Today’s coronavirus news: Ontario opens vaccine portal to anyone 18+ in local hot spots; province reports 3,732 cases and 23 deaths
The latest coronavirus news from Canada and around the world Sunday. Web links to longer stories if available.
3:38 p.m. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney's government is suspending the spring sitting of the legislature due to soaring, record-breaking cases of COVID-19.
Government house leader Jason Nixon says in a news release the two-week suspension is to prevent further spread of the novel coronavirus and is not due to any confirmed COVID cases among legislature members or staff.
The tentative return date is May 17, and Nixon says the house can be reconvened earlier if an emergency arises.
Opposition NDP Leader Rachel Notley has characterized Kenney's decision as cowardly."
Notley says the legislature has critical work to do on the pandemic - such as bringing in rules for paid sick leave.
Alberta has seen more than 2,000 new infections in each of the last three days to go with a record 22,500 active cases, and doctors are now being briefed on patient triage protocols should they be required.
3:01 p.m. The U.S. top trade negotiator will begin talks with the World Trade Organization on ways to overcome intellectual property issues that are keeping critically needed COVID-19 vaccines from being more widely distributed worldwide, two White House officials said Sunday.
The White House has been under pressure from lawmakers at home and governments abroad to join an effort to waive patent rules for the vaccines so that poorer countries can begin to produce their own generic versions of the shots to vaccinate their populations.
The U.S. has been criticized for focusing first on vaccinating Americans, particularly as its vaccine supply begins to outpace demand and doses approved for use elsewhere in the world but not in the U.S. sit idle.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai will be starting talks with the trade organization on how we can get this vaccine more widely distributed, more widely licensed, more widely shared," said White House chief of staff Ron Klain.
Klain and national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the administration will have more to say on the matter in the coming days.
2:31 p.m. Quebec's new COVID-19 cases are holding steady at just over 1,000 as the province plans to ease some restrictions in the Montreal and Quebec City areas.
The province reported 1,006 cases and nine new deaths on Sunday, but none in the last 24 hours.
Hospitalizations declined by four to 574, while the number of people in intensive care fell by two to 157.
The province announced last week that it would allow elementary students in the Quebec City region to return to class on Monday after being closed throughout the month of April.
The nighttime curfew in Montreal and neighbouring Laval is also moving from 8 p.m. to 9:30 following about two weeks of stable cases and a slow decline in hospitalizations.
Quebecers age 45 and up will also be able to book their vaccine appointments beginning Monday as the province gradually widens access to the general population in descending order of age.
1:54 p.m. Health officials in Nova Scotia are reporting 133 new cases of COVID-19 today.
There are 117 cases in the province's Central Zone, nine cases in the Eastern Zone, one case in the Northern Zone and six cases in the Western Zone.
There is community spread in the Central Zone, which includes Halifax, and city. Police continue to crack down on people violating the province's Health protection Act.
Police responded to three incidents overnight Saturday that resulted in 17 tickets that carry fines of $2,000 each.
The Nova Scotia Health Authority lab continues to experience a backlog due to the volume of testing in the province.
As of today, Nova Scotia has 822 active cases of COVID-19 and there are 34 people in hospital, including six in intensive care.
1:52 p.m. A resident of Pavillon Beau-Lieu, a special care home in Grand Falls, N.B., is the 37th COVID-19 related death in New Brunswick.
Health officials say the person in their 80s died in hospital.
Officials are reporting six new cases of COVID-19 today with half of them in the Edmundston region, while the Moncton, Saint John and Bathurst regions each have one new infection.
There are now 137 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and five patients are hospitalized, including two in intensive care.
1:15 p.m. The union that represents Ontario's air ambulance paramedics says its members are prepared to go on strike if they can't land an exemption from a provincial law capping salaries for public employees.
Unifor says Ornge paramedics voted 94 per cent in favour of strike action, but described the move as an absolute last consideration."
