Today’s coronavirus news: Ontario, Quebec report record number of cases; U.K. data suggest hospitalization less likely with Omicron
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.
3:06 p.m. New Brunswick is reporting 257 new cases of COVID-19 today and two more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus, The Canadian Press reports.
Public health says a person in their 50s died in the Fredericton area and a person in their 80s died in the Edmundston region, according to CP.
Officials say 98 more people in the province have recovered from the disease and that there are 39 COVID-19-related hospitalizations.
Of those patients, 16 are in intensive care, including 12 people on ventilators.
Officials say 102 cases in the province have so far been identified as the Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus, adding that none have involved people requiring hospitalization.
They say all of the Omicron cases have been contact traced, with the source of transmission of five cases still under investigation.
3 p.m. A spokeswoman for Ontario's health minister says children born in 2017 will have to wait for their fifth birthday to be eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine, The Canadian Press reports.
Alexandra Hilkene says that guidance will remain in place for the time being, according to CP.
It's a shift away from the rules that were in place when Pfizer-BioNTech's pediatric COVID-19 vaccine was approved for use in kids aged five to 11 in Canada last month.
At that point, all kids born in 2016 or earlier were eligible for a shot in Ontario.
Last week, Ontario's Ministry of Health tweeted that anyone born in 2017 would be eligible for their vaccine starting at the beginning of January - a tweet Hilkene said was published in error," because the province had yet to make a decision on the matter.
Pfizer continues to test its vaccines for use in kids under the age of five, but reported last week that it was adding a third dose to the trials, because the usual two shots didn't appear strong enough for some of the children.
2:37 p.m. Italy has again tightened COVID restrictions, including barring the unvaccinated from more public spaces, as it registered a record high of new coronavirus infections.
Under the new rules announced Thursday, masks must be worn outdoors nationwide, and only more-protective FFP2 masks may be worn on public transport, in cinemas, theaters and stadiums. Outdoor New Year's Eve celebrations have been banned, and discos will be closed until Jan. 31.
Already unvaccinated people are barred from restaurants, museums and other indoor activities, but now they also are deprived of the typical Italian coffee standing at a bar.
Italy in the last 24 hours recorded nearly 44,600 new cases of COVID infection, the highest number of new cases in any 24-hour period, and 168 deaths. Omicron represents nearly one-third of the new cases.
2:10 p.m. Public health officials in Newfoundland and Labrador are reporting 100 new cases of COVID-19.
Today's case count is tied with the 100 infections logged on Feb. 11 as the highest number reported in a day since the pandemic emerged last spring.
Officials say there are 314 active reported infections in the province and no COVID-19-related hospitalizations.
Bars, cinemas and bingo halls were all closed as of this morning, as heightened public health restrictions came into effect at 12:01 a.m.
Restaurants must operate at half capacity with physical distancing measures in place, and households must maintain only 20 close contacts.
Officials say the measures are intended to stop the spread of the Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus and that they'll be re-evaluated on Jan. 10.
2 p.m. New one-time grants are on the way for businesses in British Columbia that were forced to shut down by COVID-19 restrictions.
Ravi Kahlon, the minister of jobs, economic recovery and innovation, says affected businesses, such as bars, fitness centres and event venues, will be able to apply for a grant ranging from $1,000 to $10,000.
He says the COVID-19 Closure Relief Grant will follow a formula similar to the government's Circuit Breaker grant in March.
Businesses will be able to apply in January with applications accepted until the end of February.
Kahlon says the grant can be used to pay for expenses, such as employee wages, rent or utilities.
Kahlon says he understands businesses want to the money right away, but the grant will take time to administer and the government will work as fast as possible to help.
1:50 p.m. Alberta's Opposition says the governing United Conservative Party showed hypocrisy by going ahead with a Christmas party a few hours after the health minister strongly encouraged workplaces to cancel holiday gatherings.
NDP house leader Christina Gray says Albertans are sick of the government not following its own advice to curb the spread of the COVID-19.
