Today’s coronavirus news: Ontario reporting 1,038 people hospitalized with COVID-19 on Tuesday, 1,064 people on Monday
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.
10:25 a.m. Ontario reporting 1,038 people hospitalized with COVID-19 on Tuesday, 1,064 people on Monday.
Please note that not all hospitals report on weekends.
In Ontario, 31,528,557 vaccine doses have been administered; 92.5 per cent of Ontarians 12+ have one dose and 90.4 per cent have two doses.
9:50 a.m. One of my most enduring memories of Toronto as a younger person was heading into the city on the GO train after school let out and arriving at Union Station at afternoon rush hour. As a suburban kid from Oakville, I remember feeling overwhelmed walking north through the PATH system as a mass of office workers went south toward the trains. This was the big city. It felt like standing in a rushing river, with the fish all swimming in one direction.
Mayor John Tory is missing those fish.
With the COVID-19 pandemic leading to a huge drop in downtown office workers, the PATH system and main arteries like Bay Street and Yonge Street are pretty quiet these days. So is business for the retailers and service providers in the area. Announcing a plan to bring city hall workers back to their offices last week, the mayor cited a need to support these businesses and juice the downtown economy as a major reason why.
Read the column by Matt Elliott
9:25 a.m. (updated) Tamara Lich, one of the organizers of the so-called Freedom Convoy," has been denied bail and will stay behind bars for at least another eight days.
Ontario Court Justice Julie Bourgeois ruled Tuesday morning that Lich poses a substantial likelihood" of re-offending and placing public safety at risk if she is released on bail. Bourgeois also concluded Lich's continued detention is necessary to preserve public confidence in the justice system.
Bourgeois noted Lich repeatedly urged convoy demonstrators to hold the line" during their occupation around Parliament Hill, and stressed the severity of the accusation against her that could result in a lengthy" prison sentence.
Read the full story from the Star's Alex Ballingall
9:20 a.m. The Hawaiian island of Maui is lifting some of its COVID-19 restrictions as daily virus case counts continue to drop.
As of Monday, the island no longer requires proof of vaccination or a negative coronavirus test for indoor restaurants and bars, fitness centers and gyms. The island first implemented the COVID-19 restriction in September, limiting dining options for many who are not fully vaccinated to outdoor dining or takeout. Children younger than 12 were exempt.
The change comes as daily COVID-19 cases continue to fall within the state. Travelers to Maui and other Hawaiian islands still face other COVID-related restrictions, however.
8:50 a.m. Home Depot saw its sales remain strong in its fourth quarter as it continues to benefit from a sizzling housing market.
Sales for the three months ended Jan. 30 rose to $35.72 billion from $32.26 billion. This beat the $34.88 billion that analysts polled by FactSet forecast.
Sales at stores open at least a year, a key gauge of a retailer's health, climbed 8.1 per cent. In the U.S., the metric increased 7.6 per cent.
Home improvement stores have been busy during the pandemic as people working from home took on new projects. Many also moved into new homes with more space for a home office.
7:50 a.m. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says he'll announce "a final decision" this Saturday on whether to proceed with the second phase of the province's pandemic reopening plan.
Kenney says on social media it will be "a prudent decision based on the latest data" and that "damaging restrictions should not last one day longer than necessary to prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed."
Step 2 will remove any remaining requirements for schools, such as cohorts for kids in kindergarten to Grade 6, and will drop youth screening for entertainment and sports, as well as capacity limits on all large venues.
It will also remove indoor mask requirements, indoor and outdoor gathering limits, and mandatory work-from-home requirements.
7:40 a.m. Many people are seeking a reprieve from the indoors and heading outside as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Friends from Newmarket, Lynda Draper and Sheila Arnston, headed to Cold Creek Conservation Area in King township recently to get outside with their dogs.
We've been out more since the pandemic," Arnston said. We can't travel or anything and you don't want to be inside so, what a perfect way to get outside."
6:02 a.m.: Queen Elizabeth II cancelled scheduled online engagements on Tuesday because she is still experiencing mild coldlike symptoms after testing positive for COVID-19, Buckingham Palace said.
The monarch has decided not to undertake her planned virtual engagements today, but will continue with light duties," a palace spokesman said.
Officials confirmed the queen tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday. The diagnosis prompted concern and get-well wishes from across Britain's political spectrum for the 95-year-old queen.
The palace said Sunday that Elizabeth, who has been fully vaccinated and had a booster shot, would continue with light" duties at Windsor Castle over the coming week.
6:02 a.m.: Ontario's provincial legislature is set to resume sitting Tuesday. Legislators are returning for the last few weeks of session before the provincial election in June.
Party leaders say pandemic recovery and affordability will be among their top priorities. Also expected is the government's annual budget, which will likely give an early look at the Progressive Conservatives' re-election platform.
The spending plan that's due before the end of March might include promised tax cuts. Housing Minister Steve Clark has said he intends to enact some changes recommended by a recent task force on housing affordability before the June 2 election.
6:01 a.m.: An Ottawa judge is expected to decide Tuesday whether to grant bail to Tamara Lich, one of the leading organizers behind protest against COVID-19 restrictions and the Liberal government on Parliament Hill.
Lich, who was arrested last Thursday and charged with counselling to commit mischief, appeared before Ontario Court Justice Julie Bourgeois in a bail hearing on Saturday.
During that hearing, Lich promised to give up her advocacy of the protest and return to Alberta. The judge reserved her bail decision on Lich.
Patrick King, another prominent figure connected to the demonstrations, is also scheduled for a bail hearing today in Ottawa.
King, 44, was arrested on Friday and faces charges of mischief, counselling to commit mischief, counselling to commit the offence of disobeying a court order and counselling to obstruct police.
Tuesday 5:59 a.m.: Hong Kong will test its entire population for COVID-19 in March, the city's leader said Tuesday, as the city grapples with its worst outbreak driven by the Omicron variant.
Hong Kong has reported about 5,000 new daily infections since Feb. 15, with the number threatening to overwhelm its health care system. Since the surge began at the beginning of the year, the city has recorded nearly 54,000 cases and 145 deaths.
The order for citywide testing comes after mainland Chinese authorities dispatched health workers and medical resources last week to help contain the outbreak in the semi-autonomous Chinese city.