Today’s coronavirus news: Ontario is reporting 2,939 people hospitalized with COVID-19; Toronto’s St. Patrick’s Parade returning

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.

10:18 a.m. Ontario is reporting 2,939 people hospitalized with COVID-19 and 555 in the ICU. The province is reporting 72 deaths.

83 per cent of patients admitted to the ICU were admitted for COVID-19 and 17 per cent were admitted for other reasons but have tested positive for COVID-19. There are 3,909 new cases of COVID-19, according to tweets from Health Minister Christine Elliott.

10:05 a.m. Europe is accelerating steps to roll back coronavirus restrictions as efforts to control the fast-spreading Omicron variant have been largely futile.

Under pressure from a pandemic-weary public, politicians across the region are deeming many public-health measures increasingly unnecessary. Italy, Switzerland and Finland are set to join Denmark, Ireland and France in easing the bulk of restrictions on public life. Norway also relaxed most rules.

While the virus continues to spread rapidly across the continent - with more than 2.4 million cases over the past two days - the alert level has dropped. Health care systems are proving resilient because omicron causes milder symptoms and most people are protected by vaccines.

9:35 a.m. Keegan Messing's Olympic Games are in jeopardy. The 30-year-old isn't with Canada's figure skating team at the Beijing Olympics, as he waits to clear COVID-19 testing to travel.

The delay means Messing, who captured his first Canadian title last month, won't be in Beijing in time for the team event, which begins with the short programs on Friday. The Canadian Olympic Committee hopes he'll get the green light in time to skate in the men's singles competition, which begins with the short programs on Tuesday.

9:20 a.m. COVID-19 hospitalizations are predicted to rise at a time when Hamilton's hospitals are already so strained they are transferring patients out.

Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) reported severe overcrowding for a second day on Tuesday, with occupancy at 129 per cent at Juravinski Hospital and 111 per cent at Hamilton General Hospital.

All funded beds are full when occupancy is at 100 per cent. Anything over occupancy is unfunded beds - sometimes in unconventional spaces like hallways.

The intensive care unit (ICU) at the Charlton Campus of St. Joseph's Healthcare was also overflowing at 104 per cent occupancy.

9:05 a.m. RCMP say more officers have been called in to help with an illegal blockade at a United States border crossing in southern Alberta, now in its fifth day.

Mounties were prepared to make arrests Tuesday at the Coutts crossing but backed off when there were safety concerns.

Some of those involved in the blockade are protesting mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for cross-border truck drivers as well as broader public health measures.

Premier Jason Kenney says he also opposes the vaccine mandate for truckers, but protesters should find a lawful way to make their point.

8:45 a.m. A COVID-19 draft law defeated in Poland's parliament has exposed deep divisions inside the ruling right-wing coalition and a weakening of the country's most powerful politician, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, analysts said on Wednesday.

Some 61 lawmakers of the so-called United Right ruling team led by Kaczynski's Law and Justice Party abstained or voted against the law in the 460-seat lower house late Tuesday. Another 15 of the ruling coalition's 228 lawmakers didn't even show up for the vote. Analysts said the result marked an unprecedented high degree of dissent within the ruling coalition and poses a challenge to Kaczynski's leadership.

The vote indicates that the United Right does not exist as such any more," political analyst Barbara Brodziska-Mirowska from Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun told private TVN24. The rifts are really deep and the games and interests are very much advanced, and things will not get better."

8:15 a.m. The Toronto-raised star of "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" will take the reins as host of this year's televised celebration of Canadian music May 15.

It's another high-profile hosting gig for the "Kim's Convenience" alum who presided over an episode of "Saturday Night Live" for the first time last November.

The Junos will be historic in their own way since it's the first time the awards show will be held outdoors.

7:18 a.m. On Ontario's first days of reopening, dozens of moviegoers around Toronto rushed to sit in a theatre again, nibbling on buttered popcorn and snacks as they caught the latest Spider-Man film.

Others took the opportunity to revisit the gym after a month-long hiatus, or to take their toddlers to see the famed jellyfish at Ripley's Aquarium.

You really get the sense that there's a mood right now where people want to be in that snap-back stage," said Steve Joordens, a University of Toronto psychology professor, as he reflected on the lifting of restrictions.

Read the full story from the Star's Nadine Yousif

6:40 a.m. Beijing reported three new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday as officials said the virus situation was under control with the Olympic Games set to open later in the week.

The three cases reported in the 24-hour period from Tuesday to Wednesday all involved people under some sort of quarantine.

The current pandemic situation in the capital is overall controllable and it's headed in a good direction," said Xu Hejian, a spokesman for the city government, at a daily press briefing. Beijing is safe."

The Chinese capital has been on high-alert as it prepares to host the Winter Olympics starting Friday.