Health Minister Jason Copping asked workplaces on Tuesday afternoon to cancel their holiday social gatherings to align with the province's work from home order.
That night the UCP held a Christmas reception at Edmonton's Parlour Italian Kitchen and Bar.
UCP spokesman Dave Prisco says government officials decided to proceed with the party because it was at reduced capacity and the health minister had given the advice only a short time before.
1:45 p.m. Come From Away" is going dark until after the Christmas holiday following a positive COVID-19 test among the backstage crew.
Mirvish Productions says it's cancelled four upcoming performances of the Gander, N.L.-set musical in an effort to protect all the artists, technicians, staff and audiences, and allow everyone to celebrate the holidays safely."
The shows affected were scheduled to run Thursday night, Friday afternoon and on Sunday afternoon and evening.
The announcement comes as the live theatre industry is rocked by the rapid spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant.
Come From Away" reopened at the Royal Alexandra Theatre only last week as a new round of tighter capacity restrictions were introduced limiting all live theatres and concert halls to 50 per cent capacity.
12:15 p.m. Immigration Minister Sean Fraser says some changes to Canada's immigration system could be here to stay.
Last month the government welcomed a record number of permanent residents, putting the Liberals on track to meet an ambitious immigration target of 401,000 new permanent residents by the end of the year.
Some of the new arrivals have been immigrants who arrived in Canada through traditional means.
But others have been temporary residents allowed to make the country their permanent home because of pandemic-related restrictions at the border.
Fraser says that pathway could remain open beyond the pandemic.
Fraser says he expects more traditional immigration streams to pick up as the pandemic ebbs away and restrictions ease on international borders.
12:07 p.m. Britain's public health agency says preliminary data suggest people with the Omicron variant are between 50% and 70% less likely to need hospitalization than those with the Delta strain of the coronavirus.
The U.K. Health Security Agency findings add to emerging evidence that Omicron produces milder illness than other variants - but also spreads faster and better evades vaccines.
The agency said that based on cases in the U.K., an individual with Omicron is estimated to be between 31 per cent and 45 per cent less likely to attend a hospital emergency department compared to delta, and 50 to 70 per cent less likely to be admitted to hospital."
It cautioned that the analysis is preliminary and highly uncertain" because of the small number of Omicron patients in hospitals and the fact that most were in younger age groups. As of Dec. 20, 132 people had been admitted to U.K. hospitals with confirmed Omicron, of whom 14 - aged between 52 and 96 - died.
12 p.m. Prince Edward Island is increasing COVID19 restrictions, as health officials are reporting a record 35 new cases of the disease.
The Island's chief public health officer, Dr. Heather Morrison, said today in a news release the new rules limiting indoor private gatherings are needed to reduce the spread of the Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus.
The Island is reporting 165 active infections, and officials say there have been 588 cases since the pandemic began.
11:42 a.m. It's hard to know how to mark this second pandemic Christmas without adding to the spike in new COVID-19 cases.
Have a specific question about how you can stay safe? Or looking for general guidance on how to navigate the new world of Omicron?
Dr. Shahid Husain, a researcher, professor and infectious disease specialist with University Health Network, will be here from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Thursday (Dec. 23) to answer your questions in live chat.
Ask a COVID-19 expert how to keep your Christmas safe. Log in here to chat live.
11:40 a.m. New COVID-19 figures from Canada's two largest provinces are pointing to another upswing in infections.
Health officials in Ontario are reporting 5,790 new cases today, a tally that is well above the previous single-day high of 4,812 set back in April.
In Montreal, officials confirmed that one of every five Montrealers getting tested for COVID-19 is positive - and the latest data confirm that 90 per cent of infections in the city involve the Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus.
Dr. Mylene Drouin of Montreal public health says 60 per cent of the positive cases in the city are among people between the ages of 18 and 44, adding that contact tracers cannot keep up with the crush of new infections.
The Quebec government is reporting 9,397 new cases today - a record - and a rise of 28 COVID-19-related hospitalizations, for a total of 473.
