COVID hospitalizations nearing or reaching record highs in several

COVID-19 cases are threatening to overwhelm hospitals in several parts of Canada, with hospitalizations nearing or reaching record highs in Quebec, Ontario, and New Brunswick.

Former CEO of the University Health Network and Ontario deputy health minister Dr. Bob Bell says every Western country dealing with COVID's fast spreading Omicron variant has a stressed hospital system right now.

But he says Canada will pursue lockdowns and restrictions sooner than places such as the United States because Canada has a lower tolerance for deaths from the virus.

Meanwhile, students in British Columbia and Alberta are back in their classrooms this morning after an extended winter break.

Many provinces imposed a weeklong delay in the return to in-person schooling as the Omicron variant spread rapidly across the country.

But officials in the two westernmost provinces have argued that virtual learning presents its own risks to kids, saying it jeopardizes their mental health.