Today’s coronavirus news: Ontario is reporting 3,630 people hospitalized with COVID-19, including 500 people in the ICU
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.
10:25 a.m. Ontario is reporting 3,630 people hospitalized with COVID-19 Thursday, including 500 people in the ICU with the virus.
There are 35 new deaths.
Fifty-four per cent were admitted to the hospital for COVID-19 and 46 per cent were admitted for other reasons but have tested positive for COVID-19, according to tweets from Health Minister Christine Elliott.
In Ontario, 29,017,284 vaccine doses have been administered, with over 164,000 doses administered yesterday. 91.2 p ercent of Ontarians 12+ have one dose and 88.6 per cent have two doses.
There are 9,909 new cases.
9:38 a.m. Most COVID-19 patients in intensive care in German hospitals aren't vaccinated, data published on Thursday indicates.
The data from Germany's intensive care association DIVI showed that 62 per cent of ICU patients whose vaccine status was known had received no protective shots against the coronavirus. Unvaccinated people make up about a quarter of the German population.
Almost 10 per cent were only partially vaccinated while 28 per cent of ICU patients were fully inoculated, it said.
About 72.3 per cent of the German population has received at least two jabs, while 45.1% have also had a booster shot.
9:05 a.m. Canadian pharmacies are facing stiff competition and weeks-long shipping delays as they scramble to procure COVID-19 rapid tests for customers.
Since the Omicron variant began spreading across the country in December, Canadians have flooded local pharmacies and major chains such as Shoppers and Rexall with requests for rapid antigen tests offering self-administered use and speedy results.
Some retailers have reported receiving patchwork shipments from suppliers, while many have been left waiting as governments and major corporations around the world place massive shipping orders with a relatively small pool of manufacturers.
Read the full story from the Star's Jacob Lorinc
8:45 a.m. South Korea on Thursday received its first supply of Pfizer's antiviral COVID-19 pills to treat patients with mild or moderate symptoms.
Health officials have described the Paxlovid pills as a potentially important tool to suppress hospitalizations and deaths, as the country braces for another possible surge in infections driven by the contagious omicron variant.
South Korea's initial supply is enough to support the required five-day treatment courses for 21,000 people. Officials say another batch of pills, enough to provide the required five-day courses for 10,000 people, will come by the end of January.
Workers were seen unloading containers of the pills from a plane at Incheon International Airport. The pills will be moved to a pharmaceutical warehouse in central South Korea before being administered to patients nationwide starting Friday.
8 a.m. Brampton Transit is temporarily cancelling service on some 20 routes, citing COVID-19 related staffing shortages and reduced ridership.
The city northwest of Toronto says its transit agency it will also reduce service on more than 20 other routes to ensure the system can continue to operate.
The city says the changes will take effect on Jan. 17 and service will be restored as soon as possible.
The announcement comes days after the regional transit agency Metrolinx cut back service by roughly 15 per cent across its network due to COVID-19.
7:45 a.m. The new Dutch government met Thursday to discuss whether to extend or ease its coronavirus lockdown amid growing anger among owners of businesses that have been shuttered for weeks.
The Netherlands has been in a strict lockdown since mid-December, with measures including all nonessential stores, bars, restaurants, cinemas, theaters and museums closing their doors, while European neighbors such as Germany and Belgium have imposed far fewer restrictions.
That has led to frustration particularly in towns and cities close to the borders that are seeing people shuttling across borders to shop or dine out.
The lockdown is in place until at least the end of Friday. Prime Minister Mark Rutte and new Health Minister Ernst Kuipers will hold a press conference Friday evening to announce the future of the measures.
7:30 a.m. Health officials in the Windsor region have issued an order halting the arrival of temporary foreign workers for several weeks in light of COVID-19 outbreaks in the agricultural sector.
In a notice issued earlier this week, the acting medical officer of health for Windsor-Essex instructed employers to cancel or postpone the arrival of temporary foreign workers until at least Feb. 2.
Dr. Shanker Nesathurai says those who fail to comply with the order could face charges or fines.
The doctor says there are currently a "significant number" of outbreaks at agricultural businesses, with those affected by the outbreaks requiring isolation and possible medical supervision.
He says the community does not have enough resources to manage the self-isolation programs.
Nesathurai adds the health-care system also has limited capacity to handle the surge in COVID-19 infections fuelled by the highly contagious Omicron variant.
6 a.m.: The director of Africa's Centers for Disease Control said the organization is talking to Pfizer about bringing its COVID-19 treatment pill to the continent, which has just passed 10 million cases.
The discussions come as Dr. John Nkengasong urges government and citizens not to relent on vaccinations and preventive measures as various countries come down from waves of increased infections from the omicron variant.
We are working hand in hand. ... We are in close discussions with Pfizer to see what can be done to make the drugs available on the continent," Nkengasong said Thursday in a press briefing.
He said he hopes the treatment would help stressed health systems on the continent and would be part of an approach in 2022 that includes scaling up vaccines and expanding testing to help deal with the pandemic.
At least 39 countries have reported the new variant and the average increase of cases in Africa is about 11 per cent, he said.
