Good evening, these are the top coronavirus headlines tonight:
Top headlines:
- A new study in Israel conducted during the rise of the Omicron variant found that Pfizer Inc.’s antiviral treatment Paxlovid reduced COVID-19 hospitalization and death rates in vaccinated and unvaccinated patients 65 years and older.
- Montreal music festival Osheaga’s co-founder Nick Farkas says ticket sales are up compared to pre-pandemic years due to pent up demand.
- Former Ottawa Police chief Peter Sloly says the Ottawa convoy protest rallying against COVID-19 mandates was a national security crisis that represented a ‘paradigm shift’ of protests in Canada.
In the past seven days, there were 278 deaths from COVID-19 nationally, down 28 per cent over the same period. At least 3,562 people are being treated in hospitals and 241 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
- COVID-19 vaccines could soon be available in the U.S. for children under 5 years of age since Pfizer and partner BioNTech have completed the filing with the U.S. drugs regulator seeking authorization.
- Pfizer’s antiviral treatment Paxlovid reduces COVID-19 hospitalization and death rates in vaccinated and unvaccinated patients 65 years and older, according to a new study in Israel conducted during the rise of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
- The convoy protest that took over main arteries of downtown Ottawa this winter as a rally against COVID-19 mandates represented an unprecedented national security crisis and a major shift in the way that demonstrations are organized, funded, executed and responded to in Canada, former Ottawa Police chief Peter Sloly said.
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Pandemic recovery
- With the country’s widespread vaccination uptake and lower hospitalization-to-infection rates seen in recent surges of the pandemic, there’s reason to believe that summer 2022 will see the triumphant return of big, multi-day festivals in Canada.
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More reading
Rob Carrick says if you’re looking for a signal that things are getting back to normal as the pandemic recedes, you’ve got one: Debt levels are rising again.
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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