Coronavirus Update: Vaccinated air travellers should be prepared for on-arrival testing and isolation

Good evening, here are the COVID-19 updates you need to know tonight.

Top headlines:

1. Air travellers returning to Canada from outside the United States should be ready to go into isolation until they receive a negative on-arrival COVID-19 test result, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos warned Friday.
2. Canada’s expert vaccine panel advises boosters for those over 50, expands eligibility to anyone over 18
3. Amid soaring demand for pets during the pandemic, the cost of being a pet parent has significantly increased

In the past seven days, 20,183 cases were reported, up two per cent from the previous seven days. There were 139 deaths announced, up one per cent over the same period. At least 1,473 people are being treated in hospitals.

Canada’s inoculation rate is 16th among countries with a population of one million or more people.

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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

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Coronavirus in Canada

• Ontario has reported 1,031 new cases of COVID-19 – the highest tally in more than six months. The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit says a recent surge in both COVID-19 patients and those with other respiratory ailments has strained acute care and caused hospital capacity issues.
• A Manitoba mother and her three-year-old were each mistakenly given an adult dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine instead of a flu shot.
• A supporter of a British Columbia woman claiming to be the queen of Canada, who has allegedly called on her supporters to kill medical professionals vaccinating children against COVID-19, has been arrested in Quebec.
• Quebec is reporting 1,355 new cases of COVID-19 today – the highest number of new daily cases in the province since April.

Air travellers returning to Canada from outside the United States should be ready to go into isolation pending a negative on-arrival COVID-19 test result, the health minister said.

• The new rule was announced Tuesday and immediately created confusion for travellers because it came with few details on the timing of the rollout or how it would apply to those with layovers in the U.S. or Canada before reaching their final destination. Airports have been randomly testing passengers on arrival for months.

Booster shots: The National Advisory Committee on Immunization now strongly recommends booster shots of COVID-19 vaccines for people over the age of 50. NACI recommends people get a booster of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine six months after their second shot.

Oral, antiviral drug: Ottawa signed up for an initial one million courses of antiviral COVID-19 treatments in anticipation of Health Canada endorsing their safety and efficacy.

Coronavirus around the world

• People should not panic over the emergence of the Omicron coronavirus variant. And it’s too early to say if vaccines would need to be reworked, says the World Health Organization’s chief scientist.
• South Korea announced today that people visiting restaurants, cinemas and other public spaces will have to show vaccine passes amid a surge in COVID-19 infections and six confirmed cases of the Omicron variant.
• Australia reported its first community transmission of the Omicron coronavirus variant today, a sign the variant is now in the community, said New South Wales state authorities.
• The U.K. is imposing new COVID-19 restrictions as concerns grow about the emergence of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

Coronavirus and business

After passing mostly unscathed through nearly two years of upheaval and grinding uncertainty caused by COVID-19, Canada’s big banks are at last showing signs that the pandemic is taking a financial toll.

• Profits for The Big Six banks totalled $14.6-billion in the banks’ fiscal fourth quarter, which ended Oct. 31, and were up sharply from low levels in 2020.
• But growth in new loans, the core engine that drives banks’ earnings higher, is not yet back to its pre-pandemic pace, even as there are indications that demand from borrowers is starting to return.

Also today: Google said it is indefinitely pushing back its January return-to-office plan globally amid growing concerns over the Omicron variant of the coronavirus

And: The trucking industry faces a labour shortage as pandemic-driven online sales increased demand for truck drivers, but the number of people entering the industry has dropped. The workforce decline is being blamed on stagnant wages, shifting labour patterns and prohibitive insurance policies that make it difficult for new drivers to earn a living.

Globe opinion

• Ashley Nunes: Canada’s new airport testing rules are needlessly confusing
• Robyn Urback: We’re in trouble if Omicron demands self-sacrifice of us again
• J. Kelly Nestruck: How Broadway got its groove back – and Canadian theatregoers can make the most of a visit
• Jim Stanford: Every Canadian province should implement 10 days of permanent paid sick leave

More reporting

• Omicron COVID-19 variant detected in 40 countries; Delta still dominant in U.S.: CDC director
• The NACI now strongly recommends booster shots of COVID-19 vaccines for people over the age of 50 and also suggested a booster dose may be offered to people 18-49
• Did you bring home a pandemic pet? The costs have never been higher
• Omicron-fuelled volatility deals hedge funds worst monthly return since March 2020

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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