Today’s coronavirus news: Ontario now has more COVID patients in ICU than ever before, new report says; Outbreak declared in all University of Waterloo student residences after campus parties
The latest coronavirus news from Canada and around the world Wednesday. This file will be updated throughout the day. Web links to longer stories if available.
2:07 p.m. Toronto has asked Ontario to lower eligibility for people to vaccinated at Toronto COVID-19 vaccine clinics to people who will be 60 and over this year, down from 65. Mayor John Tory says Premier Ford seems agreeable to that, with details to come.
1:45 p.m. Ontario's premier Doug Ford says new public health measures might be announced Thursday.
Ford says residents shouldn't gather over the Easter weekend as the third wave of infections sends more people to Ontario hospitals.
1:40 p.m. Newfoundland and Labrador is reporting one new case of COVID-19 Wednesday.
Health officials say the case involves a woman in her 40s.
The province is also reporting two more recoveries, bringing the number of active reported infections to three.
Newfoundland and Labrador has reported a total of 1,019 COVID-19 cases.
1:15 p.m. (will be updated) People in COVID-19 hot spots, or all of Ontario, need to hunker down" for a really sustained period of a couple of weeks" to halt virus spread, says Toronto Mayor John Tory.
But Tory, in public comments Wednesday morning, stopped short of explicitly calling for a provincewide lockdown which could include retail and school closures.
On CP24, Tory was asked if any new lockdown should be provincewide. Residents get confused, he replied, by different regional rules for what can open and gathering limits.
Also, with a patchwork of zones and rules, people drive or even walk to neighbouring municipalities to take advantage of looser restrictions.
What we need is a really sustained period of a couple of weeks where everybody just says You know what, we are going to defeat this thing,'" Tory said, noting people want to be able in spring and summer we want to be happier."
Read the full story from the Star's David Rider
12:52 p.m. The 2021 flu season will go down in history as the epidemic that never was.
By this time of the year, Canada has normally logged an average of more than 43,000 confirmed cases of influenza.
But this year, the Public Health Agency of Canada says there was a total of just 66 confirmed cases as of March 20.
The federal agency says the case numbers are so low they haven't even met the threshold to declare the flu season as having begun.
There has been no evidence of flu spreading in the community, no confirmed outbreaks and the number of hospitalizations and deaths due to the flu is zero.
Canada's chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says the public health measures in place to slow the spread of COVID-19 have helped keep the flu at bay,
12:30 p.m. They beat the heat, battled horned beasts and survived an attack of the giant tomato plant. Now last year's indomitable pandemic gardeners are back for more, come rain or come shine.
I'm itching and waiting," said Lily Cheng, who as a first-timer last year turned her Willowdale front yard into a prolific veggie patch - and an all-you-can-eat buffet for pests.
I'm pretty squeamish about bugs but because of my love for my garden, I'd squish them with bare hands ... You're gonna die!' " she said of her declaration of war.
Her ultimate sweet taste of victory came from a homegrown haul of several types of vegetables, plus herbs and strawberries.
Read the full story from the Star's Carola Vyhnak
11:58 a.m.: Public health officials in Quebec City have ordered a gym to close after detecting 68 cases of COVID-19 allegedly linked to the facility.
Mathieu Boivin, a spokesman for the regional health authority in Quebec City, says officials inspected the Mega Fitness Gym Tuesday and concluded it wasn't taking proper steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
He says clients of the gym are linked to at least eight other workplace outbreaks.
Quebec is reporting 1,025 new cases of COVID-19 today and nine more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus, including three in the past 24 hours.
Health officials say hospitalizations dropped by two, to 485, and 120 people were in intensive care, a drop of six.
The province says 42,298 doses of vaccine were administered during the past 24 hours, for a total of 1,349,326.
11:45 a.m.: Public health has declared an outbreak of COVID-19 in all University of Waterloo campus residences.
On Monday, the university was notified of 10 new positive cases involving people who either live on campus or have visited, the university said on Tuesday.
The cases include variants of concern.
11:42 a.m.: Quebec is reporting 1,025 new cases of COVID-19 today and nine more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus.
Health officials say hospitalizations dropped by two, to 485, and 120 people were in intensive care, a drop of six.
The province says over 42,000 vaccine doses were administered in the past 24 hours, for a total of 1,349,326.
11:42 a.m.: Pfizer Canada says it will be asking Health Canada to amend the authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine to extend to children between 12 and 15 years old.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has already been approved for people as young as 16.
