137 kids under the age of 19 were admitted to Ontario hospitals for COVID between Jan. 6 and Jan. 20, including 77 under the age of five. The hospitalization rate for that age group is 10.6 per 100,000, compared to about 2.5 per 100,000 for older kids. - What we know: The rise in pediatric COVID hospitalizations is linked to the surge of cases in the community. While most kids have mild cases, about 14 per cent of children admitted to hospital with COVID-related illness will have severe outcomes. - Go deeper: For kids too young to get the jab, experts recommend everyone around them get vaccinated to build a “protective cocoon.” Richard Lautens/The Star outdoor dining [Outdoor patios are being shuttered and warned over public health rules]( Toronto restaurants are reeling after a recent enforcement blitz by public health officials that ordered eateries to comply with outdoors dining laws or shut down, Akrit Michael and Erin LeBlanc report. The restaurant industry has taken a big hit in recent weeks with the lockdown shutting indoor dining again, but some attempting a January patio run are finding their structures aren’t up to snuff. [Here’s what you need to know](. - The rules: Per provincial rules, if an outdoor dining area is covered, at least two sides of the area “must be open to the outdoors and not be substantially blocked by any walls or other impermeable physical barriers.” - What we know: Little Italy’s storied Cafe Diplomatico closed its patio Thursday after the owner said he was given three different violations or orders to comply. The patio structure cost the restaurant over $200,000. - ICYMI: More than 200,000 restaurant workers left the industry during the pandemic. [Here’s where they went](. Garth Gullekson/Ottawa Citizen transit [Metrolinx appointed a private consultant to a VP role while awarding his firm contracts worth millions]( Between March 2018 and May 2020, Boxfish Infrastructure Group director Brian Guest held vice-president titles at Metrolinx. During that same period, Ben Spurr reports, the transit agency issued two lucrative contracts to Boxfish — one sole-sourced. While a Metrolinx spokesperson said there’s nothing improper about the organization’s relationship with Guest, sources told the Star Guest and Boxfish exercised enormous influence at Metrolinx, causing a potential conflict of interest. [Here’s what’s going on](. - What we know: Metrolinx won’t say how much taxpayer money it agreed to pay Boxfish, but sources say the firm is set to earn between $20 and $30 million from Metrolinx over a two-year-period. - More: Metrolinx said rather than paying Guest directly, they paid Boxfish who then paid Guest. - Why it matters: Employees told the Star they worried a private consultant not directly accountable to the government could have business relationships at odds with public interests. WHAT ELSE The Florida man charged in a Canada-U.S. human-smuggling scheme [will appear in U.S. court](. The Ford government is not considering Brampton’s request for an [alternative to Highway 413 passing through the city](. Travelling in Ontario this year? [Here’s how to claim your staycation tax credit](. Here’s a look inside a Toronto apartment tower where [the vaccines come to the tenants](. Inside the NHL: The Jordan Subban incident underscores [how far hockey has to go]( and the Leafs’ daunting playoff scenarios. NYC just gave non-citizens the power to vote. Max Stern argues [Ontario cities should be able to do the same](. ICYMI Canadian Border Service Agency [Are these two photos of the same person? Inside Canada’s controversy over asylum-seekers and “photo matching.”]( PREVIOUSLY... Don Dutton/The Star JANUARY 24, 1962: After competing for more than 61 hours in a Twistathon at a Yonge St. dance club, Marie Wall, 21, nodded off in the arms of partner Jerry Stein. Flo Gardiner and Jim Livingston won the contest, outlasting 17 other teams, with a time of 61 hours and 17 minutes (with 10-minute breaks each hour).  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_101485). I’ll see you back here tomorrow. 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