Today’s coronavirus news: Vaccine advisers set to provide guidance on mixing AstraZeneca, mRNA vaccines; Ontario reporting 699 new COVID-19 cases and 9 deaths
The latest coronavirus news from Canada and around the world Tuesday. This file will be updated throughout the day. Web links to longer stories if available.
12 p.m. Quebec is reporting 208 new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday and five more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus, including one within the past 24 hours.
Health officials say hospitalizations dropped by eight, to 354, and 86 people were in intensive care, a drop of three.
The province says it administered 65,917 doses of vaccine since its last report, for a total of 5,648,992; about 61.3 per cent of Quebecers have received at least one dose.
Quebec says it will begin vaccinating temporary foreign workers when they arrive at the Montreal airport.
11 a.m. The first weekend of Montreal's reopening was marked by a dozen violent incidents in the streets of the metropolis, many of which could be the work of criminal organizations. Police and residents are worried by the situation.
"This first weekend of reopening is worrying," David Shane, Montreal police (SPVM) inspector, said on Monday, after an exchange of gunfire in Old Montreal led to the deployment of the Groupe tactique d'intervention (GTI), the police force's emergency response team. In addition to the violent incidents that occurred, the inspector spoke of outdoor gatherings during which public health measures were not respected.
According to the police, "most" violent altercations are "linked to criminal groups."
"We don't believe that these are festive citizens who came out of confinement and started firing shots," Shane said.
He added that during lockdown, an "atypical increase" in incidents involving violence, such as gunfire, occurred in north and east Montreal, while the city centre was quiet. This is where the rival groups intersect, and it escalates," he said.
But with the gradual reopening, Shane added that these types of events "are likely to shift locations."
The weekend of violence began with a gunshot fired into the air in the Village on Friday morning. In the evening, a young man was shot dead in Montreal North. Several other exchanges of gunfire took place elsewhere in town. On Saturday and Sunday, two exchanges of gunfire caused a stir in Old Montreal.
Among a dozen reported incidents, police made arrests in "at least" five of them.
10:22 a.m. Premier Doug Ford is leaning strongly against reopening schools, the Star has learned.
While sources close to the premier said Ford wanted children back in classrooms for the first time since mid-April, public health officials have warned him that can only occur if the broader opening of the economy is delayed.
It can't happen unfortunately. The risks are too great," a senior Progressive Conservative official, speaking confidentially in order to discuss internal deliberations, said Tuesday morning.
On Monday night, the cabinet's policy and priorities committee recommended keeping students learning online from home because the school year ends in a few weeks.
Read the full story from the Star's Robert Benzie and Kristin Rushowy
10 a.m.: (updated) Ontario is reporting another 699 COVID-19 cases and nine more deaths, according to its latest report released Monday morning.
Ontario has administered 120,195 vaccine doses since its last daily update, with 9,202,220 vaccines given in total as of 8 p.m. the previous night.
According to the Star's vaccine tracker, 8,462,498 people in Ontario have received at least one shot. That works out to approximately 57.4 per cent of the total population and the equivalent of 71.1 per cent of the adult population.
The province says 739,722 people have completed their vaccinations, which means they've had both doses. That works out to approximately 5.0 per cent of the total population and the equivalent of 6.2 per cent of the adult population.
The number of people vaccinated in Ontario includes a relatively small number of 12-17 year olds.
Read the full story from the Star's Rhythm Sachdeva
9:06 a.m. (updated) The National Advisory Committee on Immunization is set to issue guidance today allowing for people who received the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine as their first dose to get an mRNA vaccine for their second.
A study in the United Kingdom reported last month that mixing AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech as first and second doses led to more reports of short-lived side-effects like fevers and fatigue but was otherwise safe.
The Spanish study concluded a second dose of Pfizer after a first dose of AstraZeneca produced more than twice the antibodies as a second dose of AstraZeneca.
All provinces paused the use of AstraZeneca for first doses in May as reports of vaccine-induced blood clots rose, but are anxiously waiting for the NACI advice on what to do with second doses.
Manitoba didn't wait for the advice, with health officials in that province announcing Monday they would start offering Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna as a second dose to AstraZeneca recipients.
There are 41 confirmed or suspected cases of vaccine-induced blood clots following an AstraZeneca vaccination in Canada, including five deaths.
Almost 2.2 million Canadians received the vaccine for their first dose, out of 21.8 million people now vaccinated with at least one dose.
9:03 a.m. There are 584 patients with COVID-19 related critical illness in adult and paediatric ICUs as of June 1; 14 new admissions.
8:20 a.m. With Ontario's stay-at-home order expiring Wednesday, Premier Doug Ford is under increasing pressure to open more businesses sooner after allowing 550 fully vaccinated health care workers into Monday's Leafs-Canadiens NHL playoff showdown.
But Health Minister Christine Elliott said mid-June remains the target date for easing COVID-19 restrictions and promised more details on what to expect when the stay-at-home edict lifts after six weeks in place.
We are looking at June 14 as the day in which we can hopefully move into stage one," she told reporters after the province reversed course on letting fans into the final game of the playoff series at Scotiabank Arena.
