Good evening, these are the top coronavirus headlines tonight:
Top headlines:
- Despite looser health restrictions, COVID-19 is still having a large impact on work activity, with work absences spiking to near record levels in April.
- China is increasingly out of step with the rest of the world where COVID-19 restrictions are being abandoned and vaccines relied on to protect people.
- After relying on tech companies’ apps throughout the pandemics, restaurants have a few ideas of their own about what takeout and delivery can look like going forward.
In the past seven days, there were 484 deaths announced, down 1 per cent over the same period. At least 6,270 people are being treated in hospitals. 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
- The Public Health Agency of Canada and Statistics Canada launched a survey about long COVID, in an attempt to get a broad idea of how often people feel lingering effects after a COVID-19 infection.
- In April, work absences because of COVID-19 spiked to near record levels, with nearly one in 10 employees absent from work because of illness or disability at some point during the month.
- Ontario is reporting 17 deaths, a slight decrease in hospital patients and a slight increase in ICU patients. Quebec had 22 deaths from COVID-19, with a slight decrease in hospitalizations and ICU patients.
- In PEI, the province is lifting the mask mandate for most public indoor spaces, though the chief medical officer still strongly recommends masking when physical distancing isn’t possible.
Pandemic recovery
- Food delivery apps became a must for restaurants that wanted to survive the pandemic. As the industry looks to the future, restaurant owners are figuring out how to meet customers’ expectations – without tech companies eating their lunch.
- In a new challenge for employers, research suggests more Canadians are interested in moving away from their home province now that travel restrictions have eased, and they expect to be able to bring their work with them.
- In a world where you can go to the gym again, is Peloton’s new strength-training guide worthwhile?
More reading
Residents in Beijing, China worry over tightening COVID-19 restrictions as dozens of new infections are reported daily and the country’s leaders commit again to zero-COVID policies.
- China is increasingly out of step with the rest of the world where COVID-19 restrictions are being abandoned and vaccines relied on to protect people.
Internationally, the country faces complaints their zero-COVID policies is causing global economic reverberations.
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
Thank you for subscribing to our Coronavirus Update Newsletter. As the pandemic eases, we plan to wind this down and eventually cease sending, but have many other newsletters to keep you informed, including Globe Climate, Carrick on Money and Breaking News.
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Rebecca Zamon
Jessie Willms