Coronavirus Update: Canada reacted slowly to early coronavirus threat, former government official says

Good evening, here are the coronavirus updates you need to know tonight.

Top headlines:

1. Ottawa’s response to the coronavirus outbreak was too slow, and did not adhere to past protocols, a former top government official says
2. One year from Canada’s first COVID-19 death, we unpacked the data to see how the country fared in the face of a pandemic
3. The Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine is facing “challenges around production,” and it is unknown when Canada will receive its first delivery, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says

In the last 7 days, 20,766 cases were reported, up 1 per cent from the previous 7 days. There were 259 deaths announced, down 8 per cent over the same period. At least 1,978 people are being treated in hospitals and 841,040 others are considered recovered.

About 84 per cent of the 3,039,190 doses of vaccine distributed to provinces have been administered. That’s 6.7 doses for every 100 people in Canada. Canada’s inoculation rate is 35th among 84 countries with a population of one million or more people.

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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 • Vaccine distribution plan • Four vaccines approved in Canada • Essential resources

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Coronavirus in Canada

• In British Columbia, just under 15,000 COVID-19 vaccine appointments were made on the first day residents over 90 and Indigenous elders over 65 were eligible. And, the province’s Health Minister is blaming Telus after call centres booking COVID-19 vaccine appointments were overwhelmed.
• Alberta has offered financial support to pharmaceutical companies to build vaccine manufacturing facilities following its complaints about the federal government’s vaccination program.
• About six of Ontario’s 34 public-health units will continue to use their own vaccination booking systems even after the province’s portal launches next week. Many regions have used their own systems to register eligible residents in recent weeks in the absence of a provincial system. Meanwhile, a Catholic elementary school in Toronto is temporarily closed because of an “ongoing COVID-19 investigation.”
• Saskatchewan is lifting its ban on household visitors and will allow up to 10 people inside a home at one time.
• Newfoundland and Labrador is extending the deadline for returning mail-in ballots after all in-person voting for last month’s provincial election was cancelled because of coronavirus lockdowns.
• Quebec is expanding its vaccination campaign to include people 65 and older in the Montreal area, the Health Minister says.

In Ottawa, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the newly approved Johnson & Johnson vaccine is facing manufacturing problems and Canada is uncertain when the first doses will arrive.

• “As soon as we get confirmation of doses being sent to Canada, we will let everyone know,” the Prime Minister said at a press briefing.
• Canada preordered 10 million doses of the vaccine, the first and only approved vaccine that requires just one dose.
• Canada’s vaccine rollout has sped up this month, as nearly one million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines were delivered last week, and 910,000 doses of Pfizer and Moderna are arriving this week.
• To date, at least 1.9 million Canadians – or about one in 20 people – have received at least one dose of a vaccine.

COVID-19 data: In the year since the first COVID-19 death was recorded in Canada, what do the numbers tell us? Four key points:

1. Canada has done better than most G7 countries, but worse than global leaders such as Australia
2. Atlantic Canada recorded few deaths while Quebec, if it were a country, would rank 27th in the world in COVID-19 fatalities
3. Deaths have been disproportionate among seniors, with those over 60 accounting for 96.1 per cent of deaths
4. People in racialized communities have been hit hardest outside nursing homes: In Toronto, for example, since Dec. 31, 77 per cent of infections in Toronto were in racialized people

Pandemic readiness: Canada was slow to react to the early COVID-19 threat, says a former federal official.

COVID-friendly entertainment: Radio bingo is booming in small towns during the pandemic.

Coronavirus around the world

• Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine could be produced in Western Europe after a recent deal was signed to manufacture the shot in Italy.
• The U.S. House will vote Wednesday on the Biden administration’s US$1.9-trillion COVID-19 relief bill.
• A batch of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccines that Austrian authorities have stopped using went to 16 other countries.
• China launched a digital COVID-19 vaccination certificate for its citizens planning cross-border travel.
• Japan will stage this summer’s Tokyo Olympics without overseas spectators because of public concern about COVID-19.

Coronavirus and business

New condo sales are rising in Ontario regions such as Niagara and Simcoe, where preconstruction condo sales more than doubled from 2019 to 2020.

• During the pandemic, home buyers have sought larger properties, driving a frenzy in the housing market. But new data shows that there were also strong sales of preconstruction condos.

Also today: The pandemic has dealt a setback to big banks’ efforts to boost women in senior ranks.

Globe opinion

• Peter Shawn Taylor: We can have a debate about the merits of employer-paid sick days once the recovery is under way and there’s time to fully assess the advantages and disadvantages. Right now, we just need to act.
• André Picard: Federal government modelling, released in early April, 2020, predicted that, even with strong measures, Canada would ultimately see somewhere between 11,000 and 22,000 deaths during the pandemic. At the time, those numbers were seen by many as alarmist. The models have proved disturbingly accurate.
• L. Nadine De Lisle: Neighbours and community volunteers have claimed our public spaces: Bird feeders and purple ribbons are strewn on branches; photos of lost loved ones are taped to signposts. Amid virtual tech glitches, doom and gloom, we press on.
• Jenny Thomson and Hélène Deacon: We cannot expect technology to entirely direct a child’s journey to literacy, it can be a key support as long as we understand what it can do, as well as its limitations.

More reporting

• ‘Van life’ culture grows as people look for pandemic-era travel options
• Nova Scotia’s legislature opens for spring sitting with Throne Speech
• How does COVID-19 affect a severance package?
• A cross-Canada collection of virtual March Break activities for kids and teens

Live Q&A this Thursday, March 11: How have employee rights changed during COVID-19?

Information centre

• How well do vaccines 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.

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