Today’s coronavirus news: PHO reporting 18,445 cases in Ontario; Ford notes ‘ongoing battle’ in New Year message
The latest coronavirus news from Canada and around the world Saturday. This file will be updated throughout the day. Web links to longer stories if available.
4:00 p.m.: Ontario will no longer be reporting COVID-19 case numbers at schools and child-care centres, according to two memos from the Ministry of Education.
The memos sent Thursday to school boards and child-care centre operators say the provincial government is suspending the reporting of cases in these facilities because of "changes to case and contact management."
The memos say further information around sharing virus-related school absences and closures will be released shortly, but did not say whether the guidelines will be distributed before the start of classes on Jan. 5.
The memos were released by the opposition New Democrats, who are calling for Ontario Premier Doug Ford to reverse the decision to end reporting at these institutions. The Ministry of Education did not respond to request for comment on the new directives.
The memos come as Public Health Ontario said the province reached a new daily record for new COVID-19 cases today, but warned the true number of people infected with the virus is likely higher than the 18,445 it reported for the day.
Public Health Ontario says the numbers were affected by the province's recent decision to significantly curtail who is eligible for government-funded COVID-19 testing.
2 p.m.: Ontario and Quebec are heading into a new year with record-setting COVID-19 case counts, as well as rising virus-related deaths and hospitalizations.
Public health officials in Ontario reported 18,445 new cases today, noting the figure was an underestimate due to changes in testing availability.
The number trounces Friday's record-setting tally of 16,713 new diagnoses.
The provincial public health department says 12 more people have died due to the virus, and 85 more people are now in hospital.
Quebec is reporting eight deaths and 17,122 COVID-19 cases today, marking the fifth straight day that a record number of new infections have been reported in the province.
Officials in Nunavut reported 50 new cases today, while Newfoundland and Labrador logged 442 new infections.
1:30 p.m.: With some jurisdictions limiting PCR testing for COVID-19 and others increasingly overwhelmed by diagnostic demands, experts have stressed that daily case counts no longer paint the full picture of viral levels within communities.
But what we flush down the toilet may give us a better understanding of COVID-19's prevalence.
Researchers across the country have been undertaking wastewater surveillance since early in the pandemic, looking for trace amounts of the virus in sewage to see how it's spreading.
Those involved in the laborious process say it's not a perfect measurement of COVID-19 levels, but it can help show where viral activity is propagating.
1:20 p.m.: Do we even recall a time when lockdown" or social distance" or vaccine" weren't part of the daily vernacular?
COVID-19 terms have infiltrated our personal and professional conversations and we now use them casually in our day-to-day lives. Dictionary.com's word of the year in 2020 was, after all, pandemic." The 2021 word was allyship"- another, though less direct, nod to the pandemic.
So what's there to laugh about when the the latest report from the World Health Organization there have been more than 281.8 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and more than 5.4 million deaths around the globe?
Well, experts have said time and time again throughout the panorama" that humour isn't just an effective coping mechanism during a global crisis but that it's been shown to have health benefits like helping to lower stress and anxiety, which in turn can minimize the risk of cardiovascular issues.
Read more from the Star's Ivy Mak.
1 p.m.: Public Health Ontario says the province has reached a new daily record for new COVID-19 cases, but warns the true number of people infected with the virus is likely higher.
The organization is reporting 18,445 more COVID-19 cases today, up from the previous record set just a day earlier when there were 16,713 infections reported.
It says the number of infected Ontarians is an underestimate because recent policy changes have made COVID-19 testing less accessible just as cases linked to the Omicron variant are soaring.
Public Health Ontario is also reporting 12 new virus-related deaths.
The latest figures come days after the province significantly curtailed who is eligible for government-funded COVID-19 testing and come a week after many gathered for Christmas celebrations.
While the Ministry of Health typically releases daily COVID-19 data for the province, it does not publish new figures on holidays like New Year's Day.
12:45 p.m.: Quebec is reporting 17,122 new COVID-19 cases today, as hospitalizations continue to rise.
It's the fifth straight day that a record number of new infections have been reported in the province.
The Health Department says the number of hospitalizations linked to the disease rose by 98 to 1,161, with 252 people admitted and 154 discharged.
It says 153 people are in intensive care, an increase of two.
The Health Department says there are 1,571 designated beds available for COVID-19 patients in the province, including 319 intensive care beds.
Officials say eight additional deaths associated with COVID-19 were reported on Friday.
The Health Department says 58,453 COVID-19 tests were analyzed Friday and 31 per cent came back positive.
12:20 p.m.: Two more Montreal Canadiens players entered the NHL's COVID-19 protocols on Saturday.
Forward Jake Evans and defenceman Alexander Romanov were placed on the protocol list just hours before the Canadiens' matinee game at Florida.
The Canadiens said the two are being monitored closely by team medical staff and following guidelines and protocols set by the NHL."
Evans and Romanov join forwards Brandon Baddock, Paul Byron, Laurent Dauphin, Mike Hoffman, Artturi Lehkonen and Tyler Toffoli in protocol, along with defencemen Louie Belpedio, Ben Chiarot, Joel Edmunson, Gianni Fairbrother, Jeff Petry and Chris Wideman, and goalies Jake Allen and Cayden Primeau.
Goaltending coach Eric Raymond is also in COVID-19 protocol.
The Montreal Canadiens are not currently scheduled to play at home again until Jan. 15. A four-game Canadiens homestand between Tuesday and Jan. 10 had already been postponed.
11:40 a.m.: Hundreds of empty, parked cars go up in flames in France each New Year's Eve, set afire by young revelers, a much lamented tradition that appeared in decline this year, which saw only 874 vehicles burned.
