The latest coronavirus news from Canada and around the world Thursday. This file will be updated throughout the day. Web links to longer stories if available.
8:31 p.m. There have been 1,352,121 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Canada, of which 57,970 are active, The Canadian Press reports. There have been 25,162 deaths.
There were 4,682 new cases Friday, according to CP. The rate of active cases is 152.53 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 33,709 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 4,816.
There were 51 new reported deaths Friday. Over the past seven days there have been a total of 294 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is 42. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.11 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 66.21 per 100,000 people.
There have been 33,979,043 tests completed.
- Newfoundland and Labrador: 1,226 confirmed cases (74 active, 1,146 resolved, six deaths).
There were 10 new cases Friday. The rate of active cases is 14.17 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 47 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is seven.
There have been no deaths reported over the past week. The overall death rate is 1.15 per 100,000 people.
There have been 259,835 tests completed.
- Prince Edward Island: 200 confirmed cases (15 active, 185 resolved, no deaths).
There was one new case Friday. The rate of active cases is 9.4 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been 10 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is one.
There have been no deaths reported over the past week. The overall death rate is none per 100,000 people.
There have been 157,338 tests completed.
- Nova Scotia: 5,149 confirmed cases (1,028 active, 4,045 resolved, 76 deaths).
There were 84 new cases Friday. The rate of active cases is 104.97 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 625 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 89.
There were two new reported deaths Friday. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of four new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is one. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.06 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 7.76 per 100,000 people.
There have been 755,186 tests completed.
- New Brunswick: 2,113 confirmed cases (128 active, 1,942 resolved, 43 deaths).
There were 15 new cases Friday. The rate of active cases is 16.38 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 68 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 10.
There were no new reported deaths Friday. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of two new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is zero. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.04 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 5.5 per 100,000 people.
There have been 329,749 tests completed.
- Quebec: 366,394 confirmed cases (6,625 active, 348,694 resolved, 11,075 deaths).
There were 752 new cases Friday. The rate of active cases is 77.26 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 4,574 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 653.
There were nine new reported deaths Friday. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 51 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is seven. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.08 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 129.16 per 100,000 people.
There have been 8,985,712 tests completed.
- Ontario: 518,980 confirmed cases (22,200 active, 488,201 resolved, 8,579 deaths).
There were 1,890 new cases Friday. The rate of active cases is 150.67 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 14,447 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 2,064.
There were 27 new reported deaths Friday. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 148 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is 21. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.14 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 58.23 per 100,000 people.
There have been 14,750,653 tests completed.
- Manitoba: 47,504 confirmed cases (4,855 active, 41,627 resolved, 1,022 deaths).
There were 594 new cases Friday. The rate of active cases is 352 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 3,317 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 474.
There were three new reported deaths Friday. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 20 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is three. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.21 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 74.1 per 100,000 people.
There have been 761,948 tests completed.
- Saskatchewan: 45,310 confirmed cases (1,776 active, 43,010 resolved, 524 deaths).
There were 182 new cases Friday. The rate of active cases is 150.68 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 1,142 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 163.
There were two new reported deaths Friday. Over the past seven days there have been a total of nine new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is one. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.11 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 44.46 per 100,000 people.
There have been 832,104 tests completed.
- Alberta: 223,011 confirmed cases (16,577 active, 204,270 resolved, 2,164 deaths).
There were 732 new cases Friday. The rate of active cases is 374.89 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 6,385 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 912.
There were two new reported deaths Friday. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 27 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is four. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.09 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 48.94 per 100,000 people.
There have been 4,439,302 tests completed.
- British Columbia: 141,373 confirmed cases (4,638 active, 135,068 resolved, 1,667 deaths).
There were 420 new cases Friday. The rate of active cases is 90.1 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 3,069 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 438.
There were six new reported deaths Friday. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 33 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is five. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.09 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 32.38 per 100,000 people.
There have been 2,660,609 tests completed.
- Yukon: 84 confirmed cases (zero active, 82 resolved, two deaths).
There were no new cases Friday. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of no new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is zero.
There have been no deaths reported over the past week. The overall death rate is 4.76 per 100,000 people.
There have been 9,129 tests completed.
- Northwest Territories: 127 confirmed cases (nine active, 118 resolved, no deaths).
There was one new case Friday. The rate of active cases is 19.93 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been six new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is one.
