Good evening, these are the top coronavirus headlines tonight:
Top headlines:
- The coronavirus mutant that is now dominant in the United States combines properties of both omicron and delta.
- Canadian couples looking to get married after pandemic-related delays are getting creative to deal with rising costs.
- Rebounding consumer spending and business investment are boosting profits for three of Canada’s largest banks as customers travel and dine out more often.
In the past seven days, there were 386 deaths from COVID-19 nationally, down four per cent over the same period. At least 4,296 people are being treated in hospitals and 313 are in the ICU.
Canada’s inoculation rate is ninth 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
- The coronavirus mutant that is dominant in the U.S. lately combines properties of both omicron and delta, the nation’s dominant variant in the middle of last year. The mutant enables the virus to spread faster than its omicron predecessors, is adept at escaping immunity and might possibly cause more serious disease.
- Three of Ontario’s four major political parties are pledging to remove for-profit care from the system in the wake of the pandemic’s sharp toll on long-term care homes. More than 4,500 long-term care residents have died due to COVID-19. For-profit homes had nearly twice as many residents infected with the virus and 78 per cent more deaths compared with non-profit homes, according to research.
- In Newfoundland and Labrador, certain public and private sector employees will no longer need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to be employed starting June 1.
- As China’s government refuses to loosen its zero tolerance stance on COVID-19, factories and businesses remain bruised by disruptions caused by lockdowns, endless mass testing and mobility restrictions on vast swaths of the population.
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Pandemic recovery
- Canadian couples looking to finally tie the knot after years of pandemic-related delays will be forced to pay more than ever because of a surge in demand, soaring inflation and rising transport and freight costs.
- The Royal Bank of Canada is seeing risks related to the COVID-19 pandemic receding. RBC reported a higher second-quarter profit and raised its quarterly dividend – marking the third Canadian bank to exceeded analysts’ profit expectations this quarter.
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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
- Waste water is filling the COVID-19 data gap
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