Meanwhile, two new British studies seem to confirm earlier research suggesting the Omicron variant is milder than the Delta version. But researchers say that good news may be overshadowed by the fact that Omicron spreads much faster than Delta and is better at evading vaccines.
As a result, the sheer number of infections linked to Omicron could still overwhelm hospitals.
11:10 a.m. Montreal public health officials say one out of every five residents in the city getting tested for COVID-19 is positive.
The city's public health director, Dr. Mylene Drouin, told reporters today that 90 per cent of COVID-19 cases in Montreal involve the Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus and that the test positivity rate is between 18 and 20 per cent.
She says Montreal health officials identified more than 3,600 new cases on Wednesday and says that number is likely an underestimation, adding that 60 per cent of infections involve people between the ages of 18 and 44.
There are about 181 people in hospital with the disease in the city and officials say they are postponing some non-essential services and reorganizing personnel to increase the number of COVID-19-dedicated beds to 500.
Drouin says Montreal public health officials are no longer capable of contact tracing all the new cases reported every day because the numbers are overwhelming.
The Health Department is reporting 9,397 new cases of COVID-19 across Quebec today and a rise of 28 COVID-19-related hospitalizations.
11:05 a.m. Nunavut is tightening COVID-19 public health restrictions in Iqaluit, including restricting travel in and out of the capital city to essential purposes only.
The territory says starting at noon today the city's swimming pool, theatre and hair and nail salons must close.
Restaurants are limited to takeout food only.
Indoor gatherings in homes are limited to five people plus household members.
Indoor public gatherings in community spaces, including libraries and gyms, are capped at 25 people or 25 per cent capacity.
The territory says the changes come after a confirmed case of COVID-19 in a person who has not left Iqaluit for more than a month, a likely sign of community transmission.
10:20 a.m. The Toronto Maple Leafs announced Thursday that defenceman Morgan Rielly and a staff member have entered the NHL's COVID-19 protocol.
The Maple Leafs now have a total of 12 players - including captain John Tavares and goaltender Jack Campbell - in isolation along with head coach Sheldon Keefe, two assistants, and four other members of the organization.
The NHL shut down for its annual Christmas break after Tuesday night's lone remaining game. Four contests originally scheduled for Wednesday and 14 for Thursday are among the 45 that have been postponed since Dec. 13 due to pandemic-related concerns.
The league is scheduled to resume play with 14 games on Monday, including Toronto at Columbus, although more postponements are possible with a number of clubs dealing with multiple COVID-19 cases.
10:17 a.m. Ontario is reporting a record 5,790 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, with seven deaths, 440 hospitalizations and 169 people in ICU.
The seven-day average is up a record 481 to 4,002 cases a day, up 139 per cent in a week, a doubling rate of every 5.6 days. The province says 68,191 tests were completed the previous day, and a 16.0 per cent positivity rate.
Ontario also administered 253,258 vaccines yesterday.
Read more from the Star's Urbi Khan.
10 a.m. Christmas concerts and other events have been canceled in Greece under new restrictions announced Thursday that include a general mask mandate for outdoors and all public areas.
Incoming travelers will also be required to have follow-up tests for COVID-19 on the second and fourth days after their arrival.
The restrictions will take effect Friday as the country braces for the expected impact of the omicron variant of the coronavirus, with the public health service already under pressure and intensive care space at more than 90 per cent capacity.
Due to the large amount of Christmas activity and crowded conditions that it creates, the mandatory use of masks is fully justified," Health Minister Thanos Plevris said during a live-streamed presentation of the measures, which will remain in effect at least through Jan. 3.
9:45 a.m. U.S. health regulators on Thursday authorized the second pill against COVID-19, providing another easy-to-use medication to battle the rising tide of Omicron infections.
The Food and Drug Administration authorization comes one day after the agency cleared a competing drug from Pfizer. That pill is likely to become the first-choice treatment against the virus, thanks to its superior benefits and milder side effects.
As a result, Merck's pill is expected to have a smaller role against the pandemic than predicted just a few weeks ago. Its ability to head off severe COVID-19 is much smaller than initially announced and the drug label will warn of serious safety issues, including the potential for birth defects.