There have been no deaths reported over the past week. The overall death rate is zero per 100,000 people.
There have been 22,743 tests completed.
- Nunavut: 637 confirmed cases (45 active, 588 resolved, four deaths).
There was one new case Friday. The rate of active cases is 114.35 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been 19 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is three.
There have been no deaths reported over the past week. The overall death rate is 10.16 per 100,000 people.
There have been 14,659 tests completed.
6:15 p.m. British Columbia is reporting 420 new COVID-19 cases and six more deaths for a total of 1,667 fatalities since the pandemic began, The Canadian Press reports.
Hospitalizations are gradually falling with 319 people in hospital and of those, 107 are in intensive care, according to CP.
More than 2.7 million doses of vaccine have been administered.
Health officials warned people to stay local this long holiday weekend, saying details of the restart plan will be announced Tuesday.
5:50 p.m. Alberta health officials are reporting 732 new cases of COVID-19 and two more deaths, The Canadian Press reports.
The province says 266 of those new cases have been identified as the more contagious variants of concern, according to CP.
They say 638 people across the province are in hospital because of the virus and, of those, 177 are in intensive care.
The province says there are 16,577 active cases and 4,264 of those involve variants of concern.
5:45 p.m. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he spoke with Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister to discuss the third wave and rising number of COVID-19 cases, The Canadian Press reports.
A readout of the prime minister’s conversation says Trudeau confirmed receiving Manitoba’s request for additional federal assistance, and committed to working with the province to provide additional supports to keep people safe, according to CP.
The two leaders also discussed how both governments can continue working co-operatively to deliver safe and effective vaccines to Manitoba residents quickly.
Trudeau and Pallister agreed to keep working together and noted that a continued close partnership will help to manage the effects of the third wave in the province, and to move forward on a path to economic recovery.
4:53 p.m. Youth aged 12 and over eligible can book their appointment to receive a COVID-19 vaccine beginning this weekend, the Ontario government announced.
As of 8 a.m. on Sunday, they can use the provincial booking system and call centre, as well as at select pharmacies administering the Pfizer vaccine. To book an appointment online, those doing so must already be 12 of the date of their booking.
People who are not 12 on Sunday, May 23, can book an appointment for a later date through the provincial call centre or directly through public health units that use their own booking system.
The Pfizer vaccine is the only vaccine authorized by Health Canada for use in people 12 and over. The province is encouraging eligible family members who have not received a vaccine to attend these clinics to get youth and their families vaccinated as quickly as possible.
The changes are at the request of some public health units to remove barriers for families requesting vaccines. Public health units may have different vaccine administration rates based on local context, and the province and public health units will continue to make appointments available as vaccine supply is confirmed.
4:14 p.m. Health officials in Newfoundland and Labrador have reported a cluster of 14 confirmed and presumed COVID-19 cases in the province’s central region, The Canadian Press reports.
The government moved swiftly Friday to impose stricter health orders in an area from Lewisporte, N.L., to Summerford, N.L., on the east side of Notre Dame Bay, according to CP.
The province’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Janice Fitzgerald, told a news conference the source of these cases is under investigation, adding there were seven confirmed cases, seven presumptive cases and one probable case.
She said the affected area would be elevated to Alert Level 4, the province’s second-highest alert level, as of midnight Friday night. The rest of the province remains at Level 2.
“It’s essential to keep your contacts low,” Fitzgerald said, adding that testing will be ramped up in the Lewisporte area.
“In all likelihood it will be a variant. We are trying to reduce some of the onward transmission.”
She said the decision to raise the alert level was partly because the long weekend will mean more people will be travelling over the next three days.
Meanwhile, the province reported 10 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, which raised the number of active cases to 70. There was one case in the eastern region and two in the western region, in addition to the seven new cases in the central zone.
Newfoundland and Labrador has reported 1,226 cases since the pandemic started. Six people have died from virus-related illnesses and four people remain in hospital.
3:47 p.m. Manitoba is asking the federal government for dozens of healthcare workers to help fight rising COVID-19 numbers, The Canadian Press reports.
Manitoba needs up to 50 critical care nurses, 20 respiratory therapists and up to 50 contact tracers from Statistics Canada, Premier Brian Pallister said after talking with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday, according to CP.
“This is going to be, we hope, a temporary thing and a short-term thing, but the sooner we get a little bit of backup help here, the better,” Pallister said.
