Today’s coronavirus news: Ontario reporting 554 new cases of COVID-19; Theo Fleury's recent vaccine comments a ‘stain on his legacy,’ Brandon University says
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.
11:32 a.m. Quebec is reporting 600 new COVID-19 cases and three more deaths.
The number of hospitalizations has increased by seven to 178, with 71 cases listed in intensive care, a rise of three.
Of the new cases, nearly 85 per cent were not adequately vaccinated according to the Health Department.
Authorities say 18,593 doses of COVID-19 vaccine were administered on Tuesday, including more than 11,000 second doses.
The province's public health institute says 87.8 per cent of Quebecers aged 12 and older have received at least one dose of vaccine and 82.3 per cent are considered adequately vaccinated.
On Tuesday, Quebec announced that people visiting patients in hospital will be required to show they are fully vaccinated, with some exceptions.
Quebec's vaccine passport system, the first in the country, has been in effect since Sept. 1 and is needed to access certain businesses and services deemed non-essential, such as bars, restaurant dining rooms, gyms and festivals.
10:30 a.m. The Bank of Canada is keeping its key interest target on hold at 0.25 per cent. It is also maintaining its quantitative easing program by buying bonds at a target pace of $2 billion per week.
The central bank says it continues to expect the economy to strengthen in the second half of the year, although the fourth wave of COVID-19 infections and supply bottlenecks could weigh on the recovery.
In announcing its decision, the Bank of Canada repeated its commitment to hold its trendsetting rate at near-zero until the economy is ready to handle an increase in rates, which it doesn't expect to happen before the second half of 2022.
10:18 a.m. (updated) Ontario is reporting 554 new cases of COVID-19; 418 cases are in individuals who are not fully vaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status and 136 are in fully vaccinated individuals. In Ontario, 21,023,890 vaccine doses have been administered. Nearly 83.9 per cent of Ontarians 12+ have one dose and nearly 77.4 per cent have two doses.
There are 16 more deaths, though five of those deaths occurred more than two months ago.
10 a.m. Hospitals in California's Central Valley are increasingly overwhelmed by the fourth surge of the COVID-19 pandemic, with officials scrambling to transfer some critically ill patients more than 100 miles away because local intensive care units are full.
The San Joaquin Valley, the Sacramento area and rural Northern California are now the regions of the state being hit the hardest by COVID-19 hospitalizations on a per capita basis, according to a Los Angeles Times analysis. The regions have lower vaccination rates than in the highly populated, coastal areas of Southern California and the San Francisco Bay Area.
Our system is still paralyzed and is at a standstill, as we're trying to move a huge number of patients through this health care system that is completely overwhelmed," Dan Lynch, who oversees emergency medical services for Fresno, Kings, Madera and Tulare counties, said at a recent media briefing.
The worst may not be over. According to COVID-19 computer models published by the state Department of Public Health, the number of ICU patients in the San Joaquin Valley is expected to increase well into the rest of September, and hundreds more people could be dead by the end of the month.
My heart just breaks looking at these projections," Dr. Rais Vohra, Fresno County's interim health officer, said at a recent briefing. The projected deaths represent kids that are going to have to go to their parents' funerals."
In the San Joaquin Valley, the number of monthly COVID-19 deaths has tripled, from 93 in July to 311 in August. Just in the first six days of September, 78 additional deaths were reported.
The San Joaquin Valley still has an effective transmission rate of the coronavirus above 1, according to the state Department of Public Health, meaning for every person infected, the virus is being transmitted to slightly more than one other person, meaning the spread of the virus is increasing.
8:50 a.m. Brandon University has issued a statement publicly criticizing former NHLer Theo Fleury for spreading harmful conspiracy theories.
The school in southwestern Manitoba granted Fleury an honorary doctorate in 2015.
Fleury was awarded the degree for "his significant contributions" to combating child sexual abuse.
Brandon University says Fleury's recent public statements about COVID-19 vaccine passports are "a stain on his legacy."
The school issued the statement after Fleury tweeted that vaccine passports would be used by pedophiles to track children.
Fleury has since deleted the tweet.
He did not immediately respond to a request for comment by The Canadian Press.
