Good evening, here are the COVID-19 updates you need to know tonight.
Top headlines:
- Why are so many Canadian kids unvaccinated against COVID-19, despite ample vaccine supply and appointments?
- Health Canada authorizes Quebec’s plant-based Medicago COVID-19 vaccine
- Omicron BA.2 sub-variant of COVID-19 more infectious but no more severe, Africa’s CDC says
In the past seven days, 42,402 cases were reported, down 25 per cent from the previous seven days. There were 445 deaths announced, down 36 per cent over the same period. At least 5,380 people are being treated in hospitals.
Canada’s inoculation rate is 14th 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
Supporters wave to participants in the 'People’s Convoy' in Golden Valley, Ari., on Feb. 24. The convoy is driving cross-country to protest COVID-19 and is scheduled to arrive in Washington, DC, on March 5.Mario Tama/Getty Images
Coronavirus in Canada
- Ontario’s long-term care minister says a mandate requiring workers in the sector to get vaccinated against COVID-19 is under review. Ontario is reporting 1,066 people in hospital with COVID-19 and 302 in intensive care.
- As of March 1, the Manitoba government is ending its requirement for health-care staff, teachers and other front-line workers to either be vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo frequent testing.
- Quebec is reporting 28 more COVID-19 related deaths as intensive care cases dropped below 100 patients in the latest data today.
- Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe signed an order-in-council to extend the state of emergency “to address the COVID-19 public health emergency.” Previously, the provincial government stated people need to “learn to live with COVID-19.”
Canadian children aged 5 to 11 have been eligible for their shots since November, but on average, just more than half have received them. Now the move by many provinces to relax public-health restrictions could complicate work to improve childhood vaccination rates.
- Across the country, 92 per cent of people 18 and older have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.
- For kids 5 to 11, the average is only 61 per cent. But that average only tells part of the story, as some high-income areas in Canada are reporting upward of 90 per cent of kids being vaccinated, while other areas – notably lower-income, racialized communities, as well as remote and rural ones – have rates well below 50 per cent.
Made-in-Canada vaccine: Health Canada authorized a new COVID-19 vaccine today developed by the Quebec-based biotechnology company, Medicago. Touted as the first plant-based vaccine, the vaccine uses a plant host to make virus-like particles which help the body’s immune system make antibodies.
Stealth Omicron: The coronavirus mutant widely known as “stealth Omicron” is now causing more than a third of new omicron cases around the world, but scientists still don’t know how it could affect the future of the pandemic.
Emergencies Act review committee: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced ending the invocation of the Emergencies Act, but a joint committee of the House and the Senate must be made to review how the powers were put into effect. Today, the Conservatives rejected the proposed makeup of that new oversight committee.
What happens after the Ottawa protest? While the powers under the Emergencies Act have been lifted, questions remain about the long-term effects of invoking such extraordinary measures to quell protests.
Federal government facing lawsuits: The Canadian Constitution Foundation and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association have both asserted in legal challenges that invoking the act against anti-mandate protesters was unlawful.
Coronavirus around the world
- Citing data from South Africa, the head of Africa’s top public health body said that although the Omicron BA.2 sub-variant of COVID-19 appears to be more infectious than the original BA.1 sub-variant, it does not cause more severe disease.
- An Ottawa-inspired “freedom convoy” is making its way to the U.S. capital, but as of now, it has little else in common with its Canadian namesake.
- In the United Kingdom, Queen Elizabeth II postponed two virtual audiences as she continued to experience cold-like symptoms from COVID-19, Buckingham Palace said Thursday.
Coronavirus and business
It might seem obscene that compensation for Canada’s top executives rose by 17 per cent in 2020 – an average of $171,000 each – while half of workers making $17 an hour or less lost their jobs in the first couple of months of the pandemic. But bear in mind a lot of the typical exec’s compensation is tied to stock.
- “For a surprising number of businesses, COVID-19 hasn’t been a bad thing, and in many cases, it has been a downright good thing,” says executive compensation consultant Ken Hugessen.
Also today: While demand for groceries remained elevated – particularly as the Omicron wave led to renewed restrictions on restaurants in some provinces late last year – Loblaw reported that eat-at-home trends were slightly lower than the same period in 2020 when the pandemic fuelled unusual levels of sales growth.
And: How Scarborough’s filmmakers overcame a pandemic, Plexiglass and a pint-sized budget to make a new Canadian masterpiece
Also see: Telcos focus on investment opportunities amid changing pandemic demands
Globe opinion
- Niall Mckenna: Vaccines won’t cure the divisions and grief, but forgiveness just might
- Robyn Urback: Where does the anger go, now that the trucks are gone?
- The Editorial Board: The Emergencies Act ends not with a bang, but with a whimper
- Campbell Clark: Trudeau is eager to stop talking about the Emergencies Act, and talk about blockades instead
More reporting
- Trudeau revokes Emergencies Act powers as crisis in Ottawa and border crossings ends
- Is withdrawing from RRSPs a good option when going back to school amid the pandemic?
Information centre
- Everything you need to know about Canada’s travel restrictions for vaccinated and unvaccinated people
- Where do I book a COVID-19 booster or a vaccine appointment for my kids? Latest rules by province
- 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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