Manitoba is in the grip of a third pandemic wave and has record numbers of new cases and people in intensive care.
There were 595 more cases of COVID-19 and three more deaths Friday. The five-day test positivity rate has grown steadily in recent weeks and stood at 14.1 per cent provincially and 16.1 per cent for Winnipeg.
Five intensive care patients were sent to Ontario to free up bed space this week.
3:45 p.m. New Brunswick is reporting a second death in the province related to a rare blood-clotting event from the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, The Canadian Press reports.
Chief medical officer of health Dr. Jennifer Russell said Friday the person in their 50s received their first dose of the vaccine on April 11, developed blood clot symptoms 17 days later and died recently, according to CP.
Officials had previously reported the case and said the person was being treated in hospital. There have been four deaths reported in Canada from the condition known as vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia, or VITT, with the others in Quebec and Alberta.
“Out of the hundreds of thousands of doses of AstraZeneca vaccine administered as part of the country’s massive vaccination campaign, there will be rare cases where thrombosis will occur,” Russell said. “However, the risks remain minimal compared to the risks, complications and potential consequences of COVID-19.”
The Health Department announced Friday that anyone over the age of 55 in New Brunswick who received AstraZeneca as a first dose at least eight weeks ago is now eligible for a second shot of the vaccine. There is a limited supply, and Russell said she knows some people will prefer to get one of the mRNA vaccines, Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech.
She said the province is still waiting for direction from the federal government on using another brand as a second dose.
3:36 p.m. In case your kids are breaking a sweat, the Ontario government said splash/spray pads can open Saturday along with other outdoor recreational amenities such as golf and tennis courts, the Star’s Rob Ferguson reports.
3:35 p.m. Saskatchewan is reporting 173 new cases of COVID-19 today, and two new deaths due to the virus, The Canadian Press reports.
One of the people who died was in their 70s from the far northeast zone, and one was in the over-80 age group in the northwest zone, according to CP.
The Saskatoon zone has the highest number of active cases, 523, of any region in the province.
The province also reported 132 people in the hospital, 25 of whom are in intensive care.
The province says over 60 per cent of all Saskatchewan adults have now received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
3:15 p.m. Prince Edward Island is reporting one new case of COVID-19 today, The Canadian Press reports.
Health officials say the case involves a person in their 20s who had recently travelled outside Atlantic Canada, according to CP.
Prince Edward Island has 15 active reported cases of COVID-19.
The Island has reported a total of 200 infections and no deaths linked to the virus.
2:52 p.m. Ontario is giving a shot in the arm to its COVID-19 vaccination efforts by approving the AstraZeneca vaccine for second doses, starting next week with people who got their first jabs in mid-March, the Star’s Rob Ferguson reports.
As first disclosed by the Star on Wednesday, the province will go ahead with the booster shots of AstraZeneca and related Covishield vaccines, despite a pause on first doses over concerns about an increased incidence of rare blood clots.
The latest evidence shows those clot risks are far more rare for second shots, making it safe to proceed with a batch of doses expiring May 31, chief medical officer Dr. David Williams said Friday.
“Getting COVID far exceeds the risk we’re talking about.”
Starting Monday, adults aged 60-64 who received their first shots March 10 to 19 at pharmacies in Toronto, Windsor-Essex and the Kingston area as part of a pilot project can make appointments by calling pharmacies.
So can a smaller number of people who got jabs during the same period at doctors’ offices in Toronto, Peel, Hamilton, Peterborough, Simcoe-Muskoka and the Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph health unit.
About 55,000 doses are up for grabs initially — far fewer than the number of people eligible, officials said.
While some pharmacies in the pilot project zone no longer have AstraZeneca in stock, they will be able to receive doses being collected and redistributed from drug stores around the province if they wish, or from the provincial supply, said Justin Bates of the Ontario Pharmacists Association.
“Some may put their hand up, some may not,” he told the Star.
Details on which pharmacies will have AstraZeneca or Covishield supply next week are expected to be listed on the government’s COVID-19 web site Monday or Tuesday, Bates added.
“We’re doing what we can to make sure there’s no wasted doses.”
2:49 p.m. New Brunswick is reporting a second death related to a rare blood-clotting event from the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
Chief medical officer of health Dr. Jennifer Russell says a person in their 50s received a first dose on April 11 and developed blood clot symptoms 17 days later and died recently.
