Good evening, here are the coronavirus updates you need to know tonight.
Top headlines:
- Border closures, disrupted supply chain played a role in B.C. deadliest month for illicit drug overdoses
- U.S. continues to relax lockdowns and restrictions as cases rise in 21 states
- Ontario seniors’ homes struggling with outbreaks on the hook for provincially-mandated emergency pandemic costs
In Canada, 97,474 cases have been reported. In the last week 3,754 new cases were announced, 28% fewer than the previous week. There have also been 57,606 recoveries and 7,996 deaths. Health officials have administered 2,122,393 tests.
Worldwide, 7,360,239 cases have been confirmed, with 416,201 deaths.
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
It's a questions isolated people around the world are asking: When my hair salon or barbershop reopen? In Washington, New York, a barber wears a face mask during a hair cut as phase two of reopening continues on June 11.SHANNON STAPLETON/Reuters
Number of the day
70,000
Total deaths in Latin America surpassed 70,000 yesterday.
- Brazil, the largest economy in the region, has almost 40,000 total deaths. The country is third only to the United States and Britain in deaths.
- Mexico, the second biggest country in the region, has 15,357 deaths, and on Wednesday hit a new daily record of 4,883 confirmed cases and 708 fatalities.
The WHO determined Latin America is the new epicentre of the virus.
Coronavirus in Canada
Owners of Ontario seniors homes struggling with outbreaks that are now under management by hospitals are on the hook for all emergency costs imposed by the province, but not for assistance from the Canadian military.
- Owners of Ontario seniors’ homes that are now operated by hospitals are on the hook for all emergency costs imposed by the province, excluding assistance from the Canadian military. The province said people on transit should wear face masks; Toronto said they were mandatory on the TTC. Premier Doug Ford tested negative for COVID-19.
- Pandemic lockdowns and border closures disrupted British Columbia’s already volatile illicit drug trade; with limited supply, drugs are being cut with highly toxic substances, contributing to the province recording its deadliest month for overdoses in May.
- The Premier of Nova Scotia said he can’t commit to an “Atlantic bubble” until cases in the region are, and remain, low.
In Ottawa: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau rejected calls from Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer to resume regular sittings of the House. Trudeau accused Scheer of playing “political games,” while Scheer accused Trudeau of “trying to play petty politics.” Yesterday, the government failed to pass a bill that would have imposed fines and jail time for CERB fraudsters.
Also today: The federal and Ontario governments will spend $58-million to help businesses move into e-commerce.
- Only 7 per cent of businesses in the province can process payments online.
- The government set a target of 1,000 businesses to help with the program.
The funding will help Digital Main Street, an existing program to help entrepreneurs in southern Ontario to develop online stores and get digital marketing training.
Education: Ontario students are accepting university admission offers at almost the same rate as before the pandemic, early data shows. This year, 103,426 domestic and international student admission offers were confirmed. Last year, that figure was 102,289.
- Many predicted enrolment would dip as more classes go online; but one economist pointed out university enrolment is countercyclical: numbers grow during recessions and shrink in boom times.
Coronavirus around the world
- As much of the U.S. continues to roll back lockdown restrictions, cases are on the rise in nearly half of the states. Driving the uptick is testing lags, localized outbreaks, and the lifting of stay-at-home orders.
- Cases in India – where the death toll from COVID-19 is fifth highest in the world – shot up by nearly 10,000 today, just weeks after the country began to walk back restrictions. As cases mount, New Delhi, the sprawling capital region, is facing a critical shortage of hospital beds.
- A senior health minister in South Korea pleaded for Seoul residents to stay home as the officials struggled to trace transmission of a resurgence of new cases in the capital region.
- While cases in Africa account for less than 3 per cent of the global tally, the pandemic is accelerating on the continent, and the WHO says a shortage of test kit is contributing to the problem.
Coronavirus and business
The TSX fell 4.1 per cent, while the Dow closed down 5.9 per cent on yesterday’s grim outlook from the Fed and rising infections.
- On Wednesday, the Fed said the U.S. economy would contract 6.5 per cent this year, and as states lift lockdown measures, case counts are on the rise.
“It’s a culmination of events. The market has been up so much from March, up 43 per cent at one point, history shows that when you have that kind of steady move up you’re ripe for some kind of consolidation.”
And: The government will commit $133-million to help Indigenous-led business survive the pandemic.
Globe opinion
- Max Fawcett: “The consequences of COVID-19 continue to ripple outward, with businesses and households across the country scrambling to adjust and adapt. But there may be no space more disrupted than our cities, where an ever-expanding majority of the country lives and works. ... For proponents of Calgary’s Green Line LRT, the timing couldn’t have been worse.”
- Brittany Andrew-Amofah, Alexandra Flynn and Patricia Wood: “COVID-19 has laid bare the massive crisis of inequality in our cities, exacerbated by systemic racism in policing, education and health. In our view, city governments must address inequality not only by condemning injustice, but by permanently changing their governance models to include the voices of racialized and marginalized people.”
Some good news
Hold Still, a photography project from the Duchess of Cambridge
Hold Still aims to create a collective portrait of lockdown in Britain.Supplied/Getty Images
Launched by Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge in collaboration with the National Portrait Gallery, Hold Still invited people in the U.K. to submit a pandemic portrait.
What is keeping your spirits up during the pandemic? Email audience@globeandmail.com
Distractions
🎧 For the chair-chained at-home worker: Reduce the effects of sitting all day with these three exercises
- Rotations: Sit tall and place your fingers at your ears. Rotate through your spine so that you look to the right. As you rotate keep your nose in line with your sternum. Repeat on other side.
- Lateral reach: Lift your right arm up over your head and lateral bend so that your left shoulder comes toward your left hip. Repeat on other side.
- Sky reach: Sitting tall, reach both arms up toward the ceiling, while simultaneously lifting your chest slightly toward the ceiling and looking up toward your hands.
Information centre
- Here’s what you should do if you are newly laid off; how to apply for CERB, EI, and other financial benefits; and other coronavirus and employment questions answered.
- How to minimize 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.
- How to get physical distancing right; measures condo buildings are taking to encourage physical distancing; and what you can do to help slow the spread of coronavirus.
- Here are the essentials to stock up on and how to shop safely for groceries; the best pantry staples; foods to eat to maintain an immune system-friendly diet; and how to keep a healthy diet while working from home.
- How to break a bad habit (like touching your face) and what to do if you think you have the virus.
What are we missing? Email us: audience@globeandmail.com. Do you know someone who needs this newsletter? Send them to our Newsletters page.
Have questions about the coronavirus? Email audience@globeandmail.com.