Today’s coronavirus news: Ford expected to announce new measures Monday as Hamilton enters lockdown; U.K. holds crisis talks over new COVID-19 strain
The latest coronavirus news from Canada and around the world Monday. This file will be updated throughout the day. Web links to longer stories if available.
9:15 a.m. Rookie cabinet minister Anita Anand fumed as the Conservative leader of the Opposition accused the Liberal government throughout the fall of signing bad deals that put Canada at the back of the line" for COVID-19 vaccines.
From late October onward, Erin O'Toole had shifted from attacks over rapid tests to hammering what he said was a failure to ensure timely delivery of vaccines to Canadians.
No vaccines had yet been approved anywhere in the world.
But behind the scenes, Anand knew there was no way Canada would be last, even though the prime minister admitted Canada's own lack of domestic production might mean a wait.
Read the full story from the Star's Tonda MacCharles
9 a.m. As the pandemic continues to kill elderly long-term care residents, the virus is harming another vulnerable but overlooked group inside the same homes.
Thousands of people with developmental delays or serious mental health conditions live in Ontario nursing homes, many arriving under the age of 65 because there was nowhere else to go.
As of Nov. 30, 382 of the estimated 3,500 younger residents were infected with COVID-19, said the Ministry of Long-Term Care.
Forty-one died, the ministry said. Thirty of those who succumbed to the virus had a mental health condition such as bipolar disorder or schizophrenia and 11 had a developmental delay, such as Down syndrome.
Read the full story from the Star's Moira Welsh
8:45 a.m. In a year when the fear of spreading COVID-19 has put large indoor gatherings on ice, there is still a way to look forward to the holiday season - by looking back and going out.
Many contemporary Christmas traditions were adapted from ancient solstice celebrations that infused the darkest moment of the year with light and hope. Celebrations were linked to seasonal cycles, and many rituals began outdoors or incorporated outdoor elements as signs of life and light.
Bringing things like holly, laurel, ivy and pine branches into your house over winter brightened the place up a bit," says James Cooper, founder of the British website whychristmas.com.
The first carols were sung by pagans dancing around stone circles, and the prototype Christmas light was likely a candle in a solstice ceremony. Even the Nativity was improvised outdoors.
Read the full story from Emily Waugh
8:35 a.m. Being awesome with your money is 90 per cent psychological (mindset). The other 10 per cent is having the right skills, which doesn't mean being good at math (phew!).
And, the good news is that anyone can work on their money mindset even if they don't have any money. All you need to get started is to know how to act like a financially secure person and the desire to change the relationship you have with your money.
These are the six mindset characteristics financially secure people have.
8:10 a.m. Given that 2020 threw us a few curveballs, you might expect the folks who predict future trends to take a pass this year. Or at least hedge their bets.
But no, the lists are out and, this year, they are bold. According to experts, after a year of being hyperaware of health and well-being (thanks to COVID), next year's food and nutritional trends will be firmly rooted in wellness culture. In fact, a lot of lists sound less like trend pieces and more like New Year's resolutions: eat more plants, drink less alcohol and be super-mindful of everything we put in our body.
In reality, the big food and drink stories for 2021 are probably more likely to involve lineups for whatever new fried chicken breakfast sensation is released, hard soda's embrace of orange crush and root beer flavours, a new wine release from Arby's and the triumphant return of bacon-wrapped, refried doughnut hot dogs at the Ex. (In all sincerity, we do hope the CNE returns in 2021.)
Even though we have our doubts about everyone embracing clean living this year, we decided to try a few of the most frequently cited forthcoming food trends, to see if they were even worth paying attention to.
Read the full story from the Star's Christine Sismondo
8 a.m. The European Medicines Agency was meeting Monday to consider approving a coronavirus vaccine developed by BioNTech and Pfizer that would be the first to be authorized for use in the European Union.
The closed-doors meeting that began Monday morning came weeks after the shot was granted permission under emergency provisions by regulators in Britain and the United States.
If EMA scientists conclude that the vaccine is safe, officials at the Amsterdam-based agency are expected to give conditional approval for it to be used across the 27-nation bloc. The European Commission must rubber-stamp the decision before the vaccine can be rolled out, a process German officials say could begin Dec. 27.