8:30 a.m. The TTC's largest union is urging its members not to divulge their COVID-19 vaccination status to agency management, in an attempt to block a new policy requiring transit employees to get their shots.
In a statement released Tuesday, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113 President Carlos Santos described the TTC's vaccination requirements as unfair and unjust intrusions into the lives of our members."
ATU Local 113 is not opposed to COVID-19 vaccines. We support legitimate education as to the safety and benefits of vaccination. But we will fight and will continue to defend our members' rights," he said.
Whether vaccinated or not, we are asking all members to not disclose any private medical information to the TTC."
Read the full story from the Star's Ben Spurr
8 a.m. It's another sign that life is, ever so slowly, edging back to normal: Wednesday morning a Porter Airlines flight will take off from Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport en route to Montreal.
After several fits and starts earlier during the COVID-19 pandemic, it will be the first time in almost a year-and-a-half the airline will have one of its planes in the air.
This is really the day we've all been waiting for," said Porter CEO Michael Deluce in an interview Tuesday.
And while Porter is operating again, and Canada's borders opened up Tuesday to almost any traveller who's been double vaccinated, it's not exactly business as usual - and it won't be any time soon.
A recent report from DBRS Morningstar vice president Valiant Ip predicted that worldwide travel levels won't be returning to pre-COVID levels until 2025. The biggest culprits? The Delta variant, combined with sluggish vaccine rollouts around the globe.
Read the full story from the Star's Josh Rubin
7:40 a.m. Fans attending most pro sporting events in Seattle will soon be required to show proof they've been vaccinated against COVID-19 or that they've tested negative for the virus.
The NFL's Seahawks, MLS's Sounders, NHL's Kraken and MLB's Mariners, along with the University of Washington and Washington State University, all announced updated policies Tuesday for fans attending games this season.
The Seahawks will be the first to implement the requirements, starting with their Sept. 19 home opener against Tennessee. Fans will be required to show proof of vaccination or a negative test taken within 72 hours of the event to be granted entry.
Team president Chuck Arnold said in a statement that the measures will allow for a full stadium while keeping the experience safe.
7:25 a.m. Former NBA forward Cedric Ceballos took to Twitter on Tuesday to share that he is sick with COVID-19 and is asking for prayers. Ceballos tweeted out that he's spent the last 10 days in an intensive care unit battling the virus.
On my 10th day in ICU, COVID-19 is officially kicking my (butt), I am asking ALL family, friends, prayer warriors healers for your prayers and well wish for my recovery," Ceballos tweeted. If I have done and anything to you in the past, allow me to publicly apologize. My fight is not done."
The 52-year-old is wearing an oxygen mask in the photo posted in the tweet.
Ceballos played for the Dallas Mavericks from 1999-2000 and works an analyst for their games on Fox Sports Southwest.
7:15 a.m. It came at the end of the campaign stop in London, Ont., as Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau was stepping onto his bus. From within a group of protesters came a fistful of small rocks, pelting Trudeau and others nearby.
The Monday night incident came after recent weeks saw desperate restaurant owners issue pleas for help as anti-vaccination demonstrators screamed at their patrons - and after health care staff and patients were confronted with maskless throngs as they entered hospitals, prompting safety concerns and demoralizing burnt-out medical workers.
Amid a fourth wave of COVID-19, the rise of vaccine and mask mandates and a federal election campaign, protests against public health measures that began at the outset of the pandemic are now reaching an alarming crescendo across Canada, growing in size, frequency and aggression.
Read the full story from the Star's Wendy Gillis
6:30 a.m.: Standing outside the rundown public hospital in Bulgaria's northern town of Veliko Tarnovo, the vaccination unit's chief nurse voices a sad reality about her fellow citizens: They don't believe in vaccines."
Bulgaria has one of the highest coronavirus death rates in the 27-nation European Union and is facing a new, rapid surge of infections due to the more infectious delta variant. Despite that, people in this Balkan nation are the most hesitant in the bloc to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
Only 20 per cent of adults in Bulgaria, which has a population of 7 million, have so far been fully vaccinated. That puts it last in the EU, which has an average of 69 per cent fully vaccinated.
We are open every day," Yordanka Minekova, the chief vaccination nurse who has worked at the hospital for 35 years, told The Associated Press. But people who want to be vaccinated are very few."
