Good evening, these are the top coronavirus headlines tonight:
Top headlines:
- Air Canada cancels nearly 10 per cent of Toronto flights over seven days amid a rebound in the demand for travel and staff shortages
- The World Health Organization says its latest investigation into the origins of COVID-19 is inconclusive due to lack of data from China
- Ontario’s top science adviser says he would have preferred extension of province’s masking rules
In the past seven days, there were 259 deaths from COVID-19 nationally, down 7 per cent over the same period. At least 3,067 people are being treated in hospitals and 222 are in the ICU.
Canada’s inoculation rate is 18th among countries with a population of one million or more people.
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 • Tracking vaccine doses
COVID-19 updates from Canada and the world
- A report from the World Health Organization said its investigation into the origins of COVID-19 was inconclusive due to missing data from China. The report says the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 probably came from animals, likely bats, but the organization is still uncertain how the virus was first transmitted to humans due to missing data.
- The scientific director of Ontario’s COVID-19 advisory group says there are still real signs of strain in the health care system, and he would have preferred an extension to the province’s masking rules in high-risk settings.
- The number of people in hospital with COVID-19 in Alberta has decreased by 20 per cent over the past two weeks.
Looking for more top headlines? Subscribe to our Morning Update and Evening Update newsletters to get caught up on our latest stories.
Pandemic recovery
- Air Canada cancelled about 10 per cent of its flights at Toronto Pearson Airport in the first seven days of June amid staffing shortages. The aviation industry says the reduced workforce is unable to manage a rise in passengers while still enforcing COVID-19 rules, and that vaccine mandates for employees of federal agencies and airlines have also reduced staff numbers.
- Meanwhile, Air Transat’s second-quarter loss deepened amid pandemic-related flight cancellations and soaring fuel prices.
- The Bank of Canada is sounding the alarm over several worrisome trends in the pandemic’s real estate boom, including households who stretched financially to purchase property and investors who leveraged their existing homes to buy new properties.
- The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday as the price of oil, one of Canada’s major exports, dipped after parts of Shanghai imposed new COVID-19 lockdown measures.
Want in-depth analysis on what governments are doing with your tax dollars? Subscribe to our Tax & Spend newsletter.
More reading
- The pandemic, combined with the staggering price of housing in Canada’s largest cities, has led many people to wonder whether big city living or the suburbs suit them best
Information centre
- Everything you need to know about Canada’s travel rules for vaccinated and unvaccinated people
- When will COVID-19 be endemic? The four factors that will shape the virus’s future
- Wastewater is filling the COVID-19 data gap
Thank you for subscribing to our Coronavirus Update Newsletter. As the pandemic eases, we plan to wind this down and eventually cease sending, but have many other newsletters to keep you informed, including Globe Climate, Carrick on Money and Breaking News.
Reach out to us: audience@globeandmail.com