Unifor National President Jerry Dias called the wage-cap law dubbed Bill 124 a foolish piece of legislation" in a virtual press conference today.
The bill came into effect in 2019 and caps public sector wage increases to one per cent a year, which Dias says is well below even the rate of inflation."
Paramedics who work for Ornge have been without a contract since July 31.
1:10 p.m. Toronto Public Health is investigating COVID-19 cases linked to a quarantine hotel near Toronto Pearson International Airport.
The local health authority confirmed to the Star on Sunday morning that the cases are connected to the Crowne Plaza Toronto Airport, which is a 10 minute drive from the airport.
We have assigned staff to initiate an investigation and to work with the facility to identify all cases, and review and advise on all appropriate public health measures and infection prevention and control measures," Dr. Vinita Dubey, the city's associate medical officer of health, said in a statement.
Crowne Plaza Toronto Airport is one of the 20 government-approved quarantine hotels in the city.
12:40 p.m. Britain rushed to increase aid for India's teetering health care system on Sunday, promising more ventilators and expert advice as doctors grapple with a surge in coronavirus infections that is killing thousands of people a day.
The U.K. government said it will send an additional 1,000 ventilators to India. In addition, England's National Health Service, which has battled one of the worst COVID-19 outbreaks in Europe, is creating an advisory group to share its expertise with Indian authorities.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson plans a video meeting with his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, on Tuesday to discuss further co-operation between the two countries, the U.K. government said in statement.
India recorded 392,488 new infections, down from a high of more than 400,000 in the previous 24 hours. It also reported 3,689 deaths, raising overall virus fatalities to 215,542. Experts believe both figures are undercounts.
The new round of government aid comes in addition to the 200 ventilators, 495 oxygen concentrators and three oxygen generation units the U.K. said it was sending to India last week.
10:55 a.m. Ontario will be expanding access to COVID-19 vaccines across the province starting this week.
All adults 18 and older living in 114 specific postal codes designated as virus hot spots can book their shots through the provincial portal as of 8 a.m. on Monday.
And bookings will be open to all residents 50 and older starting on Thursday, as well as those with high-risk health conditions.
Health Minister Christine Elliott says the expansion is possible thanks to a more steady supply of COVID-19 vaccines.
10:15 a.m. Ontario is reporting 3,732 COVID-19 cases and 23 deaths Sunday.
The province's seven-day average is down to 3,588 cases per day or 173 weekly per 100,000, and up to 27.3 deaths per day.
Locally, there are 1,198 new cases in Toronto, 797 in Peel, 306 in York Region, 237 in Hamilton and 232 in Durham, Health Minister Christine Elliott tweeted.
The province administered 76,685 vaccine doses Saturday, and 4,949,089 Ontarians have now received at least one dose.
7:35 a.m. Emergency room physician Dr. Khurram Jahangir knew he'd soon hear the unique warning ring out over the hospital speakers - the surge in younger, sicker patients meant it was only a matter of when. The day arrived last week, during an especially busy shift at Brampton Civic Hospital: Code Pink. Child medical emergency.
The team did what they do best, responding with urgency to a girl deathly ill with COVID-19. But Emily Victoria Viegas couldn't be saved, and the 13-year-old Brampton girl became one of the youngest Canadians to die from a virus that has ravaged her family and her hometown.
After, it starts to sink in, and you start to feel like What was that - what just happened?'" said Jahangir, speaking generally. Because you're almost numb at that time."
Later the doctor cried in a quiet moment alone, the child's death and so many others too much to bear. All of these deaths weigh heavy," Jahangir said.
The death of a 13-year-old girl has become a singular tragedy in a year replete with loss and daily death counts. On Monday, Queen's Park held a moment of silence for Viegas, whose April 22 passing has unleashed fresh anger and a booming chorus of calls for government action to stop a virus that's seen Peel Region become among the worst-hit in Ontario.