The European regulator came under heavy pressure last week from countries calling for the vaccine to be granted approval for use as quickly as possible. EMA had originally set Dec. 29 as the date for its evaluation of the vaccine made by Germany-based BioNTech, but moved the meeting forward after calls from Berlin and others to move quicker.
The vaccine has already been given some form of regulatory OK in at least 15 countries.
Britain, Canada and the U.S. authorized the vaccine to be used according to emergency provisions, meaning the shot is an unlicensed product whose temporary use is justified by the pandemic that has killed almost 1.7 million people worldwide to date, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
7:40 a.m. It was the kind of scene that's become distressingly common at Toronto General Hospital's emergency department. A young woman in the grips of a mental health crisis was screaming in her bed, bucking her legs as she fought her restraints. A row of cops and security guards stood watch, trying to keep things calm.
It wasn't working. But then, two women appeared in the patient's field of vision, waving from behind the daunting wall of uniformed officers. They entered her room, one placing a gentle hand on her foot.
Hello. My name is Mia and I'm peer support," she said. I see you."
Mia Benight and the patient talked for over an hour. By the end of their encounter, the restraints were removed, the ER had quieted, and the patient finally let a nurse and doctor enter. She was transferred to the mental health unit without requiring medication - a first for this ER regular, Benight later learned.
This small but impactful moment, which occurred in the fall, is part of a bigger shift underway, not just in the ER but across University Health Network.
For three months this year, Benight was an emergency room peer worker" in a pilot program funded by a $5-million donation to UHN's social medicine program, which is relaunching this week as the Gattuso Centre for Social Medicine Innovation.
Read the full story from the Star's Jennifer Yang
7:30 a.m. Aimee Geroux never met a bruised apple or blemished cauliflower she couldn't use.
It's still good once you cut the bad part off," says the Richmond Hill food frugalista, who employs several tools to pare $600 to $800 a month off her family of five's grocery bills.
In addition to buying marked-down produce and meat, Geroux battles rising food prices with meal-planning, price-matching and flyer-watching - and not buying more than we actually need."
Those are strategies other households might want to adopt, with food prices predicted to increase as much as 6.5 per cent in 2021.
Read the full story from Carola Vyhnak
7:20 a.m. Canadian Thomas O'Shaughnessy is on the golf course, under a sunny sky with the beautiful blue sea only steps away.
The self-employed fund manager worked for three days solid in his suite at a Fairmont hotel, with a view of the harbour, so he could free up the morning.
It's the kind of life that most of us can only imagine living in a pre, or post-COVID world.
O'Shaughnessy says he found a safe haven in Bermuda, where the government has implemented a strict regime of testing and isolation in order to open up its economy to tourists and temporary residents who apply to the Work From Bermuda program, which allows people to work remotely from the island for up to a year.
A sort of digital nomad who can work from anywhere, O'Shaughnessy felt unsafe in the Central American country where he had been living with his wife during the pandemic after infections neared one in 10, and so he went looking for another place to live.
Read the full story from the Star's Patty Winsa
7:11 a.m. As the pandemic continues to kill elderly long-term care residents, the virus is harming another vulnerable but overlooked group inside the same homes.
Thousands of people with developmental delays or serious mental health conditions live in Ontario nursing homes, many arriving under the age of 65 because there was nowhere else to go.
As of Nov. 30, 382 of the estimated 3,500 younger residents were infected with COVID-19, said the Ministry of Long-Term Care.
Forty-one died, the ministry said. Thirty of those who succumbed to the virus had a mental health condition such as bipolar disorder or schizophrenia and 11 had a developmental delay, such as Down syndrome.
It's no secret that deep flaws in the nursing home system enabled COVID's surge, killing more than 2,300 fragile Ontario seniors.
Read the full story from the Star's Moira Welsh
6:01 a.m.: The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control says timely efforts" to prevent and control the spread of cases of COVID-19 involving the new coronavirus variant observed in Britain are needed, but infections have already been reported in at least three other countries in Europe.
The Stockholm-based agency said in a threat assessment" Monday that while preliminary analysis in the U.K. suggests the new variant is significantly more transmissible" there is no indication that infections are more severe.
