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Good evening, here are the COVID-19 updates you need to know tonight.
Top headlines:
- Ontario will make COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for long-term care staff by Nov. 15
- A Calgary ICU nurse who faced abuse on front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic dies of apparent drug overdose
- Campobello Island struggles to survive as U.S. border restrictions keep the N.B. community off-limits: ‘We’re basically trapped here’
In the past seven days, 29,702 cases were reported. There were 297 deaths announced, up 19 per cent over the same period. At least 2,414 people are being treated in hospitals and 1,556,579 others are considered recovered.
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
U.S. Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi, House Majority Leader Rep. Steny Hoyer and House Majority Whip Rep. James Clyburn visit the “In America: Remember” public art installation at the ground of the Washington Monument, which reflects the lives that have been lost to the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S.Alex Wong/Getty Images
Coronavirus in Canada
- Ontario announced it will make COVID-19 vaccination mandatory for long-term care staff. Starting November 15, workers will be required to get immunized and regular testing will no longer be offered as an alternative. Those who refuse to get vaccinated, or who do not provide a valid medical exemption, “will not be able to enter a long-term care home to work,” the Ontario government said. Meanwhile, the province reported 668 new COVID-19 cases Friday.
- In Quebec, the National Assembly announced that the building will soon only be accessible to those who are fully vaccinated. The mandate is expected to come into effect at the provincial legislature sometime in October.
- Amid a spike in COVID-19 infections, Saskatchewan’s proof-of-vaccination policy took effect on Friday. Meanwhile, the province, along with Alberta and British Columbia, requested that the federal government send supplies of Johnson and Johnson’s one-shot, viral vector vaccine. The request is a bid to boost uptake among those who are not comfortable with mRNA technology, which is used in the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines.
- In Alberta, a Calgary ICU nurse who faced abuse on front lines during the COVID-19 pandemic has died of apparent drug overdose. In the days and months prior, Season Foremsky detailed on social media the trauma and abuse health care professionals have faced in hospitals during the coronavirus pandemic.
- British Columbia announced it will implement additional COVID-19 health measures in schools. Dr. Bonnie Henry has mandated masks for all schoolchildren after three school districts announced their own policies to include kindergarten-to-Grade 3 students. The school mask mandate will be in place until at least January.
- A recent outbreak in New Brunswick is leading to a surge of COVID-19 cases in Atlantic Canada as the fourth wave of the virus continues. Health officials reported 85 new infections and one virus-related death on Friday. Meanwhile, residents of Campobello Island – a community of about 800 people off the southwestern coast of New Brunswick whose only year-round road access is through Maine – struggle to access resources as the Canada-U.S. border remains closed: “We’re basically trapped here.”
On today’s episode of The Decibel: Why did nursing homes in Quebec crumble under COVID-19′s first wave?
In Ottawa, Dr. Theresa Tam says that a higher COVID-19 vaccination rate is needed for Canada to reach herd immunity against Delta variant.
- Canada’s chief public health officer suggests vaccination coverage may now need to be 80 per cent for the whole population, as opposed to just those who qualify for the vaccine, to reach herd immunity.
COVID-19 and travel: More and more countries are welcoming Canadian travellers. So is it time to book a holiday?
Coronavirus around the world
- The Serum Institute of India – the producer of the AstraZeneca vaccine – said it will resume sending exports of its shot to the global vaccine-sharing alliance COVAX beginning in October.
- In the U.K., many gas stations are still dry after a chaotic week that saw panic-buying, fights at the pumps and drivers hoarding fuel in water bottles. The government is urging citizens to keep calm amid the country’s ongoing fuel shortage – caused by a shortage of workers in the wake of Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic.
- South Africa has launched a drive to vaccinate 500,000 people against COVID-19 in two days. The campaign starts on Friday and will run through Saturday, and is the first time the country has offered vaccines on a wide scale to people on the weekend.
- U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor rejected a request to block New York City’s requirement that public school teachers and employees be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Coronavirus and business
The COVID effect is over. Rental housing markets are on the rebound in major cities across Canada this fall.
- The rental market is trending upward as workers come back to the office and universities and colleges resume in-class learning.
- Besides the return of office workers and students, factors driving up rentals include long-term units being repurposed into short-term rentals, more immigration to Canada and less rental housing construction.
Also today: Merck & Co says its experimental COVID-19 pill reduced hospitalizations and deaths by half.
And: Surging heating costs. Electricity rationing. Is this what the energy transition looks like?
Globe opinion
- The Editorial Board: When it comes to lifting pandemic public health measures, handle with care
- David Shribman: U.S. political divisions under Trump continue to fester in Americans’ response to the pandemic
More reporting
- The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed more classes outside
- Schools boost mental health supports as in-class learning returns
- Families continue to jump to private school amid the pandemic
Information centre
- Everything you need to know about Canada’s travel restrictions for vaccinated and unvaccinated people
- Waiting for a second dose? We answer your COVID-19 vaccine questions
- 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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