Today’s coronavirus news: More Ontarians, including those over 60, can book fourth doses Thursday
The latest coronavirus news from Canada and around the world Thursday. This file will be updated throughout the day. Web links to longer stories if available.
11:17 a.m. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has tested positive for COVID-19, a day after appearing unmasked at a White House event with President Joe Biden.
Pelosi received a positive test result for COVID-19 and is currently asymptomatic, her spokesman Drew Hammill said Thursday in a tweet. He said she had tested negative earlier in the week.
The Speaker is fully vaccinated and boosted, and is thankful for the robust protection the vaccine has provided," Hammill said.
Pelosi will quarantine consistent with CDC guidance, and encourages everyone to get vaccinated, boosted and test regularly," he said.
The 82-year-old Democratic leader's announcement came ahead of her weekly press appearance on Capitol Hill. The House is set to start a two week spring recess.
10 a.m. As most provinces and territories lift COVID-19 public health measures, Canadians are left to assess their own risk level amid signs of a sixth wave.
Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada's chief public health officer, said last month it's important to look at the amount of COVID-19 in your community and what activity you are undertaking.
Is it outside? Is it inside? Is it crowded? Who am I going to be with?"
Tam said it's also important to take into account your personal health situation and whether you are around people who are at greater risk, such as elderly parents or unvaccinated children.
9:40 a.m. Greek authorities say a man who was seriously injured in a fire that broke out in the COVID-19 ward of a hospital in northern Greece has died of his injuries, bringing the total death toll from the blaze to two.
The 52-year-old man who died Thursday had been a patient in the Papanikolaou Hospital's coronavirus ward when the fire broke out Wednesday morning due to as yet undetermined causes, police said. Firefighters discovered the body of a 79-year-old coronavirus patient at the scene on Wednesday.
One more patient is being treated for burns in the hospital, while two more COVID-19 patients are under enhanced observation after smoke from the fire exacerbated their condition. More than 30 patients were evacuated from the ward during the fire, which was extinguished shortly after it broke out.
9 a.m. German lawmakers on Thursday rejected a bill requiring all people 60 and over in the country to be vaccinated against coronavirus - a compromise solution the government had hoped would get a parliamentary majority.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his health minister originally called for a vaccine mandate to apply to all adults in Germany, but some government lawmakers and most of the opposition had balked at the idea.
The vote prompted joy from anti-vaccine activists, who staged a march through Berlin's government district banging drums, blowing horns and carrying banners with slogans such as We are the red line" or simply No."
The bill was put forward by a cross-party group after months of haggling. It envisaged requiring older people to get the shot, but for there to be compulsory counseling for all adults to help them weigh the advantages and risks of vaccination against COVID-19.
8:45 a.m. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the value of pharmacies in the health-care system, but they can do even more to help ease the burden on Atlantic Canada's hospitals, say pharmacists across the region.
Pharmacists in Atlantic Canada have the ability to assess and treat more than 30 minor ailments, including cold sores, nausea, minor sleep disorders and nicotine dependence. But if someone chooses to seek care at a pharmacy instead of a doctor's office or walk-in clinic, it typically comes with an out-of-pocket cost of about $25.
With lengthy emergency room wait times across Atlantic Canada and a family doctor shortage, pharmacist associations are advocating for public funding so their members can treat ailments within their scope of care. They said they would also would like to see pharmacists take on a larger role in chronic-care management, particularly for people with diabetes or hypertension.
7:40 a.m. Greek authorities say a man who was seriously injured in a fire that broke out in the COVID-19 ward of a hospital in northern Greece has died of his injuries, bringing the total death toll from the blaze to two.
The 52-year-old man who died Thursday had been a patient in the Papanikolaou Hospital's coronavirus ward when the fire broke out Wednesday morning due to as yet undetermined causes, police said. Firefighters discovered the body of a 79-year-old coronavirus patient at the scene on Wednesday.
One more patient is being treated for burns in the hospital, while two more COVID-19 patients are under enhanced observation after smoke from the fire exacerbated their condition. More than 30 patients were evacuated from the ward during the fire, which was extinguished shortly after it broke out.
Several fatal fires in COVID-19 hospital wards in several countries have been linked to the large quantities of oxygen being administered to patients, and which causes fire to burn faster and with greater intensity.
7:20 a.m. As a scientist and a mom, Julie Lajoie was frustrated" to recently discover her daughter appeared to have been reinfected with COVID, the dreaded two lines showing up on a rapid test for the second time in only about a month.
I am seeing my oldest, who is normally full of energy, asking for a nap and slowly fighting this virus - again," Lajoie, a research associate at the University of Manitoba who holds a PhD in virology and immunology, said in an email, having lost her voice due to her own COVID infection.
More than two years into the pandemic, Lajoie's little girl joins a growing number of people around the world who have contracted the disease twice, from Britain's Prince Charles to White House press secretary Jen Psaki, whose second positive test since October made headlines as she was forced to cancel an upcoming trip to Europe with President Joe Biden.
Read the full story from the Star's May Warren
5:51 a.m.: Experts say rapid antigen tests are emerging as an important tool as Canada's pandemic strategy shifts from public health vigilance to an emphasis on personal responsibility.
But they warn that rapid test results should be read with caution because of limitations on diagnostic accuracy and precision.
A professor of biomedical engineering and immunology at University of Toronto says rapid tests are an easy and convenient way to help Canadians make better choices about their health and the safety of others.
But Omar Khan says rapid tests work best when paired with public surveillance strategies that can track the spread of variants to help inform health policy.
Dr. Christopher Labos, a Montreal cardiologist with a degree in epidemiology, says it takes more than one rapid test to rule out infection because of high rates of false negatives.
5:49: Ontarians aged 60 and older can start booking appointments for a fourth dose of a COVID-19 vaccine today.
First Nations, Inuit and Metis individuals and their non-Indigenous household members aged 18 and above are also eligible to start booking those shots today.
Fourth doses are being offered at a recommended interval of five months after the initial booster shot.
Residents can book appointments through the provincial vaccine portal, public health units with separate booking systems, Indigenous-led vaccination clinics and some pharmacies.
Fourth doses are already available to long-term care and retirement home residents and immunocompromised people in Ontario.
Health Minister Christine Elliott says a fourth dose provides an extra layer of protection against Omicron and the BA. 2 variant.
Thursday 5:45 a.m.: German lawmakers are debating Thursday whether to require all people aged 60 and over in the country to be vaccinated against the coronavirus - a compromise solution the government hopes will receive a parliamentary majority.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his health minister had originally called for a vaccine mandate to apply to all adults in Germany, but some government lawmakers and most of the opposition have balked at the idea.
After months of haggling, a cross-party group has proposed that only older people will be required to get the shot, though there will be compulsory counselling for all adults to help them weigh up the advantages and risks of vaccination against COVID-19.