Viegas's family is in mourning. As her mother lay in hospital suffering from COVID-19, Emily, who had the virus and pneumonia, was found unconscious by her 11-year-old brother Nikolas, according to family friend Victor Pinto. Her father Carlos is a warehouse worker, Pinto said, and the family is now left mourning a newly teenaged girl who liked to dress up in silly outfits and hairdos her mother would proudly share on social media.
But while grief is uniquely felt by those closest to Viegas, the ripple effect has been vast.
The COVID-19 death of a child has dealt a blow throughout Brampton Civic Hospital and broader Peel Region, where doctors, nurses, paramedics and hospital staff are already beaten down by sickness all around them.
Read the full story from the Star's Wendy Gillis, Ben Cohen and Alyshah Hasham
7:33 a.m. The spotlight on Ontario's long-term care sector must not be allowed to dim again, observers said the day after the release of a scathing report outlining the province's neglect of the facilities in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reflections from public health experts and relatives of seniors who died in virus-ravaged facilities poured in after the Ontario Long-Term Care COVID-19 Commission called for an overhaul of the sector. It laid out its recommendations in its final report, delivered to the government on Friday night.
Tara Barrows, whose grandmother died of COVID-19 in a long-term care home last year, said she appreciated seeing experiences like that of her family put on the record.
The commissioners said the government was ill-prepared for a pandemic, and failed to act as quickly as other jurisdictions to protect the long-term care sector.
The report said residents were left alone in their rooms in horrific conditions, in some cases soiling their diapers and being unable to shower.
As traumatizing as it was, we manage the trauma by speaking out," Barrows said. By telling the truth and speaking out, pressing the issue and repeating these stories over and over again and reminding everyone, this should never have happened."
Barrows gave the commission credit for not pulling any punches" in the report - and ensuring people like her grandmother are not forgotten in death, as they seemed to be in their last months of life.
They're representing the lives of everyone who was lost," she said of the commission. They're carrying a huge burden in terms of the people who they're representing."
Barrows testified before the commission and is part of a proposed class-action lawsuit against Weston Terrace Care Community, the facility where her grandmother, Dorritt, lived and died.
In spite of the commission's strong message, she said she and others in her shoes aren't convinced Premier Doug Ford's government will act quickly to enact sweeping change.
I think we all have the same fear," she said. We have the report, and we have the recommendations. There are no surprises there. This is what we saw coming. But is anybody going to do anything?"
Instead, she has a different hope.
I'm hoping the report will bring a change of government," Barrows said. ...The vaccine isn't going to cause amnesia. We're not going to forget what happened."
The blistering, 322-page document said the province was ill-prepared to face COVID-19 despite lessons it should have learned from the SARS epidemic.
Nearly 4,000 long-term care residents and 11 staff have died of COVID-19 since the pandemic hit.
Dr. Naheed Dosani, a palliative care physician and health justice activist in Toronto, said those numbers don't reflect the immense distress and grief" many caregivers and families across the province are feeling.
This report does give some insight into how we got here, (but) it does not represent justice to the full extent. And for many caregivers, it will not be," Dosani said.
No one will ever forget what happened. These are scars that will last forever."
The commission, led by Ontario Superior Court Associate Chief Justice Frank Marrocco, noted that poor facility design and resident overcrowding heightened sickness and death in nursing homes, while a severe staffing shortage and a workforce poorly trained in infection control measures compounded the situation.
The commission found the neglected sector to be thoroughly unprepared for the COVID-19 crisis, despite numerous past reviews.
Dosani said the government failed to learn lessons during the pandemic's initial wave, leaving seniors vulnerable when cases surged again.
Even after the commission was launched - and after it released two interim sets of recommendations - the virus continued to tear through the facilities.
I'll never understand how we were able to produce so many reports on how to fix long-term care and still to this day, we have not fixed it," he said. How many reports do we need? ... If it's not connected to action and change, what's the point?"