5:45 a.m.: If there's one thing organizers of the Toronto International Film Festival learned from last year's pandemic-tailored showcase, it's that they have to adapt constantly," says co-head Cameron Bailey.
That's held true for the 46th edition kicking off Thursday, with some border restrictions easing just days prior, a family film dropping out of the lineup, changing COVID-19 protocols and rising concerns about the highly contagious Delta variant.
Despite the spectre of Delta hanging over the fest, Bailey and co-head Joana Vicente projected optimism as they prepared to present another hybrid showcase, albeit one with more indoor venues and in-person glitz than last year.
We're very excited about the festival. We definitely have put safety first and it's really been what guides us on how we plan for the festival," Vicente said in a recent phone interview.
Of course we are incredibly concerned about the rise of the Delta variant, but we feel that we are taking all of the measures that are necessary to provide a safe environment for our audiences, talent, industry and press."
Those measures include a requirement that festival staff, audience members and visitors entering TIFF venues show proof they have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or proof they have tested negative for COVID-19 within 48 hours beforehand.
The vaccine mandate, which does not apply to outdoor venues, was announced Aug. 23 after TIFF had previously said proof of vaccination would not be required to enter festival grounds.
5:30 a.m.: At Unity Health's school-based mental health clinics in Toronto, therapists and pediatricians are bracing for what's anticipated to be a storm of referrals" in the fall as kids return to the classroom - some for the first time in over a year.
Elsewhere in the Greater Toronto Area, teachers are preparing lesson plans for kids and youth of all ages focused on the pandemic's emotional impact, strategies for how to cope, and where to find help should they or their friends need it.
These efforts are part of a larger focus across Ontario schools on the mental health of kids and youth as school resumes this fall. After enduring lockdowns, isolation and months of remote learning, experts and educators say students especially have struggled amid the emotional roller-coaster brought on by the pandemic. The goal is that mental health will not only take centre stage, but also be woven into the fabric of the curriculum.
Read more from the Star's Nadine Yousif.
5:05 a.m.: COVID-19 booster shots may be coming for at least some Americans but already the Biden administration is being forced to scale back expectations - illustrating just how much important science still has to be worked out.
The initial plan was to offer Pfizer or Moderna boosters starting September 20, contingent on authorization from U.S. regulators. But now administration officials acknowledge Moderna boosters probably won't be ready by then - the Food and Drug Administration needs more evidence to judge them. Adding to the complexity, Moderna wants its booster to be half the dose of the original shots.
As for Pfizer's booster, who really needs another dose right away isn't a simple decision either. What's ultimately recommended for an 80-year-old vaccinated back in December may be different than for a 35-year-old immunized in the spring - who likely would get a stronger immunity boost by waiting longer for another shot.
FDA's scientific advisers will publicly debate Pfizer's evidence on September 17, just three days before the administration's target. If the FDA approves another dose, then advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will recommend who should get one.
That's tricky because while real-world data shows the vaccines used in the U.S. remain strongly protective against severe disease and death, their ability to prevent milder infection is dropping. It's not clear how much of that is due to immunity waning or the extra-contagious delta variant - or the fact that delta struck just as much of the country dropped masks and other precautions.
4:30 a.m.: Ontario schools are safe - but parents should be prepared for COVID-19 outbreaks and the possibility of curbing kids' after-school activities if cases jump, says Ontario's chief medical officer of health.
On Tuesday - as many students around the province began returning to in-person learning - Dr. Kieran Moore said he is confident that the school setting itself is safe. We put in many precautions. We will see outbreaks, we will see activity in the schools, but they basically reflect what's going on in the community."
The caution came as several Ontario school boards reported their first cases of COVID-19 among staff and students.
The Toronto District School Board recorded one of its first confirmed cases of COVID-19 connected to a welcome event last week. The infected student came in contact with around 27 other people at an orientation event for incoming Grade 9 students at Riverdale Collegiate Institute on Aug. 30, according to a TDSB teacher who spoke to the Star on condition of anonymity so they could speak freely without fear of retribution.
Read more from the Star's Kristin Rushowy and Maria Sarrouh.