Health officials say the case had been reported previously and the person involved had been hospitalized.
Officials are reporting 15 new cases of COVID-19 today.
New Brunswick has 127 active reported cases and seven people in hospital with the disease, including three in intensive care.
Officials are asking the public to follow public health advice and avoid unnecessary travel during the holiday long weekend.
2:29 p.m. The mayor of Canada’s capital city is asking residents to make waves about the need for Ontario to allow splash pads to open as temperatures soar.
Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson is calling on people to let provincial legislators know they want to see the amenities greenlit to open this weekend alongside golf courses.
People will be able to tee off starting Saturday under Premier Doug Ford’s newly released COVID-19 reopening plan.
Tennis courts, skateboarding parks and archery ranges will be welcome to visitors this weekend, but splash pads will not.
Read the full story here on the Star.
2:27 p.m. Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé is encouraging adults to book an appointment for a COVID-19 vaccine before the province’s vaccination campaign opens to people aged 12 to 17 on Tuesday.
Dubé said on Twitter today that 340,000 more appointments need to be made to reach the target of 75 per cent of adults in the province with at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine or an appointment to receive one.
Read the full story here on the Star.
1:50 p.m. There has been a nearly 13 per cent increase in deaths in Ontario during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, with a significant proportion of those excess deaths due to causes other than the SARS-CoV-2 virus, according to cremation data obtained and analyzed by Ontario’s Science Advisory Table.
Nearly 81,000 people were cremated in 2020 compared to a yearly average of 71,625 from 2017 to 2019.
The pandemic “has influenced so many aspects of our (lives),” that it’s difficult to pinpoint one factor causing the excess deaths, said Gemma Postill, the study’s lead author.
Ontario began categorizing cremation records electronically in 2017, allowing Postill to search the database for any deaths mentioning COVID-19.
When researchers removed deaths caused by the virus, they found that the overall number of weekly deaths from January to December of 2020 had increased by 12.8 per cent among those who were cremated.
Read the full story here from the Star’s Patty Winsa and Jenna Moon.
1:46 p.m. Nova Scotia is reporting two more COVID-19-related deaths and 84 new virus cases today.
Health officials say two men in their 70s have died in hospital in the Halifax area.
They have identified 66 new cases in the Halifax area, 11 in the province’s eastern zone, six in the northern zone and one in the western region.
The province has 1,028 active cases of COVID-19, with 84 people in hospital, including 21 in intensive care.
1:45 p.m. Nunavut’s top doctor says it’s safe to ease COVID-19 restrictions in Baffin region communities, except for Iqaluit and Kinngait where there are active cases.
The territory reported 45 active cases Friday, with 44 in Iqaluit and one in Kinngait.
The capital city is still under a strict lockdown heading into the long weekend.
Starting Monday, all other communities can reopen schools and gather indoors with up to 15 people.
1:45 p.m. Manitoba is asking the federal government for dozens of health care workers to help fight COVID-19.
Premier Brian Pallister says he has asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for up to 50 critical care nurses and 20 respiratory therapists.
He is also seeking up to 50 contact tracers from Statistics Canada.
Manitoba is seeing record numbers of COVID-19 cases and people in intensive care during the third wave of the pandemic.
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1:42 p.m. Ontario’s government is facing criticism from doctors and teachers alike for failing to say if and when classrooms will reopen this school year.
The Canadian Paediatric Society says the province must prioritize reopening schools for the sake of children’s mental health.
The national organization of pediatricians says even a few weeks in the classroom will be beneficial for children who have been starved of socialization.
The province’s three-stage reopening plan, unveiled on Thursday, will see some non-essential retailers open their doors around mid-June, but offers no plan for sending kids back to class.
The union that represents the province’s high school teachers wants Premier Doug Ford’s government to be a little more transparent.
Read the full story here on the Star.
1:28 p.m. Get your ice cream and a jab this weekend. A drop-in COVID-19 vaccination clinic will be held on Sunday May 23 in Toronto at Nathan Phillips Square for anyone aged 12 and older living in hotspot postal codes.
The clinic is for first-dose only for eligible residents across the city, non-insured and migrant workers are also able to be vaccinated.
1:20 p.m. New Brunswick is reporting a second death related to a rare blood-clotting event from the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
Chief medical officer of health Dr. Jennifer Russell says a person in their 50s received a first dose on April 11 and developed blood clot symptoms 17 days later before recently dying.
