Today’s coronavirus news: Ontario reports at least 16,714 new cases; Montreal police fine 57 at curfew protest
The latest coronavirus news from Canada and around the world Sunday. This file will be updated throughout the day. Web links to longer stories if available.
4:20 p.m.: As the COVID-19 omicron variant surges across the United States, top federal health officials are looking to add a negative test along with its five-day isolation restrictions for asymptomatic Americans who catch the coronavirus, the White House's top medical adviser said Sunday.
Dr. Anthony Fauci said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now considering including the negative test as part of its guidance after getting significant pushback" on its updated recommendations last week.
Under that Dec. 27 guidance, isolation restrictions for people infected with COVID-19 were shortened from 10 days to five days if they are no longer feeling symptoms or running a fever. After that period, they are asked to spend the following five days wearing a mask when around others.
Read the full story here: Fauci: CDC mulling COVID test requirement for asymptomatic
3:45 p.m.: Public health officials in Prince Edward Island are reporting 137 new cases of COVID-19 over the past two days.
The province now has a staggering 867 active reported cases, representing more than half of the 1,503 total cases logged on the Island since the pandemic first emerged in the spring of 2020.
On Dec. 20, there had been just 504 COVID-19 infections detected on the Island since the pandemic began, meaning total cases have just about tripled in less than two weeks.
Officials say three people are in hospital due to COVID-19, and four other people in hospital for other reasons have tested positive.
Public health has limited the availability of testing clinics to those with symptoms, close contacts of identified cases and residents who have received a positive rapid test result.
Officials say more than 18,000 Islanders have now received a booster dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
3:00 p.m.: Health officials in Newfoundland and Labrador reported 466 new cases of COVID-19 today, which marking a new record -- though not by much.
The previous daily caseload record was set just 24 hours ago at 442 new infections.
Though the numbers seem small compared to other Canadian jurisdictions, today's caseload represents an infection rate of 89 diagnoses per 100,000 people.
By comparison, with 16,714 new cases today, Ontario's infection rate is 115 diagnoses per 100,000 people.
Unlike Ontario, hospitalizations in Newfoundland and Labrador remain low with one COVID-19 patient in care out of 2,597 active reported cases.
The total number of cases logged in the Labrador health authority region has jumped from 80 to 429 in the past five days, and Premier Andrew Furey tweeted that he was heading there this week to help administer booster shots.
1:20 p.m.: The latest wave of COVID-19 is bringing health-care resources in some remote communities in Canada to the breaking point as case numbers explode.
Nunavut confirmed another 22 cases of the illness Sunday, bringing the total to 196 in just 10 days.
That's more than one-fifth of the confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the territory since the pandemic began almost two years ago, and the territory's chief public health officer Dr. Michael Patterson says it is putting immense strain on health care.
On Labrador's remote northern coast, where COVID-19 showed up for the first time last week, leaders are pleading with residents to be cautious and imposing tight travel restrictions into local communities.
Innu Nation Deputy Grand Chief Mary Ann Nui says in a Facebook post that the inability to get confirmed test results quickly is adding to the stress.
A federal rapid response team with nurses and a paramedic is now in Bearskin Lake First Nation in northern Ontario, as the fly-in only community reports more than one-third of its 400 residents have COVID-19.
1:17 p.m.: Ontario hospitals are feeling the brunt of soaring COVID-19 case counts as the virus rips through the province at record speed and infects high numbers of patients and health care workers.
The situation has become so serious that some hospital networks are reporting hundreds of their staff members have tested positive for the virus, are symptomatic or are in isolation after an exposure.
Kevin Smith, the president and chief executive officer of Toronto's University Health Network, says those factors combined have resulted in at least a hundred staff absences per day as the highly transmissible Omicron variant drives case counts to unprecedented highs across the province.
There aren't health care workers growing on trees, so it's a very, very limited supply and they're in hot demand everywhere," Smith said in a telephone interview.
The number of staff unable to work at UHN's five facilities in recent weeks, including Toronto General, Toronto Western and Princess Margaret Hospitals, is higher than what the facilities experienced in previous waves of the virus.
The high number of unavailable staff comes as Smith has noticed fewer people entering hospital critically ill from the virus. This despite the fact that Public Health Ontario reported 16,714 new infections on Sunday and a record 18,445 cases Saturday, noting both figures are considered underestimates.
The number of active cases in the province has now crossed the 100,000 mark.
1:07 p.m.: As the Omicron variant surges across the United States, top federal health officials are looking to add a negative test along with its five-day isolation restrictions for asymptomatic Americans who catch the coronavirus, the White House's top medical adviser said Sunday.