The initial clinical trials didn't include younger adolescents, but a follow-up trial in 2,260 kids 12 to 15 in the U.S. has been running since the fall.
The company released preliminary data from that trial Wednesday, saying none of the kids who got the vaccine developed a COVID-19 infection, compared to 18 infections among the kids who were given a placebo.
11:32 a.m.: Ontario Premier Doug Ford says his government will make an announcement tomorrow on possible new restrictions aimed at fighting the third wave of COVID-19.
He says residents need to take precautions against the virus and refrain from gathering over the Easter weekend.
Ford's comments come after a report shows there are now more COVID-19 patients in Ontario intensive care units than at any other point in the pandemic.
Critical Care Services Ontario counted 421 hospital patients with COVID-related critical illness as of midnight.
Ontario Hospital Association president Anthony Dale shared the report online, noting the new record.
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath says the government hasn't done enough to prevent people from getting severely ill.
Ontario reported 2,333 new cases of COVID-19 today and 15 more deaths linked to the virus.
10:16 a.m.: (updated) Ontario is reporting 2,333 COVID-19 cases Wednesday with 15 deaths.
The seven-day average is up 109 to 2,316 cases daily or 111 weekly per 100,000, and up to 14.7 deaths daily.
Labs report 52,532 completed tests, about average for a Wednesday, with 4.8% positivity rate which is the most since January 20.
Locally, there are 785 new cases in Toronto, 433 in Peel, 222 in York Region, 153 in Hamilton, 124 in Ottawa and 120 in Durham.
Read the full story from the Star's Breanna Xavier-Carter
10:14 a.m. A 27-year-old was fined for having a birthday party of over 25 people in Vaughan on Saturday.
York Regional Police said they responded to calls around 1:30 a.m. from neighbours complaining about loud noise and a large number of cars parked on the street.
When officers arrived at the house in the Weston Road South and Teston Road area, they found not a mask in sight'.
Read the full story from the Star's Breanna Xavier-Carter
9:12 a.m.: The number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care in Ontario hospitals passed the highest it's ever been since the pandemic began on Wednesday, according to a government agency tasked with tracking hospital data.
Critical Care Services Ontario (CCSO) says 421 patients are now in ICUs beds with COVID-related illness in the province, Anthony Dale, the head of the Ontario Hospital Association tweeted.
The previous high for ICU cases was 420 at the peak of Wave 2 in mid-January.
The CCSO does not publicly post its data, which is used by scientists in Ontario's pandemic modelling.
The province's own data, posted daily to Ontario's pandemic dashboard, has been criticized for excluding patients when they stop testing positive for the virus, even if they are still taking up an ICU bed.
In a report posted on Monday, the COVID-19 advisory table for Ontario says that new variants of concern cause a 56 per cent higher risk of intensive care.
Currently, the table estimates the new variants now account for 67 per cent of all Ontario COVID-19 infections.
8:55 a.m. York Region residents born in 1956 and earlier are now are eligible to book a vaccine.
Approximately 15,000 new vaccine appointments will be open starting at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday and available at seven venues across York Region.
The new vaccine appointments will be open at the following clinic locations:
- Aaniin Community Centre
- Canada's Wonderland
- Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital
- Maple Community Centre
- Georgina Ice Palace
- Ray Twinney Recreation Complex
- Richmond Green Sports Centre
The vaccination clinic at Cornell Community Centre located in Markham continues to book appointments for residents born in 1951 and earlier.
8:50 a.m. Halton residents aged 65 to 69 are the latest addition to the list of people eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine.
Starting Wednesday, local residents born in or before 1956 can book an appointment at one of Halton's vaccine clinics. Appointments are available in April and can be secured through Halton's online booking system at halton.ca/COVIDvaccines. Those who need assistance can call 311.
We are continuing to make good progress to vaccinate our most vulnerable populations through our community clinics and mobile teams," said regional chair Gary Carr. Our ability to keep vaccinating at this pace remains contingent on ongoing vaccine supply from the federal and provincial governments. While the vaccine program progresses, our incredible public health team is working tirelessly to quickly identify and manage COVID-19 cases to help keep our residents safe."
8:30 a.m. Toronto has administered more than half a million COVID-19 vaccine doses in the city to date. The city is the first health region in Ontario to administer more than 500,000 doses.
Residents born in 1951 and earlier are currently being vaccinated at five mass immunization clinics: Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Toronto Congress Centre, Scarborough Town Centre, Malvern Community Recreation Centre and Mitchell Field Arena.