9:15 a.m. The United Arab Emirates has recorded its highest daily number of coronavirus cases since August.
The tourism hub on the Arabian Peninsula on Thursday reported 1,000 new infections - a drastic surge from record lows of roughly 50 infections just weeks ago, before the the spread of the highly transmissible omicron variant.
The daily update represents a significant jump from the 665 cases authorities reported on Wednesday.
The UAE boasts one of the world's highest vaccination rates, with over 90% of the country's eligible population fully vaccinated. Infections had plummeted in recent weeks, and there were vanishingly few COVID-19 hospitalizations or deaths.
Authorities say the hospitalization rate for COVID-19 remains low, around 3%.
9:05 a.m. The British government said Thursday it won't introduce any new coronavirus restrictions until after Christmas, and called early studies on the severity of the Omicron variant encouraging.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said two studies suggesting Omicron carries a significantly lower risk of hospitalization than the previously dominant delta strain was encouraging news." But he said it was not very clear yet ... by how much that risk is reduced."
The U.K. Health Security Agency is due to publish new data on Omicron later Thursday. It follows two studies, from Imperial College London and Scottish researchers, that found patients with Omicron were between 20 per cent and 68 per cent less likely to require hospital treatment than those with delta.
Data out of South Africa, where the variant was first detected, have also suggested Omicron might be milder there. Scientists stress that even if the findings of these early studies hold up, any reductions in severity need to be weighed against the fact that Omicron spreads much faster than delta and is more able to evade vaccines.
8:45 a.m.: Statistics Canada says real gross domestic product increased by 0.8 per cent in October.
The agency also says preliminary data for November suggests a rise of 0.3 per cent for the month.
7:50 a.m.: Toronto will be operating vaccine clinics on New Year's Day and is adding approximately 14,000 new appointments.
Councillor Joe Cressy said on Twitter this morning that approximately 14,286 appointments for Jan.1-3 at city-run mass immunization clinics will be available through the provincial booking system starting at 8 a.m.Thursday.
You can book an appointment here.
6:43 a.m.: Canada's top doctor says urgent action is needed to curb the spread of Omicron, which is now the dominant strain of COVID-19 in several provinces.
Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam said Wednesday there were more than 11,300 new infections nationwide the previous day, up from the average of 5,000 cases per day last week.
She said modelling shows case counts could be very high" by early January.
On Wednesday evening, Quebec Premier Francois Legault announced new restrictions as the province recorded roughly 9,000 new COVID-19 cases.
As of Boxing Day, he said, private gatherings in the province will be limited to six people or two-family bubbles.
Restaurants, which are already operating at half capacity and have to close at 10 p.m., will also have to limit groups at tables to six people or two families.
Several provinces have recently reinstated stricter public health measures in response to Omicron, including caps on social gatherings and closing some businesses.
Meanwhile, a self-isolating Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is pushing back at critics who say his government has fumbled the Omicron wave of COVID-19.
Trudeau told reporters Wednesday that they have been working flat out and learning much about COVID over the past two years. He added that the government tried to slow Omicron's introduction to Canada by instituting border restrictions and testing requirements.
6:23 a.m.: Australia is reporting a major spike in coronavirus infections a day after Prime Minister Scott Morrison rejected lockdowns or mask mandates to slow the spread of the omicron variant.
The country's most populous state, New South Wales, listed 5,715 new cases Thursday. That was up from 3,763 a day earlier and almost as many as were recorded across all of Australia on Wednesday.
There were 347 people in New South Wales hospitals, up from 302 the previous day, and 45 in intensive care units, up from 40.
Victoria state also saw a sharp increase, reporting 2,005 new infections Thursday.
Morrison on Wednesday convened a Cabinet meeting with leaders of Australia's states and territories but ruled out lockdowns.
6:23 a.m.: South Korea has set a record for daily COVID-19 deaths as it struggles to resolve a shortage of hospital beds amid weeks of surging cases.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said Thursday that 109 people died in the latest 24-hour period. That raised the country's total number of pandemic fatalities to 5,015.
