Good evening. The coronavirus newsletter publishes Mondays and Fridays.
Top headlines:
- Britain has become the first country to approve a variant-adapted vaccine that targets both the original and Omicron versions of the virus
- Public inquiry hearings into the government’s use of the Emergencies Act to begin Sept. 19
- The Canadian government is allowing COVID-19-vaccinated travellers entering the country by land a one-time exemption if they fail to enter their information on the ArriveCan app
An increasing number of health agencies have changed how they're reporting data on the coronavirus. A look at the current numbers in Canada for reported cases, deaths from COVID-19 and for hospitalizations can be found here.
COVID-19 updates from Canada and the world
- Public inquiry hearings into the government’s use of the Emergencies Act will begin in Ottawa on Sept. 19, Commissioner Paul Rouleau announced today. The federal government invoked the Emergencies Act on Feb. 14 for the first time ever, in response to countrywide trucker convoy protests and blockades that disrupted border crossings and effectively shut down Ottawa’s downtown core near Parliament Hill. Protest participants, police representatives and officials from federal, provincial and municipal governments will be called to speak.
- Britain has become the first country to approve a so-called bivalent vaccine, made by U.S. drug company Moderna, that targets both the original and Omicron variants of the virus. Pfizer and BioNTech have also been testing versions of their mRNA vaccine modified to combat Omicron variants.
- Today, Quebec started offering fifth doses of COVID-19 vaccines to residents of long-term care homes and private seniors residences. The Health Department said it launched the new vaccine campaign for at-risk people because it expects infections to rise in the fall after schools reopen.
- Japan’s economy rebounded at a slower-than-expected pace in the second quarter from a COVID-19-induced slump, data showed on Monday.
- Pfizer’s CEO Albert Bourla said today he had tested positive for COVID-19 and was experiencing very mild symptoms.
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Pandemic recovery
- The ArriveCan app remains mandatory, the Canada Border Services Agency says, but Canadians entering at a land border who fail to enter their information into the app will be granted a one-time exemption from quarantine, testing and fines. “The exemption is in place to make travellers aware of the requirement to complete their reporting in ArriveCan,” CBSA spokeswoman Rebecca Purdy said in an e-mail to The Globe and Mail.
- Since the start of the pandemic, Airbnb has seen a surge of longer bookings. Stays of 28 days or more were up 25 per cent in the second quarter of 2022 compared with the same period in 2021, and nearly 90 per cent above levels recorded in the second quarter of 2019, the company said during its latest earnings release. Meanwhile, new data shows that an Airbnb rental may be only marginally less expensive than sojourning in a hotel.
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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.
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