Good evening, here are the coronavirus updates you need to know tonight.
Top headlines:
- Global fears are mounting over a new variant found in Brazil as case counts in the country increase sharply
- A total of 72 tennis players are being forced to quarantine in Australia ahead of the Australian Open after fellow passengers on their charter flights test positive for COVID-19
- Cases of the novel coronavirus in Canada surged past the 700,000 mark over the weekend
In the past seven days, 47,580 cases were reported, down 17 per cent from the previous seven days. There were 1,064 deaths announced, down 2 per cent over the same period. At least 4,459 people are being treated in hospitals and 615,325 others are considered recovered.
About 71 per cent of the 802,160 doses of vaccine distributed to provinces have been administered. That’s 1.5 doses for every 100 people in Canada.
Sources: Canada data is compiled from government websites, Johns Hopkins and COVID-19 Canada Open Data Working Group; international data is from Johns Hopkins University.
Coronavirus explainers: Coronavirus in maps and charts • Lockdown rules and reopening • Canada’s vaccine distribution plan • Developing/approved vaccines • Pfizer’s vaccine, explained • Essential resources
Photo of the day
Coronavirus in Canada
- Ontario’s Labour Minister says the province will expand its big-box-retail blitz, cracking down on those that don’t properly screen customers and staff, ensure masking protocols, or maintain physical distancing. There were 3,422 new COVID-19 cases in Ontario today.
- Office vacancy rates in Calgary, Canada’s oil and gas capital, are the highest in the country and growing — despite no major new towers opening in the past two years.
- Nine Cree communities in Quebec’s James Bay region have already begun vaccinating residents after doses of the Moderna vaccine arrived over the weekend.
- New Brunswick is reporting 36 new cases of COVID-19, the largest single-day case count in the province.
Elderly long-term care residents with dementia, who have a tendency to wander as well as a need for social connection and physical touch, are posing a challenge for nurses and are increasing the risk of spreading the coronavirus.
- Residents with dementia are more likely to enter other patients’ rooms or common areas where they could contract or transmit the virus, say doctors and advocates.
- A woman whose grandmother died of COVID-19 in a Vancouver care home said she was on a Zoom call with her sick grandmother when another resident entered the room and began hugging her and kissing her on the forehead, raising concern.
Vaccine delay: Provincial governments are scrambling to adjust vaccine rollout plans after Pfizer announced it must temporarily delay deliveries to Canada and elsewhere.
Screen time: The amount of time children are spending on screens has increased dramatically, but experts who helped establish Canada’s screen time guidelines say we should instead be considering the quality of time spent in front of screens.
Coronavirus around the world
- Bianca Andreescu’s coach was one of the passengers on charter flights to Australia who tested positive for COVID-19. The flights have forced 72 competitors into a strictly enforced 14-day quarantine in Melbourne ahead of the Australian Open.
- As local companies in China pump out huge quantities of vaccine doses in a race to inoculate 50 million people, the trustworthiness of the country’s health regulators are being questioned.
- U.S. president-elect Joe Biden plans immediate moves to combat the coronavirus pandemic and undo some of President Donald Trump’s most controversial policies, according to sources.
- Scientists are working to determine whether the new Brazil variant is more contagious as tests show it is beginning to spread beyond the South American county’s borders.
Coronavirus and business
Nine Dollarama stores have been fined by Quebec’s workplace safety board for inadequate sanitation practices.
- The announcement comes after Dollarama workers held protests last year decrying a lack of sanitary measures at the company’s facilities.
- Dollarama workers described a lack of personal protective equipment and inadequate physical distancing at the company’s warehouses. They also complained of improper barriers between staff and customers at retail stores.
Also today: Almost one in three Calgary offices are sitting empty, according to a recently released report, and vacancy rates are likely to go even higher, because of takeovers and mergers in the oil and gas sector.
And: Many companies are in the process of rewriting employment contracts to include pandemic-related issues, such as mandatory vaccines, according to an employment lawyer.
Globe opinion
- David Parkinson: Ottawa has earmarked as much as $100-billion to revive the pandemic-battered economy. Using that money to speed up vaccine programs is our best bet for getting the economy back on its feet.
- Cathal Kelly: Right now, the Roaring Twenties is QAnon for the middle-class – a collective delusion about what’s headed our way based more on wishful thinking than reality.
More reporting
- Two married doctors say the coronavirus pandemic tested their marriage and taxed their bodies and minds – yet it also left them strangely thankful for the way in which the year had taught them how to live.
Information centre
- When will a COVID-19 vaccine be available in Canada? How well do they work? Here’s what you need to know.
- Rob Carrick’s 10-point checklist of things you should have done by now to protect or improve your money situation. Tips for minimizing damage to your credit score; how to manage retirement anxiety during difficult times; and things to think about if you’re considering home delivery.
- Here are the expectations for self-isolation; tips for managing anxiety and protecting your mental health; and what to do if you think you have the virus. Wash your hands. How to break a bad habit (like touching your face). Is flying safe?
- The best foods to eat to maintain an immune system-friendly diet; and how to keep a healthy diet while working from home; four eating tips when working from home; and five mistakes that might cause you to gain unwanted weight. Here are the essentials to stock up on and how to shop safely for groceries; the best pantry staples and how to stop stress-eating.
- Find answers to your coronavirus and employment questions.
Sources: Canada data are compiled from government websites, Johns Hopkins University and COVID-19 Canada Open Data Working Group; international data are from Johns Hopkins.
What are we missing? Email us: audience@globeandmail.com. Do you know someone who needs this newsletter? Send them to our Newsletters page.