The latest coronavirus news from Canada and around the world Tuesday. This file will be updated throughout the day. Web links to longer stories if available.
11 p.m.: As the airline industry continues to struggle with plummeting passenger volumes and no government bailout plan, Halifax-based Chorus Aviation Inc. announced Tuesday a pair of transactions to provide the company with cash it needs during pandemic-related challenges, including a cash infusion by NordStar, the company that owns Torstar.
Chorus says it will receive gross proceeds of up to $130 million from a secondary offering and a private placement. Chorus also entered into agreements with Alberta Investment Management Corp. and Torstar owner NordStar Capital to purchase $15 million of units and $15 million of debentures.
NordStar founder Paul Rivett, who is the chairman and co-proprietor of Torstar, called Chorus a “Canadian champion” that is focused on growth and presents a strong investment opportunity for NordStar.
Chorus Aviation is best known for its regional flight operations — Air Canada recently reached a deal to make Chorus’s Jazz Aviation subsidiary the exclusive operator of Air Canada Express flights. Another part of its business is buying and leasing aircraft to regional carriers around the world.
Read the full story here.
10:05 p.m.: A sore back, a sore body, a couple of days with a high fever.
Fred VanVleet had COVID-19 and it was a short-term nightmare.
“I could feel the sickness, I could just feel it in me,” the veteran Raptors guard said Tuesday night. “I could feel it in my bones, in my muscles, in my blood. It just was something that was taking over my body for a short period of time.”
VanVleet knows he was one of the luckier ones. He got through those debilitating days, those 48 hours where it hurt just to be awake, where everything was just “off.” He’s looking forward to be able to resume his career as early as Wednesday night.
He knows that it’s not been that way for hundreds of thousands of others worldwide.
“I wouldn’t wish it on anybody,” the 27-year-old said. “I’m here, I’m alive, I’m breathing.
“I know there are a lot of people that didn’t make it through COVID. My thoughts and heart are with the families and people that have been affected by this thing that weren’t as fortunate as I was, as I am.
“I’m (thankful for) that. I’m just happy to be back with the team right now.”
Read the full story from Doug Smith here.
9 p.m.: B.C.’s top doctor is reminding the public to follow COVID-19 rules during St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, while the province has again extended its ongoing state of emergency in response to the pandemic.
Dr. Bonnie Henry says in a statement that last call for alcohol sales at restaurants, pubs and liquor stores will be at 8 p.m. Wednesday.
There are 4,999 active COVID-19 cases in B.C. with 556 new diagnoses, including 470 in the Fraser and Vancouver Coastal health regions.
B.C. has confirmed 116 new cases of COVID-19 variants of concern in the last day for a total of 996, of which 130 remain active. No one else has died due to COVID-19, while 280 people are hospitalized with the illness.
The Public Safety Ministry said in a statement that more than 220 violation tickets and fines of $2,300 each have been issued to owners or organizers whose behaviour contravened health orders on gatherings and events.
More than 1,200 tickets and fines of $230 each have been issued to individuals who refused to comply with direction from law enforcement.
7:34 p.m. The percentage of active COVID-19 cases that involve more transmissible virus variants is rising in Alberta, prompting the province’s top doctor to urge people to keep following public-health guidelines and get vaccinated if they’re eligible.
Chief medical health officer Dr. Deena Hinshaw said Tuesday that Alberta’s aggressive screening, dedicated contact tracing and other measures have bought time for vaccines to work.
“In some ways, there is a race between the variants and the vaccines,” she said, as Alberta recorded 62 new variant cases.
“We need to limit the spread of these variants and all other strains of COVID-19 while we work over the next several months to immunize Albertans who are most vulnerable to ending up in hospital and other severe outcomes.”
7:28 p.m. COVID-19 experts say Toronto is being hit by a third wave of the virus — or a resurgence of the second wave — and officials will put residents at risk if they relax anti-virus restrictions now.
