Good evening, here are the COVID-19 updates you need to know tonight.
Top headlines:
- Canada facing the most uncertain wave yet as provinces scale back on reporting, experts say
- U.S. judge rules transportation mask mandate unlawful, overturning Biden initiative
- Experts concerned that only 47 per cent of Canadians have received a COVID-19 booster shot
In the past seven days, 243 deaths were announced, down 16 per cent over the same period. At least 5,665 people are being treated in hospitals.
Canada’s inoculation rate is 13th 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 • Lockdown rules and reopening
Photo of the day
A sign notifying patrons of a new mask requirement is posted on the door of the Widener Library in Philadelphia on April 18. The city reinstated its indoor mask mandate after lifting it for more than a month.Rachel Wisniewski/The New York Times News Service
Coronavirus in Canada
- B.C. health officials are pushing ahead to require all regulated health professionals to disclose their vaccination status to their respective regulating bodies.
- Ontario is reporting 1,301 people in hospital with COVID-19 today, about 19 per cent higher than a week ago. The province also recorded two more deaths from the virus today.
- Quebec is today reporting 61 additional hospitalizations and 11 more deaths associated with COVID-19.
As provincial and territorial governments scale back COVID-19 data collection and reporting, some experts are calling this the most uncertain wave of the pandemic to date.
- Governments that reduced public reporting frequency from daily to weekly – including B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba – attribute the shift to there now being more value in observing trends over time, rather than daily fluctuations.
- But experts say Canada is now flying blind as the Omicron sub-variant BA.2 fuels a resurgence of cases. “The absolute worst time to change your data streams is on the rise of a new variant, and that’s exactly where we are,” said Sally Otto, a professor at the University of B.C. and a member of the independent B.C. COVID-19 Modelling Group.
Boosters: Many health experts say they are concerned by the slow uptake of first booster shots, warning that two doses of COVID-19 vaccines don’t offer sufficient protection against the Omicron variant. Only 57 per cent of those 18 and older have received a booster shot so far.
Coronavirus around the world
- More than 100 quarantine facilities have been set up in China’s most populous city Shanghai for people who test positive but have few or no symptoms. In one of these facilities, located within a convention centre, the lights stay on all night and there are no hot showers.
- India’s number of daily COVID-19 cases nearly doubled today from yesterday to more than 2,000 for the first time in a month, government data showed.
- A federal judge in Florida ruled today that a U.S. mask mandate on public transportation is unlawful, overturning the Biden administration initiative. Last week, health officials extended by 15 days the mandate requiring travellers to wear masks on airplanes, trains, and in taxis, ride-share vehicles or transit hubs.
Coronavirus and business
China’s economy grew 4.8 per cent in the first quarter of this year – better than expected – but also showed signs of a slowdown brought on by the war in Ukraine and COVID-19 lockdowns in Shanghai and other cities.
- While Shanghai’s port and some factories have continued operating, economists have warned the restrictions are already taking a toll on the wider economy, with logistics chaos caused by highway checks and other controls as local authorities attempt to prevent and control outbreaks.
Also today: Shanghai factories begin preparing to reopen as city aims to ease COVID-19 lockdown
Globe opinion
- Mustafa Hirji: We can reduce the threat of COVID-19 without more lockdowns
- Editorial board: Canadian health care needs a lot of reform, and (at most) a little more money. So far, we’re getting the opposite
- André Picard: The moral and societal imperative to fix long-term care
- Campbell Clark: Canada’s stretched health care systems wait for another year of federal-provincial runaround
More reporting
- Hip hop pioneer DJ Kay Slay dies of COVID-19 at age 55
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.
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