On April 5, a city-operated clinic at The Hangar will open.
As of yesterday evening, approximately 74,703 people have booked COVID-19 vaccination appointments at a city-run clinic. Eligible seniors can book appointments through the dark blue Book a Vaccine" button on http://www.toronto.ca/covid-19 or by phone through the Provincial Vaccine Information Line at 1-888-999-6488.
8:25 a.m. Images of friends sitting spaced out on a backyard patio table, or chatting on opposite ends of a park bench are part of a new COVID-19 ad campaign from Britain's National Health Service.
The message? If you're going to socialize, take it outside.
As warm spring weather begins to envelop the Canadian provinces, experts here say it's time to embrace similar rhetoric.
While they stress that no gathering is without risk entirely when it comes to COVID-19, dangers of transmission decrease considerably in outdoor environments.
Nice weekend weather tends to precipitate the same type of posts on social media from people sharing photos - mostly of younger populations - seemingly crowding parks, beaches and boardwalks, with captions and comments lambasting them for doing so.
Dr. Kwadwo Kyeremanteng, a critical care and palliative physician in Ottawa, says online shaming is not only unhelpful, but dangerous.
"What's the repercussions for a 21-year-old that's being shamed for being outside with friends and abiding by public health recommendations?" he said. "I would way rather see that than them (gathering) inside to avoid being shamed and ridiculed."
Kyerementang says public health guidance could benefit from shifting to a "harm reduction" focus that promotes safe alternatives to risky behaviour. That, he says, would allow people to "still be human beings," and maintain social connections that can improve mental health.
After a year of varying pandemic restrictions and open-and-close lockdown periods, he says people are struggling to understand what's allowed and what isn't.
7:45 a.m. With COVID-19 infections surging, and younger adults filling up intensive care units, the Toronto area is almost certainly heading back into tight lockdown, predicts a member of Ontario's science advisory table.
I'd be shocked if we were not in lockdown shortly before or after this weekend," said Dr. Nathan Stall, a researcher and geriatrician at Mount Sinai Hospital.
There are many things in jeopardy - not just people's lives and health-care capacity. The school year is in jeopardy, businesses are in jeopardy if they're facing a prolonged lockdown. Everyone is going to suffer. Even the summer is in jeopardy now - day camps and overnight camps for kids."
Stall says the Ontario government has been too quick to lift restrictions after past lockdowns and the stay-at-home order imposed in January, quickly erasing gains and setting the stage for inevitable longer, harder closures when cases spike again.
Read the full story from the Star's David Rider
7:30 a.m. Premier Doug Ford is warning of another lockdown as the number of COVID-19 patients surges at the end of a month that has seen cases almost double, creating a third wave.
Folks, be prepared. Don't make plans for Easter," he said Tuesday as Ontario reported 2,336 new infections and hospitals reported their largest one-day influx of intensive-care patients of the pandemic, fuelled by more contagious variants that cause more serious illness.
I won't hesitate to lock things down if we have to," added Ford. Everything's on the table."
The premier's acknowledgment that he is extremely concerned" about case levels and the rising number of younger adults requiring hospital care comes less than two weeks after his government eased restrictions.
Read the full story from the Star's Rob Ferguson
7:23 a.m. The federal and Ontario governments on Wednesday are expected to announce significant funding to help boost Canada's future vaccine manufacturing capacity, the Star has learned.
Sanofi S.A., a multinational French pharmaceutical company with a manufacturing location in North York, will receive funding from both levels of government towards a nearly $1-billion production and distribution facility that will substantially boost its current vaccine production capacity, a source close to the matter told the Star.
The funding will help Sanofi build a new facility that will expand its influenza vaccine production capacity, while giving it the tools to fill-and-finish other vaccines on a mass scale.
Read the full story from the Star's Nadine Yousif
7:06 a.m.: The cost of travel will slowly rebound from historic lows as more people receive COVID-19 vaccinations and book long-deferred trips, according to industry experts.
This time last year, air traffic in the U.S. plummeted, with 95 per cent fewer travellers passing through Transportation Security Administration checkpoints in April 2020 compared with April 2019. This reduced demand led to a corresponding decrease in airfare prices.
The average cost of a domestic round-trip ticket in the second quarter of 2020 dropped 28 per cent from the same period in 2019, down to $259, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Few travellers were monitoring these prices at the time since so few were booking flights. But now, with COVID-19 vaccinations opening the possibility of travel to millions more Americans each week , prices are once again set to change.