Dr. Anthony Fauci said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now considering including the negative test as part of its guidance after getting significant pushback" on its updated recommendations last week.
Under that Dec. 27 guidance, isolation restrictions for people infected with COVID-19 were shortened from 10 days to five days if they are no longer feeling symptoms or running a fever. After that period, they are asked to spend the following five days wearing a mask when around others.
The guidelines have since received criticism from many health professionals for not specifying a negative antigen test as a requirement for leaving isolation.
There has been some concern about why we don't ask people at that five-day period to get tested," Fauci said. Looking at it again, there may be an option in that, that testing could be a part of that. And I think we're going to be hearing more about that in the next day or so from the CDC."
12:55 p.m.: Health authorities in Nova Scotia are reporting record-shattering COVID-19 case counts and test positivity rates over the past two days.
The provincial health department logged 709 new cases on Saturday and 1,184 cases today, marking the first time the province has ever reported more than 1,000 infections in a 24-hour period.
A department news release shows a test positivity rate of 16 per cent over the past two days, which is also a new record.
The release says a spike in testing in the province has led to follow-up delays, and residents who receive a positive test result should alert their close contacts.
Public health says it is prioritizing contact tracing in long-term care and health-care facilities, as well as correctional facilities, shelters and other congregate settings.
As of Friday, there were 34 people in hospital due to COVID-19, with four of those patients in intensive care.
12:40 p.m.: Twitter has permanently suspended one of U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's accounts, saying she's posted misinformation about COVID-19.
We permanently suspended Marjorie Taylor Greene for repeated violations of our COVID-19 misinformation policy," Twitter said in a statement, according to CNN. We've been clear that, per our strike system for this policy, we will permanently suspend accounts for repeated violations of the policy."
Prior tweets from the account were no longer visible Sunday.
On Sunday, Greene, a Georgia Republican, blasted Twitter's decision in a statement.
Twitter is an enemy to America and can't handle the truth," she said. That's fine, I'll show America we don't need them and it's time to defeat our enemies. They can't successfully complete a Communist revolution when people tell the truth. Social media platforms can't stop the truth from being spread far and wide. Big Tech can't stop the truth. Communist Democrats can't stop the truth. I stand with the truth and the people. We will overcome!"
Greene has been repeatedly suspended by Twitter for remarks about the pandemic.
11:35 a.m.: Public Health Ontario is reporting another 16,714 COVID-19 cases on Sunday, but warns the true number of people infected with the virus is likely higher.
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 16 new virus-related deaths, the most reported in the province since September.
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 and is set to release its next update on Tuesday.
11:23 a.m.: Quebec is reporting 15,845 new COVID-19 cases today, as well as 13 additional deaths linked to the virus.
The Health Department says the number of hospitalizations linked to the disease rose by 70 to 1,231.
It says 162 people are in intensive care, an increase of nine.
The Health Department says 54,065 COVID-19 tests were analyzed Friday and 30.9 per cent came back positive.
Meanwhile, a plan to shutter most retail settings on Sundays for the next three weeks goes into effect today.
The bulk of the province's stores will be closed today, with the exception of pharmacies, convenience stores and gas stations.
10:55 a.m.: Montreal police say 57 people were ticketed and one was arrested at a protest against Quebec's provincewide curfew on Saturday night.
A few dozen people gathered in downtown Montreal to oppose the return of a curfew, which came into effect from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. on New Year's Eve.
Premier Francois Legault announced the measure at a news conference in Montreal on Dec. 30 in an effort to curb the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 and prevent the province's health-care system from being overwhelmed.
Montreal Police spokeswoman Caroline Chevrefils says one person was arrested on Saturday for assaulting a police officer, and 57 tickets were issued for violating the curfew.
Adults outside after the curfew can receive fines of $1,000 to $6,000, while youth 14 years of age and older are liable to a fine of $500.
This is the second time the province is facing such a measure after a previous curfew introduced in early January 2021 was in effect for more than five months.
10:25 a.m.: COVID-19 cases among employees at London's largest hospital have now nearly tripled from levels recorded nearly a week ago.
London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) now has 152 staff, or roughly one per cent of its 15,000 employees, who have tested positive for the virus, up from 104 reported Tuesday.
This amounts approximately to one per cent of our workforce," Carol Young-Ritchie, executive vice president and chief nursing executive at LHSC, said in a statement Saturday. These positive staff cases are reflective of the widespread transmission of the COVID-19 virus in our community."
