Good evening, these are the top coronavirus headlines tonight:
Top headlines:
- Flight crews forced to work without pay as a result of delays at Canadian airports, unions say
- U.S. President Joe Biden commemorated the COVID-19 deaths of 1 million people in the United States, marking what he called ‘a tragic milestone’
- Ontario’s top doctor predicts ‘calm summer’ for COVID-19, but is concerned about subvariants BA.4 and BA.5
In the past seven days, there were 477 deaths from COVID-19 nationally, down 3 per cent over the same period. At least 5,733 people are being treated in hospitals and 371 are in the ICU.
Canada’s inoculation rate is 15th 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
- Ontario’s top doctor predicts a “low level of endemic activity” throughout the summer, but is already preparing for the fall as more activities take place indoors. The province reported 14 new deaths linked to COVID-19 Thursday, after reporting 29 new deaths on Wednesday.
- Quebec is reporting 25 more deaths linked to COVID-19 today and a 26-patient drop in the number of hospitalizations associated with the disease.
- Today U.S. President Joe Biden marked what he called “a tragic milestone,” 1-million American COVID-19 deaths. The loss represents about one death for every 327 Americans, or more than the entire population of San Francisco or Seattle.
- British police said the investigation into lockdown rule-breaking at gatherings held in Downing Street is ongoing, and are recommending more than 100 fines. Prime Minister Boris Johnson could receive further fines for other gatherings, but on Thursday Johnson’s spokesman said the prime minister had not received another fine.
- North Korea confirmed its first COVID-19 outbreak today, calling it the “gravest national emergency” and ordering a national lockdown, with state media reporting an Omicron variant had been detected in Pyongyang.
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Pandemic recovery
- Passengers face long waits to board, take off and disembark at some airports – especially at Toronto Pearson – due to staff shortages at customs and security checkpoints. What’s worse is that delays are forcing flight crews to work without pay while planes are held at gates, according to the unions.
- Canada’s two largest insurers Manulife and Sun Life saw first quarter sales slump as the effects of COVID-19 continue. Both insurers have been rapidly expanding their market share in Asian markets in recent years and have seen several quarters impacted with the continuing spread of COVID-19 in various regions.
- U.S. President Joe Biden said today that the U.S. will share COVID-19 vaccine technologies through the World Health Organization and is working to expand rapid testing and antiviral treatments for hard-to-reach populations.
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More reading
- A Statistics Canada report suggests that the rate of police-reported cybercrimes against children more than doubled over a seven-year period, including an uptick in the first year of the pandemic.
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
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