The agency reported 6,919 new coronavirus cases, the vast majority of them involving the Delta variant.
Infections surged after South Korea significantly relaxed its pandemic restrictions in early November as part of its efforts to restore pre-pandemic normalcy. Alarmed by the spike, health authorities on Saturday restored the country's toughest distancing rules such as a four-person cap on private gatherings and a 9 p.m. curfew for restaurants and cafes.
6:23 a.m.: An Israeli hospital says a man who was reported to have died from the omicron variant of the coronavirus was found to have the Delta variant.
Israeli health officials reported the death earlier this week. It would have been the country's first omicron casualty.
Soroka Hospital, located in the southern city of Beersheba, said Thursday that final test results from the Israeli Health Ministry indicated the man was infected with delta.
Israel has identified 341 cases of omicron. It has greatly restricted air traffic in and out of the country and is imposing a series of public restrictions to prevent the spread of the highly contagious variant.
The Health Ministry director is also considering whether to administer a second booster shot to at-risk groups, following a recommendation by a medical advisory group.
Israel, a country of 9.3 million people, has reported over 8,200 COVID-19 deaths during the pandemic.
6:23 a.m.: Germany's health minister expects a surge in coronavirus cases around New Year's.
Health Minister Karl Lauterbach told public radio network WDR 2 on Thursday that Germany hasn't seen a big, rapid wave of new infections from the omicron variant, which has already hit other European countries such as Britain.
Lauterbach said that would change around New Year and in the first week of January."
The government is urging Germans to limit their contacts over the holiday period and to get vaccinated, including with booster shots if they already had initial doses.
Official figures show 70.7% of Germany's population received a first round of vaccines, while 35% has had boosters.
Police said about 5,000 people gathered in the centre of Munich late Wednesday to protest against pandemic restrictions and a planned vaccine mandate. Some participants attacked officers and 11 people were detained, police said.
6:22 a.m.: China is redoubling efforts to control new virus outbreaks with a lockdown of the 13 million residents of the northern city of Xi'an following a spike in coronavirus cases.
The measure comes just weeks before the country hosts the Winter Olympics in Beijing, roughly 1,000 kilometres (625 miles) to the northeast.
There was no word on whether the virus was the newly surging omicron variant or the far more common delta. China has reported just seven omicron cases - four in the southern manufacturing centre of Guangzhou, two in the southern city of Changsha and one in the northern port of Tianjin.
China has also been dealing with a substantial coronavirus outbreak in several cities in the eastern province of Zhejiang near Shanghai, although isolation measures there have been more narrowly targeted.
Authorities have adopted strict pandemic control measures under their policy of seeking to drive new transmissions to zero, leading to frequent lockdowns, universal masking and mass testing. While the policy has not been entirely successful and has led to massive disruptions of travel and trade, Beijing credits it with largely containing the spread of the virus.
The Xi'an restrictions are some of the harshest since China in 2020 imposed a strict lockdown on more than 11 million people in and around the central city of Wuhan, where the coronavirus was first detected in late 2019.
Xi'an on Thursday reported another 63 locally transmitted cases, pushing the city's total to at least 211 over the past week. Xi'an is the capital of Shaanxi province, famed for its imperial relics, as well as a major centre of industry.
6:20 a.m.: The national statistics office is scheduled to say this morning what the pace of economic growth was in October, and give a first glimpse of November's figure.
Last month, Statistics Canada's preliminary data suggested the economy grew by 0.8 per cent in October to start the final quarter of the year.
The agency said that estimate put total economic activity about 0.5 per cent below the pre-pandemic level recorded in February 2020.
RBC economists Nathan Janzen and Claire Fan say they expect that today's report on gross domestic product will show October's finalized figure matches the preliminary estimate.
The duo say positive retail, wholesale and manufacturing sales numbers helped drive the growth in October, all of which is tied to a rebound in the auto sector after a sluggish September.
Janzen and Fan also expect November's early GDP estimate to show growth at a pace of 0.7 per cent.