Health officials are reporting 15 new cases of COVID-19 today.
New Brunswick has 127 active reported COVID-19 cases and seven people in hospital with the disease, including three in intensive care.
1 p.m. On Friday, Ontario announced it is “expediting the ability for family members and friends to visit their loved ones who live in long-term care homes.”
The province says homes will need to rapidly reintroduce plans to support outdoor visits.
This comes a day after the province released its three-step plan for reopening. Changes include reopening outdoor recreational amenities, permitting organized public events and social gatherings outdoors with a maximum of five people, including people from different households.
These changes come into effect on Saturday May 22 2021.
12 p.m. Canada’s deputy chief medical officer says the country’s COVID-19 vaccination efforts have doubled in five weeks.
Nearly 20 million doses have been administered to date.
Dr. Howard Njoo says daily COVID-19 cases have declined by 25 per cent over the last week.
Hospitalizations, deaths and critical-care admissions are also dropping.
11:33 a.m. Ontario is reporting another 1,890 COVID-19 cases and 27 more deaths, according to its latest report released Friday morning.
The seven-day average is at 2,064 cases daily, or 99 weekly per 100,000. Ontario’s seven-day average for deaths is at 21.1 daily.
The province says 37,126 tests were completed the previous day, and report a 5.4 per cent positivity rate.
There are 1,265 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 in the province, including 715 patients in intensive care. There are 510 people on ventilators.
Ontario has administered 158,524 vaccine doses since its last daily update, with 7,735,148 vaccines given in total as of 8 p.m. the previous night. The province says 495,757 people have completed their vaccinations, which means they’ve had both doses.
Read the full daily update from the Star’s Breanna Xavier-Carter: Ontario reports another 1,890 COVID-19 cases and 27 more deaths
11:30 a.m. Ontario is giving a shot in the arm to its COVID-19 vaccination efforts by approving the limited use of the AstraZeneca vaccine for second doses.
As first disclosed by the Star on Wednesday, the province is lifting a pause on use of the vaccine over rare blood-clot issues for a brief time for those aged 60-64 who received their first shots in a pilot in Toronto, Windsor-Essex and Kingston.
Starting Monday, people who received an initial AstraZeneca shot at a pharmacy in those areas — as well as at doctors’ offices in Hamilton and a smattering of other places — between March 10 and 19 can get their second doses.
Ontario has 55,000 doses of the vaccine that expire on May 31, so those will be the first boosters to be dispensed, and only to those who got their first shot at least 10 weeks ago.
That’s to ensure maximum efficacy of the vaccine.
Once those vaccines have been dispensed, the government will look at accessing additional doses of AstraZeneca vaccine and getting them into the arms of the hundreds of thousands of people who received a first dose.
Read the full story from the Star’s Rob Ferguson and Robert Benzie: Ontario approves AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine for second doses
11 a.m. Quebec is reporting 752 new COVID-19 cases today and nine more deaths from the virus, but none in the past 24 hours.
Health officials say hospitalizations dropped by 23 to 437 people, and 106 people were in intensive care.
The province says 107,261 COVID-19 vaccines doses were administered in the past 24 hours, for a total of more than 4.7 million.
11 a.m. Transport Canada is extending the ban on incoming flights from India and Pakistan for another month.
The flight ban that began April 22 was set to expire on Saturday.
A notice posted on the Nav Canada website says the extension is ordered by Transport Minister Omar Alghabra.
It says the ministry believes barring flights from those two countries for another month is necessary to protect the public.
10:54 a.m. All Indigenous people in Manitoba can book a second COVID-19 vaccine shot on May 24.
The public health lead for First Nations says First Nations people have made up 40 to 60 per cent of intensive care admissions during the second and third waves of the pandemic.
Dr. Marcia Anderson says more work must be done to get more Indigenous people booked for their first doses, too.
She says 67 per cent of people on reserves have received at least one dose, but only 30 per cent of those living off reserve have received shots.
10:32 a.m. Toronto is back to pleading with residents to book COVID-19 vaccine appointments at city-run clinics, with roughly 12,000 spots available over the Victoria Day weekend.
In Friday morning broadcast interviews Mayor John Tory urged anyone who has not yet received their first dose to book an appointment immediately and to encourage anyone who might be vaccine hesitant to join them.
