Good evening, here are the coronavirus updates you need to know tonight.
Top headlines:
- How Canada’s world-class pandemic alert system failed: Months before the COVID-19 outbreak, the federal government’s early warning system went silent, just as it was needed most. The change to the Global Public Health Intelligence Network left Canada poorly prepared as the virus began to spread rapidly around the world. Grant Robertson investigates.
- As tide turns, American retailers that resisted masks relent: Even as pockets of resistance remain, the tide appears to be turning on masks. Three out of four Americans favour requiring people to wear face coverings while outside their homes, according to a survey. Even President Donald Trump has changed his stance after months of downplaying the importance of masks and igniting a partisan cultural war on the issue.
- Brazil’s Bolsonaro says new COVID-19 test came back negative: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Saturday that he has tested negative for the novel coronavirus after being quarantined for weeks. In a photo posted to social media, Bolsonaro appeared with a box of hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug he credited for his recovery despite a lack of scientific evidence about its effectiveness.
In Canada, there have been at least 113,549 cases reported. In the last week 3,336 new cases were announced, 20 per cent more than the previous week.
There have also been at least 99,115 recoveries and 8,884 deaths. Health officials have administered more than 3,979,772 tests.
Worldwide, there have been at least 15,792,390 cases confirmed and 639,652 deaths reported.
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: Updates and essential resources • Coronavirus in maps and charts • Lockdown rules and reopening plans in each province
Photo of the day
This aerial picture shows funeral processions queueing at the entrance of the Olifantsvlei Cemetery in Soweto, on July 25, 2020. The country has now recorded 408,052 coronavirus cases, the fifth-highest in the world. The coronavirus pandemic has shuttered the world since it was first detected in late December, though a Globe investigation has found that Canada may have been able to detect it earlier if a key reporting system hadn't failed.MARCO LONGARI/AFP/Getty Images
Number of the day
1,587
The number of alerts that the Global Public Health Intelligence Network (GPHIN) issued about potential outbreaks around the world between 2009 and 2019.
- The last alert was issued in May, 2019. The system then went silent.
- The GPHIN’s role is to detect potential outbreaks early on so that governments could prevent the spread, but the system was no longer active by the time the coronavirus pandemic arrived.
Coronavirus in Canada
- Cases in Quebec continue to rise as the province reported 171 new COVID-19 cases and three more deaths today. Quebec is stepping up testing capacity too, with 16,000 tests administered on Thursday.
Coronavirus around the world
- Vietnam has detected its first case of local transmission in 100 days, putting the country back on high alert. Vietnam had imposed strict quarantine measures at the beginning of the pandemic that kept its infections to just 417, with no deaths.
- Hurricane Hanna is expected to batter southern Texas over weekend, adding another obstacle to a region already struggling to contain COVID-19. The region’s case count has trended upwards in recent weeks as it attracted visitors due to its originally low number of cases.
Globe opinion
- Kelly Cryderman: “The government’s push to get back to “near normal” comes at a time when Alberta COVID-19 cases are ballooning. There’s criticism that the reopening plan has too few details as to how schools will function in practice, too little money for extra cleaning and doesn’t address teachers’ concerns about their safety.”
- Dan Yashinsky: Nowadays we’ve all got the cooties. We’ve learned not to touch or be touched. We wear masks to guard against droplet – or is it aerosolized? – transmission. We wear disposable gloves when we go shopping. We keep our distance in our houses and apartments and whatever commons we can still walk in. We do impromptu sidewalk quadrilles and do-si-dos when others walk toward us.
Information centre
- Pandemic personal finance: 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, and what you can do to help slow the spread of coronavirus. How to break a bad habit (like touching your face).
- 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. What to cook with rhubarb (aside from pie).
- Here’s what you should do if you are newly laid off; how to apply for CERB, EI, and other financial benefits; how the CRA might identify CERB fraud; and other coronavirus and employment questions answered. What to do if your employees don’t return to work because they want to collect CERB.
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