“There’s no question we’re in the third wave and it’s a pipe dream to believe that anything other than additional measures are going to cause this to abate,” said Dr. Andrew Morris, an infectious-diseases specialist at Mount Sinai Hospital.
“Our vaccination efforts are not going to simmer this down.”
Toronto’s public health chief, Dr. Eileen de Villa, said Monday she will this week advise her provincial counterpart on any changes Premier Doug Ford’s government should make to Toronto’s current “grey zone” restrictions.
Read the full story from the Star’s David Rider
7:26 p.m. Premier Francois Legault said Tuesday his government’s goal is for all adult Quebecers who want a COVID-19 vaccine to get at least one dose by Quebec’s Fete nationale on June 24.
The announcement came as the premier pushed back the overnight curfew in Montreal and its surrounding regions to 9:30 p.m. from 8 p.m., starting Wednesday.
But the premier warned that despite the good news about vaccinations, this summer may not be a return to normal.
“It’s good news, but we don’t know how good,” Legault told reporters, before warning about the risk of fast-spreading novel coronavirus variants.
7:20 p.m.: Saskatchewan’s premier says he has faith in residents to decide for themselves whether it’s safe to host people in their homes as more contagious COVID-19 strains are detected in and around the province’s capital.
Scott Moe said Tuesday that because more variants have been found in the Regina area, worship services in the city will not be allowed to expand their capacity beyond 30 people.
Starting Friday, religious services elsewhere in the province will be allowed to have up to 150 worshippers or 30 per cent capacity, whichever is less.
Saskatchewan’s chief medical health officer said a bulk of the new infections being reported in Regina and surrounding areas are from variants.
5:12 p.m.: Temporary foreign workers will no longer be totally exempt from mandatory hotel quarantines imposed on all incoming non-essential travellers, the federal government announced Tuesday.
The new rules are among several adjustments to the management of the program for the start of this year’s growing season.
“We are doing everything necessary so they can arrive as scheduled and in a way that is safe for their health and the health of Canadians,” Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said in a statement Tuesday.
Temporary foreign workers were initially excluded when mandatory hotel quarantines for incoming travellers went into effect last month, though the government had signalled there might be changes.
5:06 p.m.: Half of the 70 COVID-19 cases linked to an outbreak at the Toronto South Detention Centre have screened positive for a variant of concern, Toronto Public Health confirmed Tuesday.
The results came after site-wide testing at the jail following an outbreak in a unit last week. The 70 cases, 36 of which have screened positive for variants of concern, include both staff and inmates.
It is not yet known which of three COVID-19 variants of concern has been identified through screening.
Read the full story from the Star’s Alyshah Hasham
5:01 p.m.: Federal officials are mounting a renewed push to instill Canadian confidence in Oxford-AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, but observers predict they’re in for a tough battle.
Members of the federal body tasked with advising the country on vaccine use took the unusual step of addressing public fears in a televised press conference Tuesday that stressed the vaccine’s safety for those over the age of 65.
The update from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization came roughly two weeks after it suggested seniors avoid the AstraZeneca vaccine because of insufficient trial data, and committee chair Dr. Caroline Quach explained that evolving data will shift advice.
“It’s not (that) we’re flip-flopping, it’s just that we try to monitor the evidence,” Quach said Tuesday, noting the committee now had enough “real-world evidence” to show it is both safe and effective for seniors.
4:52 p.m.: Officials in many Canadian provinces are tightening anti-pandemic restrictions to keep St. Patrick’s Day from becoming a COVID-19 super-spreader event.
Amid worries about a third pandemic wave, health authorities are urging would-be celebrants to be mindful of the risks and obey all limits on social gatherings.
4:45 p.m.: The first kids under 12 have been given Moderna’s COVID vaccine in a study that will test the shot on children in the U.S. and Canada and hopefully pave the way for its approval in younger age groups.
The Massachusetts-based biotechnology company announced Tuesday the trial will involve about 6,750 healthy kids, from six months to 11 years old.