Read the full story from the Star's Rob Ferguson
8:10 a.m. The Scotland team reported its first player testing positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday at a training camp in Spain ahead of the European Championship.
The national federation said midfielder John Fleck is self-isolating and will not travel to Portugal for a warm-up game Wednesday against the Netherlands.
The rest of the squad was retested for COVID-19 and returned negative results," the federation said.
UEFA allowed the 24 national teams at Euro 2020 to have three extra players in a 26-man squad to help cover for COVID-19 cases and mandatory isolation or quarantine.
Fleck, who plays for Sheffield United, was unlikely to be in the starting lineup when Scotland opens on June 14 against the Czech Republic in Glasgow.
Scotland is preparing for its first finals tournament since the 1998 World Cup and will have two home games at Hampden Park against the Czechs and Croatia. The Scots' other Group D game is against rival England at Wembley Stadium.
Rules to control the pandemic in Scotland saw the Czech and Croatian federations cancel their training bases on Monday in Edinburgh and St. Andrews, respectively.
Both teams will now train in their home countries and fly to Britain for games.
Euro 2020 kicks off June 11 when Italy hosts Turkey in Rome.
8 a.m. With Ontario planning to ease some COVID-19 restrictions soon, enforcement and hefty fines of pandemic rules continues in Mississauga.
A City of Mississauga enforcement report showed 15 $880 tickets were issued for COVID-19 rule violations between May 24 and 30.
A car meet on Sunday, May 30 was a biggest single ticket event shown in the report, with nine $880 tickets issued for alleged COVID-19 violations as well as a penalty related to motor vehicle noise.
Four other gatherings allegedly violated COVID-19 rules and resulted in five additional $880 tickets issued.
7:50 a.m. The federal government can help find the source of the COVID-19 outbreak in China by reviewing its intelligence data and joining nations already putting pressure on Beijing to reveal the cause of the pandemic, says Canada's former ambassador to Beijing.
But whether those moves, and a renewed effort by the U.S. that was backed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last week, would help clarify where the coronavirus came from, remains an open question, Guy Saint-Jacques said.
We are not a big player, but we have some means," Saint-Jacques told the Star during an interview on Monday. When you are a member of the Five Eyes (an intelligence alliance between Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the UK and the U.S.), you are a receiver of information, but also a contributor of information and so I'm pretty sure that we have some information."
The World Health Organization (WHO) has faced international calls recently to further investigate the origins of the virus in China. Chinese experts and the WHO released a report in March that concluded a theory the virus was released in a lab accident was extremely unlikely" and that the virus most likely jumped from bats to humans.
Read the full story from the Star's Kieran Leavitt
7:40 a.m. Staff at long-term-care homes across Ontario will have to either prove they've had a COVID vaccine, or attend an educational session about the risks of opting out, if they don't have a medically documented reason for declining the shot, the province announced Monday.
It will also be mandatory for homes to have an immunization policy, and track and report on its implementation, including staff vaccination rates. The policies must be in place by July 1.
I see this as more of a stick rather than a carrot," said Dr. Nathan Stall, a geriatrician at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto.
Read the full story from the Star's May Warren
7:25 a.m. Ordinarily, the patio at Amsterdam BrewHouse would be jammed with thirsty hockey fans watching the NHL playoffs at this time of year.
While the seats have thus far been empty thanks to COVID-19 lockdowns, director of operations Trevor Brodie is hoping brew pub staff will be able to pour pints for customers within the next week or two.
We'd normally have 1,000 people in here on Leaf game nights during the playoffs. There'd be 300 on the patio alone," said Brodie of the Queens Quay pub during the pre-COVID era.
While the provincial government has said it's aiming to start Ontario's three-stage reopening plan June 14, Health Minister Christine Elliott hasn't explicitly ruled out the possibility that Stage 1 - which includes patio dining - could start a bit sooner.
Read the full story from the Star's Josh Rubin
7:10 a.m. Mirvish Productions says it plans to mount the first indoor theatre production in Toronto since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down all theatres in March 2020.
The company plans to present Blindness" at the Princess of Wales Theatre beginning Aug. 4.
If that title sounds familiar, it's because the production - a sound installation adaptation of the 1995 novel by Nobel-winning author Jose Saramago - was supposed to be staged in November before the second wave of COVID made it necessary to cancel the run.
Now, with the third wave waning and Ontario poised to start reopening as early as June 14, Mirvish is ready to try again.
Read the full story from the Star's Debra Yeo
6:50 a.m.: Japan started vaccinating Tokyo Games-bound athletes on Tuesday, the Japanese Olympic Committee said.
The vaccination of healthy athletes comes as only 2-3% of the general population in Japan has been fully vaccinated. Japanese Olympic Committee officials said about 200 athletes were vaccinated at a training center on the first day of the rollout.
Japanese Olympic Committee officials did not name any of the athletes. They also restricted coverage of the event, possibly fearing a public backlash.
Japanese Olympic Committee official Mitsugi Ogata said the vaccination of young athletes would not affect distribution to the general population, including the elderly and medical workers.