The number of cars burned overnight has declined compared to New Year's Eve 2019 when 1,316 vehicles went up in flames, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said Saturday on Twitter.
Fewer arson attacks occurred because of massive police presence on cities' streets this New Year's Eve, enforcing law and order and restrictions on public gatherings and wearing face masks as infections driven by the fast-spreading omicron variant surge, he said.
There is no information on burned cars last year because of a nation-wide lockdown in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic.
9:30 a.m.: With COVID-19 cases surging just as students are about to return from winter break, dozens of U.S. colleges are moving classes online again for at least the first week or so of the semester - and some warn it could stretch longer if the wave of infection doesn't subside soon.
Harvard is moving classes online for the first three weeks of the new year, with a return to campus scheduled for late January, conditions permitting." The University of Chicago is delaying the beginning of its new term and holding the first two weeks online. Some others are inviting students back to campus but starting classes online, including Michigan State University.
Many colleges hope that an extra week or two will get them past the peak of the nationwide spike driven by the highly contagious omicron variant. Still, the surge is casting uncertainty over a semester many had hoped would be the closest to normal since the start of the pandemic.
For some students, starting the term remotely is becoming routine - many colleges used the strategy last year amid a wave of cases. But some fear the latest shift could extend well beyond a week or two.
8:20 a.m.: As 2022 arrives with the Omicron variant surging, Premier Doug Ford says Ontarians will need to dig a little deeper" but believes better days are coming.
While this has been an incredibly trying year for Ontarians, I am so proud of your tremendous spirit and strength of character," Ford said in his New Year's greeting. The Ontario spirit remains on full display in communities across this great province. For that, I thank you."
He noted that we enter 2022 in the midst of our ongoing battle against the new Omicron variant," and it's not lost on me how much each of you have had to sacrifice this past year.
While all of us have had to dig deep, we now need to dig a little deeper. That means continuing to follow public health guidelines and getting your booster shot as soon as you're able."
Read more from the Star's Kristin Rushowy.
8:10 a.m.: Ontario's nurses were stretched to the limit during the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic - an ongoing battle that, for some, has become coloured with their own personal trauma.
Staffing shortages, they say, have meant fewer nurses than ever handling patients at the province's hospitals. Many nurses, even some of the most seasoned on staff, have chosen to exit the profession entirely.
They have been at the forefront of the province's pandemic response, witnessing first-hand how COVID-19 has disrupted every facet of life in Ontario.
The Star asked some to reflect on their year on the front lines. While many shared stories of hardship and burnout, others saw personal and professional gains that gave them the power to move ahead.
Read more from the Star's Jenna Moon and Urbi Khan.
8:00 a.m.: Are we there yet?
Everyone is hoping we finally reach one destination in the new year: an end to the pandemic.
But with two years of lockdown cycles, exponential case counts, a testing shortage, and an Omicron curveball few saw coming, it can sometimes seem like that point keeps moving further and further away on the horizon.
Experts agree it's tough to predict the year ahead, but they can offer up some of their hopes and fears, and lessons from past pandemics.
It's unlikely, they say, that the virus will just disappear. But the sharp uptick of new cases could mean they fall quickly before hopefully settling into some kind of low-grade, constant, less overwhelming presence.
Read more from the Star's May Warren.
7:30 a.m.: Ontario announced a slew of changes to testing and isolation guidelines in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic as the Omicron variant continues to rip through the province.
Here's what we know so far:
Previously, anyone with symptoms of COVID-19 could get a publicly funded PCR test. Now, only those on an eligibility list can get a test.
That list includes people considered at high risk of serious illness from the virus, including hospitalized patients, patients in emergency departments at the discretion of a doctor and people on admission/transfer to or from hospital or congregate living setting.
Also eligible are patient-facing health-care workers and staff, residents, essential care providers and visitors in hospitals and congregate living settings, such as long-term care, retirement homes, First Nation elder care lodges, group homes, shelters, hospices, temporary foreign worker settings and correctional institutions.
Outpatients for whom COVID-19 treatment is being considered can get tested, as can people who are underhoused or homeless.
7:25 a.m.: A year after New Year's Day passed without a Rose Parade due to the coronavirus pandemic, the floral spectacle celebrating the arrival of 2022 was set to proceed despite a new surge of infections due to the Omicron variant.
The 133rd edition of the Pasadena, California, tradition was scheduled to feature actor LeVar Burton as grand marshal, 20 marching bands, 18 equestrian units and dozens of floats reflecting the theme of Dream. Believe. Achieve.
After days of record-smashing rains, forecasters promised a sunny dawn for the 8 a.m. start of the parade, which has an uncanny history of postcard weather.
LeAnn Rimes was set to kick off the parade with a performance of Throw My Arms Around the World." Also on the performance list were American Idol" winner Laine Hardy aboard Louisiana's Feed Your Soul" float and country singer-songwriter Jimmie Allen.
The parade and the afternoon Rose Bowl football game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Utah Utes remained on track despite an explosion of COVID-19 infections in Los Angeles County, where daily new cases topped 27,000 on Friday.
The county Department of Public Health said it was the highest number of new cases.
7:20 a.m.: Seven Monaco players have tested positive for the coronavirus, the club said Saturday on the eve of its French Cup game.
The match at second-tier Quevilly-Rouen is still set to go ahead on Sunday.
Monaco said none of the seven players show any worrying signs and are isolating.
There are 12 other French Cup games scheduled for Sunday, with titleholder Paris Saint-Germain in action on Monday night at third-tier Vannes.