Dubbed “KidCOVE,” it studies the same vaccine, which uses messenger RNA to deliver instructions to cells to make antibodies to fight the virus that causes COVID-19, that Moderna developed for adults.
Read the full story from the Star’s May Warren
4:15 p.m.: Ontario will continue vaccinating people in their early 60s with AstraZeneca jabs for now and adjust the rollout plan now that the National Advisory Committee on Immunization has approved the COVID-19 shots for anyone 65 and older, Premier Doug Ford says.
Although the change in guidance was widely expected after jurisdictions in Europe recently cleared the serum for older seniors, Ford seemed caught off guard and frustrated by the move announced Tuesday morning in Ottawa.
“It just messes up everything to be very frank with you,” Ford told a news conference.
Read the full story from the Star’s Rob Ferguson
4 p.m.: A man in his 30s who lived at the Severn Court student residence in Peterborough died Monday after being diagnosed with a COVID-19 variant.
It’s the first death associated with the Severn Court student residence outbreak, the largest COVID-19 outbreak to date in the Peterborough area since the pandemic began.
The man had not attended the Feb. 20 party at the residence that led to the outbreak.
“This student did not attend the party yet suffered the worst possible consequence,” medical officer of health Dr. Rosana Salvaterra said in a recording provided by the health unit.
“Peterborough has one more loss of life to COVID to grieve.
“One more reason to mourn, one more reason to strengthen our resolve the share the collective responsibility to practice all of the public health measures that can help keep our community safe.”
It’s the 10th COVID-19 death for Peterborough Public Health since the pandemic began a year ago and the youngest victim so far. Most of the previous nine deaths have been people 80 and older.
Read the full story from The Peterborough Examiner here
2:20 p.m.: Toronto Fire Chief Matthew Pegg says Toronto’s three mass immunization centres, which open Wednesday, are fully booked for the next few days.
Each centre can take on about 450 appointments per day.
2:10 p.m.: The Star’s contributing columnist Matt Elliott writes: Take it from me and my inbox: there are definitely people in this city for whom the time of appointment is irrelevant. They’re keen to throw away their shot. And they could prove to be a significant obstacle for Toronto’s goal of achieving herd immunity and finally turning the page on this COVID-19 pandemic.
So I’m glad Toronto Public Health and Toronto city hall are already taking steps to address the problem that could be posed by what they call, diplomatically, the “vaccine hesitant.”
For Coun. Joe Cressy, chair of Toronto’s Board of Health, he’s quantified the challenge: the city needs to get to at least 70 per cent.
Click here to read more.
2 p.m.: Free COVID-19 testing for children and staff could help keep Ontario camps open this summer while the pandemic drags on, organizers say.
Day camps in Ontario were allowed to open with COVID-19 restrictions last year, while overnight camps were ordered to close throughout the summer.
With plans to welcome campers again this year, a group for Ontario camps said COVID-19 testing, along with other safety measures, is key to ensure the safety of campers and staff.
2 p.m. The federal government is looking beyond COVID-19 to prepare for the next large-scale calamity — be it another pandemic, a tsunami or cyberattack.
In a notice posted today, Defence Research and Development Canada seeks proposals for studies, technology trials and demonstrations to identify promising ideas to lessen the severity of potential catastrophes.
The agency, an arm of National Defence, is interested in ways of addressing “high impact, low frequency” events — disasters that don’t happen often but have deep and long-lasting effects when they do occur.
The notice says these fall somewhere between relatively common events such as seasonal floods and highly improbably risks such as an asteroid hitting Earth.
They include a major earthquake, industrial disaster or large-scale terrorist attack but also unforeseen threats posed by adoption of new technologies.
The notice flags interest in two issues highlighted by COVID-19 — the desire for contactless and virtual services, and the need to bolster fragile supply chains, including the movement of goods across international borders.
1:45 p.m. A plant-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate being developed in Quebec is now recruiting volunteers as it begins the final stage of human testing.