He noted that vaccination rates are still not high enough, saying governments are struggling because there are such high numbers of people only getting vaccinated when there is a peak, which leads to a lot of hospitalizations and pressure on the systems that can be avoided.
6 a.m.: Only days before Canadian truck drivers were required to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 to get into the country or face quarantine, the federal government is backing away from the vaccine mandate.
The new rule will still take effect for American truckers starting this weekend, with drivers being turned away at the border unless they've been inoculated.
But a spokesperson for the Canada Border Services Agency told The Canadian Press late Wednesday that unvaccinated Canadian truck drivers, or those who have had only one dose, will not have to quarantine.
The head of the Canadian Trucking Alliance says about 10 per cent of the 120,000 Canadian big-riggers who traverse the border have not been fully vaccinated.
5:54 a.m.: France will let in travellers from Britain who are vaccinated against COVID-19 without having to self-isolate or to offer a valid reason for the trip, the French prime minister said on Thursday.
Prime Minister Jean Castex said travel restrictions will be eased starting Friday because the highly-contagious omicron variant is now largely dominant in both countries.
In mid-December, France had limited the breath of what it considered valid reasons for travelling to the country and required a 48-hour isolation upon arrival in efforts to slow down the spread of omicron, which was more widespread in the U.K. at the time.
All those arriving from Britain must present a negative virus test taken within the previous 24 hours.
Unvaccinated travellers arriving from U.K. must still provide a valid reason for travelling and undergo a 10-day quarantine under police supervision.
5:52 a.m.: The emirate of Ajman is warning its government employees that they will be penalized for coming into contact for a second time with anyone who has contracted COVID-19, state-linked media in the United Arab Emirates reported Thursday.
Local media outlets said federal employees in Ajman will not receive paid sick leave for quarantine if they come into close contact with infected people outside the workplace or home for a second time.
The UAE has a vaccination rate of 99% among eligible residents and a total death toll of under 2,200 from the virus, but the spread of the omicron variant globally has pushed the number of daily infections up. The United Arab Emirates, home to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, has seen daily cases jump from around 50 a day in early December to more than 2,600 a day this week.
To limit the spread of the virus, Ajman's human resources department issued a circular with a list of no-nos that would lead to salary deductions, ranging from a one-day pay cut to a 10-day pay cut for repeat offenders.
The UAE-based The National newspaper said the offences listed include failure to wear masks, being in crowded areas, shaking hands with others and going to the office after being in contact with someone who's contracted the coronavirus. Supervisors will also be slapped with salary deductions if they fail to ensure employees comply.
5:48 a.m.: Less than two weeks after the winter term started, French teachers are already exhausted by the pressures of surging COVID-19 cases.
On Thursday, French teachers are walking out in a nationwide strike organized by teacher's unions to protest virus-linked class disruptions and ever-changing isolation rules.
France is at the epicentre of Europe's current fight against COVID-19, with new infections topping 360,000 a day in recent days, driven by the highly contagious omicron variant. Teachers are upset and want clarifications on rules and more protections, such as extra masks and tests to help with the strain.
The month of January is a tough one (for schools)," Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer acknowledged on France 2 television. His ministry counted 50,000 new COVID-19 cases among students in recent days" and a huge number of classes shut down due to the virus: 10,553. The figures are expected to worsen in the coming weeks.
The SNUIPP teacher's union says discontentment is rising among French teachers. Since Jan. 6, authorities have already imposed two changes to the rules on testing schoolchildren, leaving many with whiplash. The union expects that some 75% of teachers will go out on strike, with half of the schools closed across the country.
The situation since the start of the January school year has created an indescribable mess and a strong feeling of abandonment and anger among school staff," the union said.
5:48 a.m.: South Korea on Thursday received its first supply of Pfizer's antiviral COVID-19 pills to treat patients with mild or moderate symptoms.
Health officials have described the Paxlovid pills as a potentially important tool to suppress hospitalizations and deaths, as the country braces for another possible surge in infections driven by the contagious omicron variant.
South Korea's initial supply is enough to support the required five-day treatment courses for 21,000 people. Officials say another batch of pills, enough to provide the required five-day courses for 10,000 people, will come by the end of January.
Workers were seen unloading containers of the pills from a plane at Incheon International Airport. The pills will be moved to a pharmaceutical warehouse in central South Korea before being administered to patients nationwide starting Friday.
Because supplies of Paxlovid will be tight at the start amid global shortages, the pills will initially be available only to patients 65 years or older who are being treated at home or in shelters for mild or moderate symptoms.
Thursday 5:46 a.m.: Just weeks before hosting the Beijing Winter Olympics, China is battling multiple coronavirus outbreaks in half a dozen cities, with the one closest to the capital driven by the highly transmissible Omicron variant.
With the success of the Games and China's national dignity at stake, Beijing is doubling down on its zero-tolerance" COVID-19 policy.
Across China, more than 20 million people are in some form of lockdown, with many prevented from leaving their homes.
Tianjin, only about an hour from Beijing, is on high alert, although it has refrained from imposing a complete lockdown such as that in Xi'an, a city of 14 million.
Instead, it has sealed off several residential communities and universities, cancelled almost all flights, suspended high speed train service and closed highways. People leaving the city are required to present negative COVID-19 tests and receive special permission.