More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
A new report estimates that 1,437 Canadians lost vision due to delayed eye examinations and treatments caused by lockdowns in 2020.
The report, compiled by the Canadian Council of the Blind (CCB), estimates the impact of COVID-19 on vision loss across Canada. Nearly all optometrists’ offices were closed during the first few months of the initial pandemic lockdown, from March to June 2020. Furthermore, most offices continued to restrict capacity throughout 2020.
As a result, there were nearly three million fewer optometry visits in 2020, compared to 2019, the report said. There were also 335,000 fewer eye surgeries performed across Canada between March and June of 2020, representing a 47 per cent decrease from the previous year.
“All Canadians living with eye diseases were impacted by COVID-19,” the CCB said in a statement.
“Some had their diagnosis delayed, potentially missing or delaying an opportunity to receive treatment to stabilize the disease. Others were delayed in receiving counseling and support to assist in dealing with the mental, physical and social effects of vision loss.”
PUTTING A COST ON VISION LOSS
Even as optometry offices reopened across Canada, the report estimates it will take two years to clear the additional backlog of cataract surgeries caused by the pandemic. The cost to clear this backlog is estimated at $129 million per year.
The report also estimates that the increase in surgery wait times will result in a $1.3-billion increase in the cost of vision health over the next two and a half years. Roughly $1.1 billion of this cost stems from a loss of well-being, the report said.
These latest findings were added to a report conducted by the CCB and accounting firm Deloitte in 2020.
The new report comes amid stalled negotiations between Ontario optometrists and the provincial government over the payments for OHIP-covered eye exams. As a result of the job action, millions of Ontarians have been unable to book eye exams since early September.
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States, injuring at least three people.
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.