Medicago announced Tuesday it had received Health Canada approval to begin Phase 3 trials, which is the final round of testing before federal scientists can make a decision on authorization. That federal evaluation needs to happen before any vaccine can be approved for use in Canada.
This is the only vaccine developed in Canada that the federal government has prepurchased.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced $173 million in funding for the company back in October, which would pay for as many as 76 million doses and help build a manufacturing plant in Quebec City.
The Quebec-based company, which is also working with GlaxoSmithKline, is taking a different approach from other vaccine makers, using a cousin of a tobacco plant to grow tiny particles that mimic the coronavirus. Company spokespeople have said they’re using plants because they can scale up production faster.
Read the full story from the Star’s Alex Boyd
1:32 p.m. Canada’s top doctor says now is not the time for Canadians to increase their contact with others in light of a recent rise in average COVID-19 case counts across the country.
Dr. Theresa Tam says this upswing combined with an acceleration of new variants of the virus in Canada is cause for concern.
She says the most up-to-date stats indicate the percentage of Canadians with immunity to COVID-19 remains low, even as governments have been ramping up their vaccination efforts.
And since today’s case numbers reflect the situation in Canada two weeks ago, Tam urged Canadians to continue to keep their bubbles small, or the vaccines won’t have time to take effect.
Tam also reassured Canadians that Health Canada remains confident the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is safe, despite concerns raised in Europe about alleged adverse side-effects, such as blood clots, that may have affected a small number of people who have received the vaccine.
Deputy chief health officer Dr. Howard Njoo says the benefits of all vaccines approved for use in Canada greatly outweigh any potential risks.
1:10 p.m.: Federal officials are mounting a renewed push to instill Canadian confidence in Oxford-AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, but observers predict they’re in for a tough battle.
Members of the federal body tasked with advising the country on vaccine use took the unusual step of addressing public fears in a televised press conference Tuesday that stressed the vaccine’s safety for those over the age of 65.
The assurances come as new information leads to an update on previous advice, which initially suggested that seniors avoid the AstraZeneca vaccine because of insufficient trial data. NACI chair Dr. Caroline Quach-Thanh says there is now enough “real-world evidence” to show it is both safe and effective for seniors.
Infectious disease doctor Zain Chagla says it’s an important message, but confusing for Canadians as Germany and other European countries move to limit the vaccine’s use while they investigate reports of blood clots emerging after some inoculations.
1:30 p.m.: With COVID-19 still raging in Brazil, President Jair Bolsonaro picked his fourth health minister since the pandemic began, this time the head of the country’s cardiology society who in the past has spoken favourably of the country’s conservative leader.
Marcelo Queiroga will replace Eduardo Pazuello, an active-duty army general with expertise in logistics who landed the position last May despite having no prior health experience.
Queiroga told journalists in a press conference in capital Brasilia on Tuesday that the COVID-19 policy he will implement “is of the Bolsonaro administration, not of the health minister,” suggesting he would follow his predecessor.
“I came to work for Brazil and other ministers of the Bolsonaro administration. The president is very worried about the situation,” said Queiroga, who insisted he is against any lockdown measures. Some Brazilian cities are implementing very restrictive shutdowns to halt the spread.
Pazuello had presided over the health ministry for the longest period of the three pandemic ministers before Queiroga. The revolving door reflects the challenges for the government of Latin America’s largest nation to implement effective measures to control the virus’ spread — or even agree which measures are necessary.
12:40 p.m.: After three days without any new cases, Newfoundland and Labrador is reporting one new case of COVID-19.
Officials say the case involves a man between 20 and 39 years old and his infection is related to international travel.
According to public health, there are now 45 active reported COVID-19 infections in the province.
Officials say two people are in hospitalized in intensive care due to the virus.
12:10 p.m.: The federal government is investing millions of new dollars to boost Canada’s domestic vaccine and drug development capacity.
Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne says Canada must build and expand homegrown biomanufacturing facilities and develop more equipment to secure more vaccines and therapeutics to combat COVID-19.
Ottawa will contribute up to $54.2 million to KABS Laboratories and up to $13.44 million to Immune Biosolutions to expand their respective operations in Quebec.
It will also provide up to $32.7 million to Novocol Pharmeceutical of Canada for growth of its biomanufacturing facilities in Ontario.
Ottawa is also investing $150 million to help companies advance through the early stages of research and development of several Canadian-made vaccine candidates.
12:05 p.m.: The Manitoba government is offering $8 million in COVID-19 relief to the tourism sector.
Premier Brian Pallister says hotel and resource-tourism operators will get grants to offset a portion of their costs, such as mortgage interest and property taxes.
Pallister says the sector has been hard hit by the drop in domestic and international travel.
12 p.m.: Iran’s campaign to inoculate its population against the coronavirus and promote itself as an emerging vaccine manufacturer inched on as health authorities announced Tuesday that the country’s third homegrown vaccine has reached the phase of clinical trials.
Details about its production, however, remained slim.
Although Iran, with a population of more than 80 million, has so far imported foreign vaccines from Russia, China, India and Cuba to cover over 1.2 million people, concerns over its lagging pace of vaccinations have animated Iran’s drive to develop locally produced vaccines as wealthier nations snap up the lion’s share of vaccine doses worldwide.
12 p.m.: New Brunswick is reporting five new cases of COVID-19 today and a presumptive case of a novel coronavirus variant.
Health officials say the new cases were identified in the Moncton, Fredericton and Edmundston regions and are all linked to previously reported infections.
Officials say the presumptive variant case was identified in the Edmundston area and has been sent to the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg for confirmation.
They say a case reported at Ecole Notre-Dame in Edmundston has led to the temporary closure of the school.
11:50 a.m.: A joint investigation by three professional orders into the high number of COVID-19-related deaths at a Montreal long-term care home says management was more to blame than employees.
The report by Quebec’s college of physicians and the orders of nurses and nursing assistants did not reveal any apparent shortcomings among their members at the hard-hit Residence Herron.
It did find poor work organization and a lack of knowledge of the health-care field among management at the privately run facility.
The orders’ report also investigated Montreal’s public geriatric institute, Institut universitaire de geriatrie de Montreal, and it found the care provided was adequate despite an intense COVID-19 outbreak.
11:30 a.m.: Nova Scotia is reporting two new cases of COVID-19 today and confirming four more variant cases.
The new cases are in the Halifax area, with one a close contact of a previously reported case and the other under investigation.
Health officials say the National Microbiology Lab has also confirmed four new variant cases from previously identified cases — two more of the variant first detected in the United Kingdom and two more of the variant first identified in South Africa.
This brings the total number of confirmed variant cases in the province to 23.
Nova Scotia currently has 17 active cases of COVID-19.
11:15 a.m.: Ontario’s science advisers say the province is experiencing a third wave of COVID-19.
The Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table says that more transmissible virus variants of concern account for almost half of new cases and are driving growth.
The group, which gives independent advice and analysis to the province, says almost two thirds of Ontario’s public health units are now experiencing “exponential growth” of the virus.
The province’s top doctor said Monday that Ontario could be going into a third wave but the extent of it remains to be seen.
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11:10 a.m.: Quebec is reporting 561 new COVID-19 infections and eight more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus, including three in the past 24 hours.
Health officials say hospitalizations dropped by 20, to 533, and 91 were in intensive care, a drop of five.
The province says it administered 28,861 vaccine doses Monday, for a total of 774,600, representing slightly more than 9 per cent of the population.
Premier François Legault is holding a media briefing this evening, when he is expected to announce changes to public health orders, including the nighttime curfew in Montreal.
10:46 a.m.: Nova Scotia’s health system has begun booking people aged 63 to 64 for Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine on a first-come, first-served basis.