6:37 a.m. Toronto's St. Patrick's Parade will return this year, depending on the continued Ontario government's reopening plan, according to the a news release.

St. Patrick's Parade was among the first to cancel its event when the pandemic arrived in early 2020. The parade was cancelled again in 2021.

The event is set to take place on Sunday, March 20.

6:05 a.m. RCMP say more officers have been called in to help with an illegal blockade at a United States border crossing in southern Alberta, now in its fifth day.

Mounties were prepared to make arrests Tuesday at the Coutts crossing but backed off when there were safety concerns.

Cpl. Curtis Peters says some vehicles left peacefully but others, including tractors, sped through police roadblocks to join the blockade.

He says there was a head-on crash and a person involved then assaulted another person.

Peters also says some protesters have harassed the local mayor and his wife by showing up at their home and taking photos through their windows.

5:45 a.m. 5:38 a.m. Just one member of the Canadian team in Beijing was in COVID-19 protocols on Wednesday, down from three members a day earlier.

The 414-member Canadian delegation includes athletes, coaches and team staff.

The individual is in protocols that "impact their ability to fulfil their role at Games," the Canadian Olympic Committee said in a statement.

"We are managing each one on a case-by-case basis and to respect the privacy of the people involved we will not be sharing names at this time," the COC's statement said. "Part of our strategy was to arrive early to allow time for confirmation testing and, if necessary, the Medical Expert Panel process to unfold."

5:35 a.m. On Ontario's first days of reopening, dozens of moviegoers around Toronto rushed to sit in a theatre again, nibbling on buttered popcorn and snacks as they caught the latest Spider-Man film.

Others took the opportunity to revisit the gym after a month-long hiatus, or to take their toddlers to see the famed jellyfish at Ripley's Aquarium.

You really get the sense that there's a mood right now where people want to be in that snap-back stage," said Steve Joordens, a University of Toronto psychology professor, as he reflected on the lifting of restrictions. They want to say, let's just go back and live the way we were before.' "

By now, the excitement of reopening is a familiar feeling for most, as the province moves to gradually lift COVID-19 restrictions yet again. But this stage of reopening is different: the threat of the Omicron variant remains potent, and official case counts are high even with limited testing and contact tracing, forcing some to tread with caution.

Read more from the Star's Nadine Yousif.

5:30 a.m. The Ottawa Police Service says it has charged two men following demonstration-related investigations as the anti-COVID-19 vaccine mandate protest continues to keep the capital at a standstill.

Police say 37-year-old Andre Lacasse was charged on Sunday with carrying a weapon to a public meeting, while 29-year-old Matthew Dorken was charged with mischief under $5,000.

Ottawa residents frustrated with the incessant blare of truck horns, traffic gridlock and harassment by some members of the protest have questioned how police have handled the demonstration.

5:25 a.m. More provinces say they are preparing to loosen COVID-19 restrictions in the coming weeks, despite virus-related hospitalizations remaining high.

British Columbia's provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, said gathering restrictions will begin to slowly be eased later this month.

Even as Alberta reported a record 1,585 people in hospital with the virus, Premier Jason Kenney said he is optimistic the province will be able to relax some public health measures and remove its vaccine passport program by the end of February, providing hospital pressures decline.

Quebec Premier Francois Legault announced yesterday that gyms and spas, which have been closed since Dec. 20, will be able to reopen on Feb. 14. He also said he is scrapping a plan to tax people who are not vaccinated against COVID-19, saying the plan has proven to be divisive at a time he wants to bring Quebecers together.

After allowing restaurant dining rooms to reopen Monday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he will continue with plans to further ease restrictions on Feb. 21 and March 14, despite a warning from the province's scientific advisory panel.

5 a.m. Experts say the Omicron wave appears to be cresting but it's difficult to predict what lies ahead.

Professor Bernard Crespi, an evolutionary biologist at Simon Fraser University, says Omicron broke through people's health defences, while its quick spread left a higher degree of natural immunity. He says that means it will be difficult for the next variant to get a foothold because people either have immunity or have been vaccinated.

However, Crespi says there's always a possibility that the next variant will spread like Omicron and we'll end up with more hospitalizations and deaths. He says the transition from pandemic to fully endemic, with something like the common cold, could take anywhere from a few years to perhaps dozens or hundreds of years.

Doctor Isaac Bogoch, an infectious diseases specialist at the University of Toronto, says the impact of the next variant can be blunted by a combination of vaccinations, masking and other public health guidelines, just as it was done with Omicron.

Doctor Nelson Lee, interim director of the Institute for Pandemics at the University of Toronto, says he believes the virus that causes COVID-19 will transition to an epidemic with seasonal waves like the flu.