Good evening, here are the COVID-19 updates you need to know tonight.
Top headlines:
- “COVID-19 is becoming endemic. But we can’t buy into the delusion that is a synonym for harmless,” writes André Picard, two years after World Health Organization declared the spread of COVID-19 to be a global pandemic.
- Some Canadian postsecondary institutions are warning students not to toss their masks just yet, even as provincial governments drop the long-standing public health measure.
- A look at where mask mandates – and other pandemic public health measures – stand across the country.
Note to readers: Due to changes in the prevalence of testing, case counts alone are no longer a reliable indicator of the spread of COVID-19. In part due to this, recovery data is no longer available from all provinces and territories. Some provinces have also shifted to weekly or irregular updates, which impacts the timeliness of data shown below.
In the past seven days, 38,205 cases were reported, down four per cent from the previous seven days. There were 340 deaths announced, down 24 per cent over the same period. At least 3,949 people are being treated in hospitals.
Canada’s inoculation rate is 13th among countries with a population of one million or more people.
The Globe and Mail
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 • Lockdown rules and reopening
Photo of the day
Patients walk along mobile cabins, serving as COVID-19 isolation facilities, in the San Tin area of Hong Kong, on March 11.Kin Cheung/The Associated Press
Coronavirus in Canada
- One family doctor in Saskatchewan says she can no longer sustain her clinic because of pressures on health care which were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Data shows 8.7 per cent of physicians in the province have also left their practice behind in the last year.
- Some of Ontario’s postsecondary institutions are opting to keep mask mandates in place, in spite of the fact that the provincial government has said mask mandates can be dropped after March 21. Some school boards have voted to seek permission from the government to extend mask mandates in their schools, but Premier Doug Ford made it clear those requests will be denied. The province is reporting 717 people in hospital with COVID-19 today, and 238 in intensive care.
- Quebec is reporting 13 more COVID-19 deaths and a 36-patient drop in hospitalizations on the 2nd anniversary of the start of the pandemic in the province.
March 11, 2020, was the day the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. Now, as the world marks two years of the coronavirus disease pandemic, Deputy Chief Public Health Officer Howard Njoo said Canadians need to remain vigilant.
- “What we don’t know yet is what might happen with, who knows, another variant coming along that is worse than Omicron,” Njoo said in an interview.
- Already the even more transmissible subvariant of Omicron, BA.2, is gaining ground. At the same time, another sinister public health threat creeps nearer: antimicrobial resistance.
Sports: Major League Baseball players who are not vaccinated against the coronavirus won’t be allowed to travel into Canada to face the Blue Jays in Canada and won’t be paid for those games.
Amplify: “This month marks the two-year anniversary of living in a global pandemic – and if I take any time to reflect on that, my first instinct is to sleep. And make it a month-long slumber,” writes Kristy Kirkup for The Globe’s Amplify newsletter.
Coronavirus around the world
- Countries around the world are finally emerging from a brutal stretch of winter dominated by the highly contagious Omicron variant, bringing a sense of relief on the two-year anniversary of the start of the pandemic.
- Under China’s “zero tolerance” approach to the pandemic, the northeastern city of Changchun’s 9 million residents went into lockdown on Friday. Just two cases were reported within Changchun itself today, bringing its total to 78 in recent days.
Coronavirus and business
Canada’s employment rate – the proportion of the 15-plus population who were employed – rose a full percentage point to 61.8 per cent in February, returning to its prepandemic level for the first time.
- The number of self-employed Canadians is down 246,000 (8.5 per cent) from February, 2020.
- “The factors behind the decline in self-employment over the course of the pandemic are widespread throughout the economy and may signal a structural change in the feasibility or desirability of self-employment,” Statscan said.
Also today: While the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed employees from their offices, workspace providers such as WeWork, which offers workstations, has benefited.
Has the pandemic changed how you feel about returning to work in an office? The Globe and Mail wants to know
Globe opinion
- The Globe editorial board: Is it time for Canada to drop the mask?
More reporting
- The World Health Organization advised Ukraine to destroy high-threat pathogens housed in the country’s public health laboratories to prevent “any potential spills.”
- Speed skater Isabelle Weidemann to miss World Cup final after positive COVID-19 test.
Information centre
- Everything you need to know about Canada’s travel restrictions for vaccinated and unvaccinated people
- Where do I book a COVID-19 booster or a vaccine appointment for my kids? Latest rules by province
- What is and isn't 'paid sick leave' in Canada? A short primer
- Got a vaccine 'hangover'? Here's why
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.