The province is partnering with pharmacists and doctors to provide the vaccines at 25 locations, with the first immunizations starting Saturday.
Online booking opened shortly after 7 a.m. today, with people able to log on and apply for a vaccination appointment, while also filling out forms providing their health information.
Nova Scotia has said it has 13,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine available that must be used by April 2.
Some countries have paused use of the vaccine as European regulators review safety data following isolated reports of blood clots among recipients.
However, the company and Canadian regulators continue to say the AstraZeneca vaccine is safe, with Canada’s immunization advisory committee today adjusting its guidance to say it is also safe and effective for people over the age of 65.
10:40 a.m.: Upper Canada College, an all-boys’ private school in Toronto, has voluntarily closed for in-person classes after 12 people tested positive for COVID-19 since Feb. 25.
The majority of people who tested positive have had close contact with someone in a community or household setting, Dr. Vinita Dubey, Toronto’s associate medical officer of health, said in a statement.
Toronto Public Health has recommended that all staff and students be tested, Dubey said in a statement.
The Star’s Rhythm Sachdeva has the story.
10:35 a.m.: Ontario is reporting two more resident deaths in long-term care due to COVID for a total of 3,753 since the pandemic began.
The province says there are seven fewer long-term-care homes in outbreak for a total of 80 or 12.8 per cent of all LTC homes.
10:12 a.m.: Major streets could be closed to car traffic on weekends again this year as part of Toronto’s ActiveTO program, but it looks like the most popular closure won’t be returning.
In a city report released Tuesday, city staff laid out their plans for this year’s edition of ActiveTO, which last year saw the city implement closures of major streets on 25 weekends between May and October as part of its pandemic response.
The report recommends opening up stretches of Lake Shore Boulevard East and Bayview Avenue to pedestrians and cyclists again this year, subject to coordination with construction projects and the resumption of large special events as pandemic restrictions hopefully ease later this year.
The Star’s Ben Spurr has more details.
10:10 a.m.: Ontario is reporting that 51,579 more vaccine doses were administered since its last daily update for a total of 1,243,132 as of 8 p.m. Monday.
The province says 288,918 people are fully vaccinated, which means they’ve had both shots.
10:05 a.m.: Ontario is reporting 1,074 more COVID-19 cases, with 11 deaths.
The seven-day average is down to 1,334 cases daily or 64 weekly per 100,000, and up to 12.9 deaths per day.
Labs report 28,526 completed tests, and a 4.5 per cent positivity rate, which is the highest since Feb. 2.
9:33 a.m. (updated): The National Advisory Committee on Immunization says there is now enough “real-world evidence” to show the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is both safe and effective for seniors.
The decision reverses a recommendation made by the body on March 1, when the panel of vaccine experts said AstraZeneca hadn’t included enough people over the age of 65 in its clinical trials.
NACI chair Dr. Caroline Quach said Tuesday that two studies of patients who received the vaccine in the United Kingdom have been released since then and show the AstraZeneca vaccine is both safe and effective for seniors, particularly against severe disease and hospitalization.
She says while the clinical trial data show the two mRNA vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna were more effective than AstraZeneca’s, the data on the vaccines since they began being widely used shows similar levels of effectiveness.
Still NACI says if there is a choice, the mRNA vaccines should be prioritized for use on seniors, but they no longer recommend against using AstraZeneca for anyone over the age of 65.
Several European countries also reversed a recommendation against using it on seniors, including France, Germany and Italy.
9:30 a.m.: With coronavirus cases rising in many places, governments faced the grimmest of dilemmas Tuesday: push on with a vaccine that is known to save lives or suspend use of AstraZeneca over reports of dangerous blood clots in a few recipients despite no evidence the shot was responsible.
It has created a jagged divide across the globe, forcing politicians to assess the health risks of halting the shots at a time when many countries, especially in Europe, are already struggling to overcome logistical hurdles and vaccine hesitancy among their populations.