The Tokyo Olympics are to open on July 23. The International Olympic Committee has said being vaccinated is not required for participating in the Olympics. However, the IOC has encouraged all athletes to be vaccinated.
IOC President Thomas Bach has said he believes more than 80% of the residents of the Olympic Village in Tokyo will be vaccinated.
6 a.m.: Last November, as COVID-19 cases in Ontario were climbing at an alarming rate, Education Minister Stephen Lecce stood in the legislature and declared that schools in this province are safe."
It is quite obvious," based on the opinion of medical experts, Lecce said, the transmission is not happening within school."
The next day, officials from Lecce's ministry met with medical experts from Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children - and acknowledged a reality that was far less certain.
Is there any transmission happening in schools?" a ministry official wrote in their meeting notes. We don't know."
The meeting notes, obtained by the Star through freedom-of-information legislation, suggest that two months into the school year, Lecce was making categorical statements about schools being safe, even though Sick Kids - experts advising the government on school reopenings - believed more evidence was needed.
New Ontario research now indicates school outbreaks, when they occur, are relatively well contained. There is also evidence that in-person learning can drive spread.
Read the full Star Investigation here.
5:25 a.m.: Albertans can book appointments at barber shops, hair salons and other personal wellness services starting today.
Outdoor public gatherings will double to 10 people from five, and restaurants can resume patio service.
Retail shops can now have 15 per cent maximum customer capacity.
Indoor social gatherings remain banned.
The changes, which were announced last week by Premier Jason Kenney, are linked to more people getting vaccinated for COVID-19 and hospitalization numbers dropping.
The next phase of reopening could come as early as June 10 when entertainment venues like movie theatres and casinos will be able to reopen their doors.
That phase is tied to vaccination and hospitalization rates that have already been reached, but the government is waiting two weeks for recent first-dose immunizations to take effect.
5:15 a.m.: While the provincial government has said it's aiming to start Ontario's three-stage reopening plan June 14, Health Minister Christine Elliott hasn't explicitly ruled out the possibility that Stage 1 - which includes patio dining - could start a bit sooner.
James Rilett, vice-president of the Restaurants Canada industry association, is also hopeful that Stage 1 could come sooner than anticipated.
The government has indicated that they are trying to open as soon as possible. They have emphasized that the intent is to reopen the week of the 14th or earlier. We are obviously hoping that means we will see the opening plans to start next week," Rilett said, adding that having Leaf fans at Scotiabank Arena might be a positive sign.
Read the full story from the Star's Josh Rubin.
5 a.m.: Five weeks after the U.S. announced plans to share millions of COVID-19 doses with the world by the end of June, nations around the globe are still waiting to learn where the vaccines will go and how they will be distributed.
To President Joe Biden, the doses represent a modern-day arsenal of democracy," serving as the ultimate carrot for America's partners abroad, but also as a necessary tool for global health, capable of saving millions of lives and returning a semblance of normalcy to friends and foes alike.
The central question for Biden: What share of doses should be provided to those who need it most, and how many should be reserved for U.S. partners?
The answer, so far at least, appears to be that the administration will provide the bulk of the doses to COVAX, the U.N.-backed global vaccine sharing program meant to meet the needs of lower income countries. While the percentage is not yet finalized, it would mark a substantial - and immediate - boost to the lagging COVAX effort, which to date has shared just 76 million doses with needy countries.
Scores of countries have requested doses from the United States, but to date only Mexico and Canada have received a combined 4.5 million doses. The U.S. also has announced plans to share enough shots with South Korea to vaccinate its 550,000 troops who serve alongside American service members on the peninsula.
4 a.m.: As COVID-19 vaccine supplies ramp up across the country, most provinces and territories have begun planning to give second doses in the coming weeks.
More than 23 million people across Canada have now had at least one dose of a vaccine.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says by the summer, Canada will have enough vaccines so that every eligible resident will have gotten their first dose, and by September, it will have enough doses for everyone to be fully vaccinated.
The National Advisory Committee on Immunization has recommended that Canada turn toward the ultimate goal of fully immunizing the population, now that supplies of COVID-19 shots are increasing.
The advisory panel said those at highest risk of dying or becoming severely ill should be prioritized for second shots, either after or alongside first doses for anyone else who is eligible for a vaccine.
Since the novel coronavirus is still circulating in Canada, NACI is still recommending that the second dose be received up to four months after the first dose, in order to maximize the number of people who get at least one shot.
4 a.m.: The latest numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Canada as of 4:00 a.m. ET on Tuesday June 1, 2021.
There are 1,381,582 confirmed cases in Canada.
Canada: 1,381,582 confirmed cases (33,753 active, 1,322,282 resolved, 25,547 deaths).*The total case count includes 13 confirmed cases among repatriated travellers.
There were 2,118 new cases Monday. The rate of active cases is 88.81 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 18,572 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 2,653.
There were 35 new reported deaths Monday. Over the past seven days there have been a total of 274 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is 39. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.1 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 67.22 per 100,000 people.
There have been 34,790,069 tests completed.