If you're one of those would-be travellers, experts cautiously advise booking your travel soon. Much remains uncertain, but prices are unlikely to return to 2020 levels.
6:58 a.m.: Pfizer announced Wednesday that its COVID-19 vaccine is safe and strongly protective in kids as young as 12, a step toward possibly beginning shots in this age group before they head back to school in the fall.
Most COVID-19 vaccines being rolled out worldwide are for adults, who are at higher risk from the coronavirus. Pfizer's vaccine is authorized for ages 16 and older. But vaccinating children of all ages will be critical to stopping the pandemic - and helping schools, at least the upper grades, start to look a little more normal after months of disruption.
In a study of 2,260 U.S. volunteers ages 12 to 15, preliminary data showed there were no cases of COVID-19 among fully vaccinated adolescents compared to 18 among those given dummy shots, Pfizer reported.
It's a small study, that hasn't yet been published, so another important piece of evidence is how well the shots revved up the kids' immune systems. Researchers reported high levels of virus-fighting antibodies, somewhat higher than were seen in studies of young adults.
Kids had side effects similar to young adults, the company said. The main side effects are pain, fever, chills and fatigue, particularly after the second dose. The study will continue to track participants for two years for more information about long-term protection and safety.
6:57 a.m.: More than two dozen Hungarian media outlets on Wednesday sent an open letter to the government demanding greater transparency and access to hospitals for journalists covering the COVID-19 pandemic.
Only Hungary's state media have been allowed inside COVID wards, and journalists have complained that a government order prohibiting medical staff from speaking to reporters has made it impossible to report on worsening conditions inside hospitals, creating a false picture of the situation's severity.
Doctors and nurses are not permitted to speak publicly while members of the press are not allowed into hospitals, so we are unable to report on what happens there," the letter reads.
The outlets - 28 in all - demanded that journalists be granted access to report on conditions in COVID-19 wards, and that medical staff, who are prohibited by ministerial decree from speaking to the media, be permitted to give interviews.
Since people are cut off from this information ... many are still downplaying the dangers of the pandemic, and are not observing protective measures which is leading to more illness and thus an exacerbation of the pandemic," the letter reads.
6:16 a.m.: Belgium has an extra unexpected hurdle to overcome in its fight against the coronavirus: a bout of gorgeous weather.
Temperatures in Belgium have never been so high so early in the year - reaching 24.5 degrees Celsius (76 Fahrenheit) - and the warm weather is bringing thousands of people to coastal beaches and parks amid a worrying surge of COVID-19 cases.
The good weather was expected to continue until Friday and the start of the Easter weekend. Good news for the 11.5 million Belgians craving sun after a gloomy winter, but a real worry for the government struggling to deal with a third wave of infections.
In response to the number of passengers on its trains, Belgium's national rail company, SNCB, was forced to activate a stop-and-go" system to prevent travellers from boarding in several train stations packed to the rafters on Tuesday.
Under the COVID-19 restrictions imposed in Belgium, residents are banned from travelling abroad but can move freely across the country. Many did not resist the appeal of a grand day out to the North Sea beaches, especially after the government decided last week to shut down schools for an extra week before the Easter school break in a bid to slow infections.
That move could ultimately backfire.
It's too crowded. And you don't have to be a great scientist to predict that. The weather is good, and the Belgian (train pass) with free rides is still valid until the end of the month. It was bound to go wrong," Western Flanders Governor Carl Decaluwe told Het Niewsblad newspaper. I'm holding my breath for the Easter holidays."
Both Decaluwe and the SNCB are now advising against trips to the coast, but the situation in big cities is also a source of worry. In Brussels, for instance, residents late Tuesday gathered en masse in one of the city's largest parks to enjoy al fresco drinks and outdoor games. Despite restrictions limiting outside gatherings to four people, large groups were spotted sitting on the grass.
Although mandatory mask-wearing outdoors is in force, many did not bother with the rule.
5:50 a.m.: Millions of additional doses of COVID-19 vaccine are expected to arrive from three different suppliers before Canada Day as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asked people to stay strong, a little longer."
We're entering the final stretch of this crisis," Trudeau said at a news conference on Tuesday in Ottawa.
Trudeau said Pfizer and BioNTech will send another five million doses of their vaccine to Canada in June, bringing total shipments from the company in the spring to 17.8 million. Pfizer is expected to ship more than one million doses a week in April and May, and more than two million every week in June.