Sweden was the latest to join a swelling group of European Union nations choosing caution over speed, even as the head of the European Medicines Agency said there was “no indication” that AstraZeneca vaccines were the cause of the clots.
9:25 a.m.: The head of the European Medicines Agency says there is “no indication” that AstraZeneca vaccines are the cause of blood clots reported in some shot recipients. Those reports led several European countries to suspend use of the vaccine.
Emer Cooke said Tuesday that the agency is “firmly convinced” that the benefits of the AstraZeneca shot outweigh the risks, but an evaluation is ongoing.
Cooke said experts are meeting this week to discuss the available information and will make a recommendation Thursday.
9:10 a.m.: The National Advisory Committee on Immunization has expanded its recommendation for the AstraZeneca vaccine in Canada, approving it for anyone over 18 years old, including those older than 65.
Previously, the agency only recommended the vaccine for people under 65.
The agency said there had been insufficient data previously for those older than 65. It says now that it has considered three recent real-world effectiveness studies to inform this change in recommendation.
8:50 a.m.: Pregnancy, birth and life with a newborn in the middle of a pandemic has brought on high anxiety, ever-shifting hospital protocols and intense isolation for many of the millions of women who have done it around the world.
As the pandemic stretches into a second year and economic worry persists, demographers are studying the reasons for an anticipated pandemic baby bust. Women, meanwhile, have learned to go through labour in masks and to introduce fresh arrivals to loved ones through windows.
Fear, anxiety and chaos were particularly acute in New York City during the early months of the pandemic in what was one of the country’s most devastating hot spots.
8:05 a.m.: Sweden is pausing the use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine as a precautionary measure amid concerns about reports of blood clots in some recipients in Europe.
“The decision is a precautionary measure,” Sweden’s chief epidemiologist, Anders Tegnell, said in a statement.
The move by the Swedish Public Health Agency was to remain in effect until an investigation by the European Medicines Agency into suspected side effects is complete.
A growing number of European countries — including Germany, France, Italy and Spain — have suspended use of AstraZeneca’s vaccine, though the company and international regulators say there is no evidence the shot is to blame for the blood clots.
Sweden has stood out for its comparatively mild response to the pandemic. The country avoided lockdowns and relied instead on citizens’ sense of civic duty to control infections. As of Tuesday, more than 13,140 people had died of COVID-19 in the Scandinavian country, far more per capita than in Sweden’s neighbours but fewer than in other European countries that did implement strict lockdowns or curfews.
7:34 a.m. Ontario’s online portal for COVID-19 vaccination appointments opened Monday, and although not every GTA resident who qualifies can use it to schedule their shot, it’s a good starting ground.
The website covid19.ontariohealth.ca allows individuals to make an appointment through the provincial booking portal, or redirects to their public health system if their local health unit is choosing to use an existing portal or call centre in place of the provincial website.
For many residents across the GTA, their public health units are advising people to use these locals systems, although not in Toronto.
Since Friday, the Toronto Public Health booking system at toronto.ca/covid-19 redirects residents to register through the provincial portal.
Read the full story from the Star’s Irelyne Lavery
6:35 a.m.: With COVID-19 vaccines flowing into Canada by the millions, more and more people across the nation are lining up to get their shot in the hope of being one step closer to the end of the devastating global pandemic.
However, vaccine hesitancy remains a roadblock to achieving this goal. Distrust in Canada’s health care system, governments and institutions due to a history of exploitation continues to be a real obstacle for Black, Indigenous, and racialized communities.
Speaking in their native languages, long-term-care residents, doctors, and nurses and others who have received the vaccine — ranging in age from 22 to 94 — share why they got they got their shot, what it means to them, and how they felt after receiving it.
Read the full story from the Star’s Evelyn Kwong here.
6:33 a.m.: The German government said Tuesday it will postpone a virtual summit on the country’s vaccination efforts until after the European Medicines Agency has met over reports of dangerous blood clots in some recipients of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine.