ECDC said a few cases with the new variant have been reported already by Iceland, Denmark and the Netherlands. It also cited media reports of cases in Belgium and Italy.
The EU agency urged health authorities and labs to monitor for the new variant's spread and alert other EU countries about new cases. It said studies are ongoing to assess what impact the new variant has on the risk of reinfections or the efficacy of vaccines.
5:57 a.m.: Thailand's total number of confirmed coronavirus cases surged past 5,000 on Monday as hundreds of migrant workers tested positive, posing a major challenge for the authorities.
Thailand has been one of several Southeast Asian countries that were faring relatively unscathed by the pandemic. But on Saturday, health officials reported a daily record of 548 new cases, almost all of them among migrant workers in the seafood industry in Samut Sakhon province, 34 kilometres (21 miles) southwest of Bangkok.
Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said his government would wait to see how the situation looked in a week's time before deciding on any special restrictions for New Year's celebrations. The new cases in Samut Sakhon, most not exhibiting symptoms, were found by mass testing after a 67-year-old shrimp vendor at a seafood market tested positive for the virus.
The Klang Koong seafood market - one of the country's largest - and its associated housing were sealed off by razor wire and police guards. The province has also imposed a night curfew and other travel restrictions until Jan. 3. Many public places, including shopping malls, schools, cinemas, spas and sports stadiums, have been ordered closed.
5:56 a.m.: An Australian state government leader has apologized for a bungled hotel quarantine program that led to most of the nation's COVID-19 deaths.
A retired judge who investigated Victoria state's quarantine program for returned travellers criticized the use of private security guards to enforce isolation in Melbourne hotels in May and June.
After the investigative report was released Monday, Victoria Premier Dan Andrews explained the quarantine system had been implemented quickly and without a pandemic rule book.
I want to apologize to the Victorian community for the very clear errors that were made in this program," Andrews said.
The lax infection controls at two Melbourne quarantine hotels set off a wave of infections in Australia's second-largest city while the rest of the country had been largely virus-free.
Of Australia's 908 deaths from COVID-19, 820 died in Victoria.
5:55 a.m.: Gatherings of more than five people will be banned in South Korea's capital region as an elevated step to suppress what authorities call an explosive" surge in coronavirus infections.
The Seoul region is home to half of South Korea's 51 million people and has been at the centre of a recent viral resurgence. The country averaged about 960 new virus cases each day in the past week, more than 70% of them in the Seoul metropolitan area.
Acting Seoul mayor Seo Jung-hyup said Monday the ban will apply to any type of meetings including year-end parties, office dinners, birthday parties and picnics. Only weddings and funerals can follow the current rule of not more than 50 people.
He says the new restrictions will take effect from Wednesday and last until Jan. 3 in Seoul, Gyeonggi province that surrounds Seoul and Incheon city, just west of Seoul.
Seo says he knows the ban is harsh" but stresses the current viral spread cannot be slowed without preventing transmissions among relatives and company colleagues. He says Seoul could face a lockdown if the current explosive" surge isn't contained.
Earlier Monday, South Korea has reported 24 more virus-related deaths in the country's highest daily fatalities since the pandemic began. The government added a total of 926 new cases, taking the country's total to 50,591 including 698 deaths.
5:55 a.m.: Egypt has reported another record number of new coronavirus cases, adding 664 infections.
The Health Minister also said Monday that there were 29 new fatalities.
Egypt, the Arab world's most populous country with more than 100 million people, has reported at least 125,555 cases overall, including 7,098 deaths.
The spike in new cases comes amid repeated warnings by the government about a second wave of the virus. Authorities have been urging people to adhere to preventive measures, especially by wearing face masks and practicing social distancing.
5:54 a.m.: Russia has reported 29,350 new coronavirus cases, the country's biggest daily surge.
Russia's total of over 2.8 million confirmed cases remains the fourth largest in the world. The state coronavirus task force has also reported over 51,000 deaths.
Russia has been swept by a resurgence of the virus this fall, with numbers of cases and deaths significantly exceeding those reported in the spring. Nevertheless, Russian authorities have rejected the idea of another nationwide lockdown or widespread closure of businesses.