7:32 a.m. The latest numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Canada as of 4 a.m. on Sunday May 2, 2021.
There are 1,227,035 confirmed cases in Canada.
Canada: 1,227,035 confirmed cases (83,495 active, 1,119,279 resolved, 24,261 deaths).*The total case count includes 13 confirmed cases among repatriated travellers.
There were 7,617 new cases Saturday. The rate of active cases is 219.69 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 54,150 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 7,736.
There were 42 new reported deaths Saturday. Over the past seven days there have been a total of 325 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is 46. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.12 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 63.84 per 100,000 people.
There have been 31,629,802 tests completed.
7:31 a.m. After a year spent trying to keep nursing home residents not just alive, but emotionally sound, Peel Region dementia adviser Mary Connell wept as she read the Ontario Long-Term Care Commission's report on COVID-19.
There was much despair in the 322-page report that detailed the agonizingly slow response of Premier Doug Ford's government to protect long-term care residents, families and staff, many of whom are now branded by trauma.
But Connell was crying with something akin to hopefulness, maybe even a bit of joy, if that is not forbidden in the time of COVID.
Read the full story from the Star's Moira Welsh
7:30 a.m. With Indian hospitals struggling to secure a steady supply of oxygen, and more COVID-19 patients dying amid the shortages, a court in New Delhi said it would start punishing government officials for failing to deliver the life-saving items.
On Sunday, India recorded a slight drop in new infections with 392,488 from a high of 401,993 in the previous 24 hours. It also reported 3,689 additional deaths, bringing the total to 215,542. Experts believe both figures are an undercount.
The government has been using the railroad, the air force and the navy to rush oxygen tankers to worst-hit areas where overwhelmed hospitals are unable to cope with an unprecedented surge in patients gasping for air.
Twelve COVID-19 patients, including a doctor, on high-flow oxygen, died Saturday at a hospital in New Delhi after it ran out of the supply for 80 minutes, said S.C.L. Gupta, director of Batra Hospital.
The Times of India newspaper reported another 16 deaths in two hospitals in southern Andhra Pradesh state, and six in a Gurgaon hospital on the outskirts of New Delhi because of the oxygen shortage.
With the government unable to maintain a steady supply of oxygen, several hospital authorities sought a court intervention in the Indian capital where a lockdown has been extended by a week to contain the wave of infections.
Water has gone above the head. Enough is Enough," said New Delhi High Court, adding it would start punishing government officials if supplies of oxygen allocated to hospitals were not delivered.
We can't have people dying,'' said Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Patil.
The court said it would start contempt proceedings.
New Delhi recorded 412 deaths in the past 24 hours, the highest since the pandemic started.
The army opened its hospitals to civilians in a desperate bid to control the massive humanitarian crisis. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government also gave emergency financial powers to the army set up new quarantine facilities and hospitals and buy equipment.
The military also called up 600 doctors who had retired in the past few years. The navy deployed 200 nursing assistants in civilian hospitals, a government statement said.
On Saturday, India said all adults 18 and over could get shots. Since January, nearly 10% of Indians have received one dose, but only around 1.5% have received both, although the country is one of the world's biggest producers of vaccines.
India has so far given more than 156 million vaccine doses. Some states have already said they don't have enough for everyone, and even the ongoing effort to inoculate people above 45 is sputtering.
The United States, Britain, Germany and several other nations are rushing therapeutics, rapid virus tests and oxygen to India, along with some materials needed for India to boost its domestic production of COVID-19 vaccines.
Sunday 7:20 a.m. Police have detained 132 people who took part in an illegal party in a Brussels park to protest COVID-19 restrictions, authorities said Sunday.
About 15 people, including protesters and police, were injured in clashes, police spokeswoman Ilse Van de Keere said.
About 2,000 revelers and protesters had massed in the park Saturday for the second time in a month, and police used water cannons and tear gas to disperse them.