Tory noted that a little over 60 per cent of Toronto adults have received at least their first dose of vaccine at a city clinic or others operated by hospitals and community organizations.
That means “if you have 10 friends, four of them have not been vaccinated and that conversation has to happen,” Tory said on CP24.
Read more from the Star’s David Rider: Toronto urges people to fill 12,000 open vaccination appointments at city-run clinics over the Victoria Day weekend
(Updated) 10:20 a.m. Ontario is resuming use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19 but only as a second dose, saying health risks posed by the shot are low.
Dr. David Williams, the province’s chief medical officer of health, said Friday that those who received the first dose of AstraZeneca between March 10 and March 19 would be first in line to receive their second dose.
Starting next week, those people could opt to receive the second dose at an earlier 10-week interval in order to use up the 55,000 doses currently in refrigerators in pharmacies and family doctors’ offices — some of which will expire at the end of May.
The province said it is encouraging people who are eligible to reach out to the pharmacy or primary care provider where they received the first dose to book an appointment for the second shot.
Those same pharmacies and primary care providers could also be reaching out to eligible people, the province said.
Nearly one million people in Ontario aged 40 and older have received the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Williams said the province will provide further information on how individuals who received their first dose of the shot after March 19 can book a second dose appointment in the “near future.”
(Updated) 10:15 a.m. Ontario is reporting 1,890 cases of COVID-19, Health Minister Christine Elliott reported on Twitter. Locally there are 469 new cases in Toronto, 468 in Peel, 165 in York Region, 111 in Hamilton and 107 in Durham; 37,100 tests were completed.
(Updated) 9:50 a.m. On Thursday Ontario hit a new daily record of 158,524 vaccinations, Premier Doug Ford tweeted Friday morning. “Thank you to all the incredible health care workers and community volunteers who are working around the clock to get shots in arms and to Ontarians for doing your part and getting your Covid Vaccine,” Ford said. Ontario says it’s recorded a record-high number of COVID-19 vaccine doses given out in a single day. More than 7.7 million doses have been administered in Ontario overall.
9:15 a.m. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada supports the Rome Declaration to fight COVID-19 globally.
Trudeau made the remarks this morning at the Global Health Summit, co-hosted by the European Union and Italy.
The declaration is a series of commitments to ensure access to vaccines, expand drug-manufacturing capacity and invest in health systems.
Trudeau noted that Canada has already contributed $1.3 billion to the World Health Organization’s access to COVID-19 tools accelerator.
8:34 a.m. York Region has announced anyone 12+ can now book a COVID-19 vaccine. Appointments available to anyone living, working or going to school in York Region at york.ca/covid19vaccine.
8:30 a.m. Ontario’s top doctor will provide an update on the status of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine today.
Several provinces have stopped giving the shot because of concerns about rare, fatal blood clots.
Ontario has paused use of the vaccine but still has tens of thousands of doses in storage.
Health authorities are trying to decide whether to resume using the AstraZeneca shot or if a different vaccine should be substituted for second doses.
Dr. David Williams, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, will be joined at today’s update by Dr. Dirk Huyer, the co-ordinator of the provincial outbreak response.
More than 7.5 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Ontario, with formulations from Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and AstraZeneca.
7:58 a.m. Dr. Anthony Fauci says vaccinated Americans would “not necessarily” need to get booster shots this fall for further protection from COVID-19.
Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, told CBS “This Morning” on Friday that scientists would be tracking data on the virus and possible variants. He says it was still “possible” an additional shot would be needed later this year to ward off possible infection.
Fauci also urged Americans to continue to follow CDC guidelines. He stressed those who haven’t been fully vaccinated still need to wear masks even if they are largely spending time with people who have been inoculated.
7 a..m. Dozens of children flocked to the playground of Gordon A. Brown Middle School on Wednesday afternoon, to eagerly await their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
Most were accompanied by parents, or older siblings, as the East York school announced Wednesday morning it would launch a pop-up clinic that afternoon.
Many parents had already been vaccinated — they were there to provide support. What they weren’t there for was to give permission. In Toronto, those 12-15 don’t need a parent or guardian to allow them to take the vaccine.
However, that’s not the same policy in other public health units.
Read the full story from the Star’s Olivia Bowden: Do Ontario children 12-15 need parental consent to get COVID-19 vaccines? It depends where you live
6:18 a.m. The vaccines alliance Gavi has signed an agreement to buy 200 million doses of the one-shot Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine in a boost to the U.N.-backed initiative to distribute vaccines to poor countries.