Earlier this month, mass vaccinations started in Russia with Sputnik V - a domestically developed coronavirus vaccine that is still undergoing advanced studies among tens of thousands of people needed to ensure its safety and effectiveness.
Russia has been widely criticized for giving Sputnik V regulatory approval in August after it had only been tested on a few dozen people. Despite expert warnings against its wider use until late-stage trials are completed, the authorities started offering it to medical workers within weeks after approval.
5:51 a.m.: South Africa has announced that a new variant of the COVID-19 virus is driving the country's current resurgence of the disease, which is seeing higher numbers of confirmed cases, hospitalizations and deaths.
The new variant, known as 501.V2, is dominant among new confirmed infections in South Africa, according to health officials and scientists leading the country's virus strategy.
It is still very early but at this stage, the preliminary data suggests the virus that is now dominating in the second wave is spreading faster than the first wave," Professor Salim Abdool Karim, chairman of the government's Ministerial Advisory Committee, said in a briefing to journalists.
South Africa may see many more cases" in the new wave than it experienced in the first surge of the disease, said Abdool Karim.
5:50 a.m.: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is to chair a meeting of the government's emergency committee later Monday after France closed its borders to the U.K. to stem the spread of a new strain of the coronavirus circulating in London and the southeast of England.
The meeting of the COBRA civil contingencies committee comes amid warnings of significant disruption" around the ports in the English Channel, with tailbacks going back miles into Kent, a county in southeastern England.
The transport of freight brought in by lorries is facing massive disruptions after France closed its borders for 48 hours, which means lorries cannot get across the English Channel by boat. Goods arriving on containers are unaffected.
The government has urged everyone to avoid travelling to Kent, which hosts many of the cross-Channel ports. Dover notably sees around 10,000 lorries pass through every day. Eurotunnel, the rail service that links Britain with mainland Europe, has also suspended services.
Canada and Poland are among the latest countries to halt flights from the U.K., following the lead of many in Europe. France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Austria, Denmark, Ireland, and Bulgaria were among those who on Sunday announced widespread restrictions on flights from the U.K.
5:48 a.m.: Two southern Alberta churches and three individuals are to be in a Calgary court today to argue that the province's COVID-19 restrictions cancel Christmas" and infringe on constitutional rights.
They will be seeking an injunction to temporarily stay select public-health rules brought in by the Alberta government earlier this month.
The measures limit Christmas celebrations to individual households, restrict weddings and funerals to 10 people and prohibit outdoor gatherings.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney announced the stricter rules to try to bring down stubbornly high COVID-19 cases and to ease pressure on hospitals.
James Kitchen, a lawyer for the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, says the restrictions violate the charter of rights and were imposed without consultation or review.
Kitchen says Alberta's chief medical officer of health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, has taken away people's right to choose how they want to spend the holidays.
(Hinshaw) has ridden roughshod over the rights and freedoms of Albertans, even going so far as attempting to cancel Christmas and outlaw all forms of peaceful protest," Kitchen said in a statement.
5:47 a.m.: Premier Doug Ford is set to announce new public health measures this afternoon, as another region of Ontario heads into lockdown in a bid to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Media reports, including from the Star, suggest he will send the entire province into lockdown, starting at 12:01 a.m. on Christmas Eve.
The 1 p.m. news conference comes on the first day of Hamilton's lockdown.
The region is the fifth in the province to enter the grey" zone of the colour-coded, tiered pandemic response plan.
It joins Toronto and Peel, where lockdowns were just renewed, and York and Windsor-Essex.
In lockdown zones, restaurants can offer only takeout and delivery service, and only essential retailers can remain open.
Sunday 10:30 p.m.: Ontario will enter a province-wide lockdown on Christmas Eve as more than 2,300 new COVID-19 cases were reported across Ontario on Sunday and the provincial government faced increasing pressure from hospitals to implement stricter restrictions.
The timing of the looming shutdown was first reported by Global News, and confirmed to the Star by a government source.
While specific details were not immediately available, elementary and high school students will likely learn online from home following the holiday break - one week for younger students and three weeks for teens - though not in all regions of the province, education sources said.
Read the full story here: Ontario to enter province-wide lockdown on Christmas Eve, government sources say