Scattered around, police and protesters clashed until deep in the evening. The government and police had warned people for a week to stay away from the party to no avail. Clashes erupted after big crowds started gathering late in the afternoon.
Some protesters gathered around a bonfire shouting Freedom!" and Where is the party? Here is the party!" Some pelted the police with objects.
Belgium still has strict rules banning major gatherings and insists on people wearing face masks in large crowds.
Sunday 7:15 a.m. A comprehensive report by an Ontario commission formed to investigate the spread of COVID-19 in long-term care illustrates how the system was completely unprepared to begin with. And how we almost set it up to fail," says an expert in geriatric care.
The 322-page report by Ontario's Long-Term Care COVID-19 Commission was released late Friday.
The report is a detailed overview of the failures of the current provincial government, and earlier ones, who contributed to the inability of long-term care to deal with the pandemic head on for a number of reasons, including a lack of emergency preparedness and an inability to respond quickly to information about how the virus was being transmitted as it came in from around the world.
We actually took a lot of systemic action and inaction that allowed us to not only be set up for failure," says Dr. Samir Sinha, director of geriatrics at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, but then repeatedly failed throughout the pandemic because we weren't fixing or addressing issues about staffing and proper infection prevention and control.
And we weren't doing more to support the staff in order to properly care for the residents and for themselves not to get sick."
Read the full story from the Star's Patty Winsa
Saturday 8 p.m. Officials in some COVID-19 hot spots awaited word on immunization efforts Saturday after learning Health Canada was holding back expected Johnson & Johnson vaccines over safety concerns.
Mayor Karen Sorensen of Banff, Alta., thanked provincial health officials for exploring alternate sources Saturday after learning shipments of the single-dose vaccine expected to arrive in Alberta Monday were paused.
We are disappointed that the Johnson & Johnson vaccines earmarked for Alberta are delayed, but we value the work of Health Canada to ensure they have the information needed to verify the safety of every single dose," Sorensen said in a statement.
Plans to distribute the first 300,000 doses were put on hold after Health Canada learned part of the vaccines were manufactured at a Maryland facility that botched 15 million doses bound for the U.S. market.
Health Canada said Friday it's seeking information from the FDA and J&J's pharmaceutical arm, Janssen, to determine if the doses shipped to Canada meet required safety standards.
The Alberta government had planned to split 34,700 doses between Banff and the Rural Municipality of Wood Buffalo, which includes Fort McMurray and has the province's highest case rate.
7:30 p.m. Alberta's COVID-19 case numbers continue to soar, with the province's chief medical health officer reporting over 2,000 new cases for a third-straight day.
Dr. Deena Hinshaw says in a series of tweets that there have been 2,433 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, and that the province's test-positivity rate is now 12 per cent.
Hinshaw reports there are now 646 people in the province's hospitals with COVID-19, with 152 of those in intensive care. She reported one new death.
5:30 p.m. Three vaccine clinics in York Region will be closed on Monday due to a lack of vaccine supply, the region announced Saturday afternoon.
Vaccines will not be administered in clinics at Canada's Wonderland, Georgina Ice Palace or Richmond Green, but the clinics will reopen for appointments Tuesday, the region said on Twitter.
York Regional Council continues to call for increased supply and equitable distribution of vaccines so York Region can expand vaccination efforts to fully protect residents and workers in these high-priority communities," it said.
Of the 3,369 COVID-19 cases Ontario reported Saturday, 286 are in York Region.
11:30 a.m. Ontario Progressive Conservative MPP Jim McDonnell has tested positive for COVID-19, he announced Friday.
McDonnell, who represents the Eastern Ontario riding of Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry, said his symptoms are mild, similar to a cold. He added that because he received his first dose of vaccine less than two weeks ago, it had not taken full effect.
I share my experience as a caution to the more contagious variants and to the need to follow public health guidelines," McDonnell said.