Procurement Minister Anita Anand said Canada now expects 4.4 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine by June 30, and the first shipments of Johnson & Johnson's single-dose vaccine are set to arrive at the end of April. She doesn't know yet how many doses will be in that first shipment.
Even without J&J, and barring any unexpected interruptions in production or export of vaccines, Canada is in line to get more than 44 million doses before Canada Day.
That should mean all adults over 18 will be offered a vaccine faster, and that the wait for a second dose may not be as long as the current four months.
5:49 a.m.: It's hard for Prentice Scott to choose a highlight from a day spent vaccinating seniors against COVID-19 in the lobby of their Windsor, Ont., apartment building.
Everybody that comes into that room that sits down at my table to get the vaccination is extremely pleased," the community paramedic said in a recent interview.
Scott's team with Essex-Windsor EMS is one of several across Ontario bringing vaccinations to homebound seniors who can't get to immunization clinics.
The program in Windsor started earlier this month, bringing pop-up clinics to apartment buildings with a high number of eligible seniors. A similar project is underway in Sudbury, Ont., while paramedics and other care providers in Toronto are also taking vaccines to homebound seniors.
Scott said the job has brought hope to the paramedics and as well as their patients.
It feels good trying to lick this virus, to get rid of it," he said. I think what we're doing right now, getting to the nitty gritty, the corners where people can't get the vaccination is, is paramount."
Programs like the one offered by Scott's team and other paramedics offer a solution to the growing vaccination gap among the oldest Ontarians.
5:48 a.m.: As warm spring weather begins to envelop the Canadian provinces, experts here say it's time to embrace similar rhetoric about moving outdoors.
While they stress that no gathering is without risk entirely when it comes to COVID-19, dangers of transmission decrease considerably in outdoor environments.
Nice weekend weather tends to precipitate the same type of posts on social media from people sharing photos - mostly of younger populations - seemingly crowding parks, beaches and boardwalks, with captions and comments lambasting them for doing so.
Dr. Kwadwo Kyeremanteng, a critical care and palliative physician in Ottawa, says online shaming is not only unhelpful, but dangerous.
What's the repercussions for a 21-year-old that's being shamed for being outside with friends and abiding by public health recommendations?" he said. I would way rather see that than them (gathering) inside to avoid being shamed and ridiculed."
Kyerementang says public health guidance could benefit from shifting to a harm reduction" focus that promotes safe alternatives to risky behaviour. That, he says, would allow people to still be human beings," and maintain social connections that can improve mental health.
5:45 a.m.: French President Emmanuel Macron scheduled a televised address to the nation for Wednesday night, a possible harbinger of tighter restrictions to combat surging coronavirus hospitalizations.
Previous nationwide lockdowns in March and October of 2020 were announced by Macron in televised speeches. His office said Wednesday that Macron will address the nation at 8 p.m. (1800 GMT), without saying what he will announce.
Ahead of his weekly coronavirus strategy meeting Wednesday with ministers and aides, Macron was under intensifying pressure to close schools and further restrict people's movements to ease growing pressure on hospitals.
The total number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care in France surged past 5,000 on Tuesday, the first time in 11 months that the figure has been that high
Short of a full lockdown, Macron is running out of alternatives to make a major dent in the renewed surge of infections that has led to growing questions about his government's virus strategies. With presidential elections scheduled for 2022, Macron is having to weigh both political and health considerations.
5:44 a.m.: Official figures show that the British economy ended 2020 on a stronger footing than previously thought but that it suffered a bigger than anticipated fall in output in the immediate aftermath of the first coronavirus lockdown.
In its latest revisions for 2020 data, the Office for National Statistics said Wednesday that the British economy contracted by 19.5 per cent during the second quarter, the first full quarter of lockdown. That was worse that the 19 per cent initial estimate. However, it said, the economy rebounded by 16.9 per cent and 1.3 per cent in the third and fourth quarters, better than the previous estimates of 16.1 per cent and 1 per cent.
Overall, the agency said, the British economy ended 2020 9.8 per cent smaller, slightly better than the previous estimate of 9.9 per cent. Despite the modest revision, the contraction last year was the deepest in over 300 years.
Wednesday 5:42 a.m.: At least nine people have tested positive for COVID-19 in a Chinese city on the border with Myanmar, health officials said Wednesday.
Five are Chinese citizens are four are Myanmar nationals, the Yunnan Province Health Commission said in a report posted online.
The city of Ruili, with a population of about 210,000 people, said all residents would be tested for COVID-19 and would have to home quarantine for one week. The residential compound where the infections were found has been locked down.