The number of hospital staff with COVID-19 is expected to be updated again Tuesday.
LHSC is closely monitoring the situation and working to strategically plan out the coming weeks, recognizing this is a constantly evolving situation," Young-Ritchie said.
Officials did provide any details about what the upcoming plans might entail.
LHSC had 28 COVID-19 patients in hospital Friday, including nine adults in intensive care. Fewer than five patients were being treated at Children's Hospital. There were no patients in the pediatric unit.
St. Joseph's Health Care London recorded 56 COVID-19 infections among staff Thursday, more than double the number of cases reported just four days earlier, the latest figures on its website show.
The rising numbers of COVID-infected hospital employees come amid the provincewide surge of Omicron, a highly contagious new strain of the virus that's driven Ontario and the London area's daily case counts to record heights in recent days.
10 a.m.: A year after COVID-19 vaccines first arrived in Canada, employers and workers in the country's most populous province are getting a clearer picture of when and what kind of immunization mandates can be enforced in the workplace, legal experts said following recent rulings on the issue.
However, Ontarians shouldn't expect a black-and-white, across-the-board answer on whether such policies - which in some cases involve firing non-compliant staff - can always be imposed, the experts said.
A series of recent decisions has shown labour arbitrators are considering the specifics of each workplace and policy in determining whether the mandates can be imposed in a unionized setting, said Michael Cleveland, a lawyer with the firm Miller Thomson.
There's not going to be a one-size-fits-all solution," he said in a recent interview.
Ultimately, what is reasonable depends on the specific circumstances of the workplace and also things like the surrounding circumstances, (like) is there really expanding community spread in the environment."
8:35 a.m.: Travel delays continued in the U.S. early Sunday as a winter storm swept eastward and carriers dealt with staff shortages caused by the rapid spread of the omicron variant.
Cancellations of flights into, out of and within the U.S. were close to 1,900 early Sunday morning, with over 600 delays already posted, according to the tracking firm FlightAware.com,
That follows Saturday's tallies of more than 2,700 U.S. flights canceled and over 6,500 delayed.
With the U.S. hitting record Covid infections and related staff absences, the busy holiday travel season has been snarled by at least 12,000 canceled flights since Christmas Eve, according to the Associated Press. At this point, thousands of travelers are attempting to return home after the holidays.
7:40 a.m.: The pandemic had only just gripped Toronto when our attitudes about our living spaces took a dramatic shift. Downtown residents were relocating to the suburbs and beyond. Even suburbanites were moving to smaller centres in search of more space and affordability - a movement some observers dubbed the great migration."
Some were driven away by the loss of work and fear of crowds. But amid the isolation and uncertainty, others saw the opportunity to change their lives.
In the summer of 2020, Ana and Rob Stephenson, 48 and 49, were among those who saw a chance to trade commuting for community, and to invest more time in their family.
The Star spoke to Ana at the time, and the couple with their daughter Addison, now 10, had retreated from their Oakville house to live full-time in their much smaller Haliburton cottage.
Ana, who was working from home before COVID-19, continued working there and Rob began searching for a new position so they could relocate north of the city permanently.
They hoped to return to Oakville that September and started readying their house for sale.
But when the Star checked back with Ana more than a year later, the family's path had veered again. They were still living in Oakville and life had intervened with a new job in the city for Rob that made living in Haliburton impractical.
Read the full story here: One family fled to a cottage. Another woman packed up for the Rockies. As the pandemic wears on, are those among the great migration' happy?
7:30 a.m.: It was a once-in-a-lifetime theatrical experience for those at the Dec. 15 reopening of Come From Away" at Toronto's Royal Alexandra Theatre. Following a 21-month pandemic hiatus, the hit Canadian musical returned to an exuberant capacity crowd that leapt to its feet for a rousing standing ovation before the cast even uttered a word.
The 15th was the greatest experience of my life onstage," said actor Ali Momen, who played Kevin J./Ali and others in the musical.
The reopening demonstrated the resilience of the city's battered theatre industry in the face of ongoing cancellations, postponements, show closures and other COVID-related struggles. In the first year of the pandemic alone, Toronto's performing arts industry lost more than $900 million in revenue.
Seven days later, unbeknownst to the cast and crew, the show would play its final performance Dec. 22. A COVID-19 outbreak within the company led Mirvish Productions to cancel four shows over the Christmas weekend.
The production was set to resume Dec. 28. It never did.
Read the full story here: Come From Away' closed after reopening for just seven days. Its producers blame a lack of government support
7:30 a.m.: Unvaccinated people traveling from the United States will have to self-isolate in France for 10 days under supervision from local authorities in line with new government restrictions that come into force on Sunday.