In a statement Friday, Gavi said the deal was made “with the goal” of the 200 million vaccines being made available this year. Earlier this week, the U.N. initiative known as COVAX suffered a major setback when its biggest supplier, the Serum Institute of India, announced it would not be exporting any more vaccines until the end of the year, in order to deal with the explosive situation on the subcontinent.
Gavi said the 200 million J&J doses would be available to both poor countries relying on vaccines, in addition to rich countries who joined COVAX as a way to guarantee themselves extra vaccine shots. Earlier this month, Canada received more then 600,000 doses of AstraZeneca from COVAX.
“As a one-dose vaccine, the J&J vaccine has particular relevance for places with difficult infrastructure,” said Gavi CEO Dr. Seth Berkley. Gavi said it is still in discussions with J&J to buy another 300 million vaccines for next year.
6:15 a.m. When the U.S. House of Representatives swiftly passed legislation amending a historical law that some say could have severe consequences for British Columbia’s port communities, it came as little surprise to Ian Robertson.
The CEO of the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority said he tried to alert Canadian and B.C. politicians to the ramifications of the change that would temporarily allow international cruise ships to bypass B.C. ports.
“I must admit it’s been frustrating, we’ve been sounding the alarm for the past few months,” Robertson said.
The proposed legislation passed Thursday applies to cruise ships travelling between Washington state and Alaska and gives them the green light to sail past B.C. ports without stopping, a requirement introduced more than a century ago to protect U.S. shipbuilders and operators.
The amendment is a response to Canada’s ban on cruise ships through February 2022 to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and the legislation would only last as long.
However, given the estimated $2.7-billion economic impact of the cruise industry on the B.C. coast, Robertson said it feels like a dangerous precedent to set before exploring other options.
5:15 a.m. With provincial cases trending downward and vaccinations ramping up, Ontario Premier Doug Ford has unveiled the province’s latest strategy for reopening.
The new, three-step road map was released Thursday and outlines what activities are permitted as Ontario reaches specific COVID-19 vaccination targets and other key health indicators.
Here are the answers to your burning questions.
Question: Promises are neat and all, but when will Ontario actually reopen? Is there a set date?
Answer: Ontario estimates it will enter Step 1 the week of June 14, with an exact date to be announced later.
Read more from the Star’s Kevin Jiang: What’s allowed when Ontario reopens? Sports, patios and haircuts are on the horizon
5:05 a.m. When indoor dining is allowed again in Ontario, the customer experience likely won’t be that different than before the pandemic. The tables may be spaced out more and a QR code might replace the printed menu, but judging from what indoor dining looks like so far in other parts of the world, there isn’t a big change.
However, there is a focus on how it could look different for staff — who were deemed essential workers this past year. Restaurant jobs have historically been precarious and workers subject to mental and physical abuse from employers and customers. It’s been a year since these issues were raised to greater public consciousness, and the question remains: has anything changed?
Kaitlin Doucette, a Montreal-based sommelier who got laid off during the pandemic, is the co-founder of the Canadian Restaurant Workers Coalition, a collective of advocacy groups petitioning provincial governments to increase restaurant worker protections such paid sick leave and enforcement of overtime pay.
“We’re battling very entrenched systems and systemic barriers like sexism, transphobia, racism, homophobia, discrimination against those with non-resident status. I’m heartened to see fellow organizers and activists doing ground-level work to change public perception,” said Doucette, noting that an additional challenge is that many of the people doing the advocacy aren’t getting paid or are in precarious employment themselves.
Read the full story from the Star’s Karon Liu: Restaurants opening up for indoor dining is on the horizon. What has changed for workers?
4:01 a.m. The latest numbers on COVID-19 vaccinations in Canada as of 4:00 a.m. ET on Friday, May 21, 2021.
In Canada, the provinces are reporting 396,687 new vaccinations administered for a total of 19,840,991 doses given. Nationwide, 1,529,111 people or 4.0 per cent of the population has been fully vaccinated. The provinces have administered doses at a rate of 52,351.898 per 100,000.
There were 1,745,470 new vaccines delivered to the provinces and territories for a total of 22,932,424 doses delivered so far. The provinces and territories have used 86.52 per cent of their available vaccine supply.