All passengers from the U.S. have to provide a negative COVID-19 test - a PCR or an antigen test - no older than 48 hours in addition to proof of vaccination before boarding a flight to France.
Unvaccinated travelers from the U.S. previously were required to self-quarantine without supervision for seven days.
New COVID-19 cases in France have surpassed 200,000 for four consecutive days, fueled by the highly contagious omicron variant.
French authorities also are stepping up pressure on unvaccinated residents. The government is pushing parliament to pass a law in the next two weeks that would allow only vaccinated residents to enter restaurants, cinemas, theaters, museums, and sports arenas.
France's current health pass" also allows access for people with proof of a negative test or having recovered from COVID-19.
7:30 a.m.: The surge of COVID-19 cases across the United States is proving an unsettling yet well-known fact: you can still get infected with the coronavirus despite being fully vaccinated, even more so with the highly transmissible Omicron variant.
Infection is still possible even among the boosted, but how does a positive COVID-19 test affect those who are fully vaccinated and have yet to get an extra jab?
You'll definitely have to wait a bit, though specific timing depends on your preferences, experts say.
7 a.m.: Seven-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi is among four players in the Paris Saint-Germain squad to have tested positive for the coronavirus ahead of the team's French Cup game on Monday night.
PSG added that one staff member also had COVID-19 in a statement on Saturday night. None of them were named at that point, but in a further statement on the team's medical news Sunday the club named Messi, left back Juan Bernat, backup goalie Sergio Rico and 19-year-old midfielder Nathan Bitumazala.
PSG is playing at third-tier Vannes.
Last year's runner-up Monaco was in action later Sunday at second-tier Quevilly-Rouen in one of 13 games scheduled for the day as sides bid to reach the last 16.
Monaco said Saturday that seven players had COVID-19 but none showed any worrying signs and are isolating.
5 a.m.: The U.K. is trying various strategies to limit the impact of record high COVID-19 cases on health care and other sectors, while attempting to stay true to a vow to avoid new lockdowns.
Among the latest moves, Boris Johnson's government is developing contingency plans to help companies and supply chains avoid disruptions caused by rising staff absences, the Financial Times reported.
It's asked private businesses to test the plans against a worst-case scenario of as much as 25% in workforce absences, according to the newspaper.
COVID-related absences among hospital staff jumped nearly two-thirds between Dec. 26 and Dec. 31, the Times reported on Sunday, citing National Health Service figures.
Regionally, the situation is even worse, with parts of one London hospital having to close because half the nursing staff were off sick, the paper reported. Health service staff have also faced difficulty accessing COVID tests.
There were more than 162,000 positive tests for COVID-19 in England on Saturday, about four times the daily level from early December, extending a string of record highs tied to the highly contagious Omicron variant.
Previously: Several parts of Canada ushered in 2022 by documenting record-setting COVID-19 case counts after a quiet New Year's Eve dampened by tightened public health restrictions and fears of getting sick in the latest wave of the pandemic.
Quebec, Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador all logged new peaks in their daily COVID-19 counts, in some cases continuing a streak of rapid infection growth and toppling previous records set just 24 hours earlier.
Health officials in Quebec reported 17,122 new COVID-19 cases on New Year's Day, marking the fifth straight day that a record number of new infections have been reported in the province. It also recorded 12 more deaths linked to COVID-19 and 98 more people in hospital, for a total of 1,161 patients.
Quebec residents rang in the new year under a newly instituted, provincewide curfew. The rules took effect Friday and required everyone to be home by 10 p.m., and to stay there until 5 a.m.
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association condemned the new measures, saying the government has presented no evidence that a curfew will work to slow the spread of COVID-19.
A curfew is particularly problematic because it purports to empower police officers to stop and question individuals simply for being outdoors at certain times of day," Cara Zwibel, the association's director of fundamental freedoms and acting general counsel, said in a statement Friday evening. The burden of these police stops is likely to fall disproportionately on racialized individuals and other marginalized groups."
In Ontario, meanwhile, public health officials reported a staggering 18,445 new cases Saturday, trouncing Friday's record-setting tally of 16,713 new diagnoses. Ontario is one of several jurisdictions to have changed its availability of polymerase chain reaction testing for COVID-19 and as a result, public health warned that Saturday's figures represent an underestimate."
Twelve more Ontarians died because of COVID-19 since Friday, and 85 more people are now in hospital, according to data released by Public Health Ontario. The data did not include the total number of hospitalizations.