A growing number of European countries — including Germany, France, Italy and Spain — suspended use of the AstraZeneca vaccine on Monday, though the company and international regulators say there is no evidence the shot is to blame.
The German government and the country’s 16 state governors had planned to meet Wednesday for a virtual summit on the country’s slow vaccination campaign and on ways to speed it up. But in a statement Tuesday morning, the government said the summit would be postponed until after the EMA’s meeting, which is scheduled for Thursday.
AstraZeneca’s formula is one of three vaccines in use on the European continent. But the escalating concern is another setback for the European Union’s vaccination drive, which has been plagued by shortages and other hurdles and is lagging well behind the campaigns in Britain and the U.S.
6:32 a.m.: With COVID-19 still raging in Brazil, President Jair Bolsonaro picked his fourth health minister since the pandemic began, this time the head of the country’s cardiology society who in the past has spoken favourably of the country’s conservative leader.
Marcelo Queiroga will replace Eduardo Pazuello, an active-duty army general with expertise in logistics who landed the position last May despite having no prior health experience.
Earlier Monday, Pazuello acknowledged in a press conference that Bolsonaro aimed to replace him. The first candidate for the job, cardiologist Ludhmila Hajjar, rejected it.
Pazuello had presided over the healthy ministry for the longest period of the three pandemic ministers before Queiroga. The revolving door reflects the challenges for the government of Latin America’s largest nation to implement effective measures to control the virus’ spread — or even agree which measures are necessary.
6:31 a.m.: China has approved a new COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, one that was developed by the head of its Center for Disease Control, adding to its arsenal.
Gao Fu, the head of China’s CDC, led the development of a protein subunit vaccine that was approved by regulators last week for emergency use, the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Microbiology said in a statement Monday.
It is the fourth such vaccine to be given emergency use approval. China has approved four vaccines developed by three Chinese companies for general use.
The vaccine was developed jointly by Anhui Zhifei Longcom Biopharmaceutical Co. Ltd. and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The team finished phase 1 and phase 2 clinical trials in October of last year and is currently conducting the last phase of trials in Uzbekistan, Pakistan and Indonesia, according to the statement.
The vaccine was approved for use in Uzbekistan on March 1.
6:22 a.m.: While TV, radio and print interviews have contributed to new-found fame for some doctors and health experts, others have seen their popularity soar because of their social media presence.
“There are doctors out there with 50,000, 100,000 followers,” Schwartz said. “That’s certainly not something I would have believed possible before the pandemic.“
A communication arts expert at the University of Waterloo isn’t surprised to see doctors and other medical specialists becoming household names.
Read the full story by The Canadian Press here.
6:19 a.m.: A new poll suggests about half of Canadians are willing to get immunized against COVID-19 with the first vaccine they’re offered, while one quarter would be willing to wait to get a shot they’d prefer.
Fifty-one per cent of respondents to the online survey by Léger and the Association for Canadian Studies say they will take whichever of the four COVID-19 vaccines authorized for use in Canada.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offered reassurances on the safety of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine Monday after Germany joined other European countries pausing its use over reports of blood clots in some recipients.
Léger executive vice-president Christian Bourque said concerns about that vaccine don’t seem to be on Canadians’ minds.
“For now, there’s no real major issue exactly (with the AstraZeneca vaccine), but could it in light of what we’ve seen over the past couple of days? I don’t know,” Bourque said.
The online poll of 1,512 adult Canadians was carried out March 12 to 14 and cannot be assigned a margin of error because internet-based surveys are not considered random samples.
The poll also found that 41 per cent of respondents say they believe the worst of the COVID-19 crisis is behind us, while 25 per cent say we are now in the worst period.
Bourque said Canadians seem to feel that we’re rounding the corner as vaccination campaigns are accelerate across the country.
4 a.m.: The latest numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Canada as of 4 a.m. ET on Tuesday, March 16, 2021.
There are 913,047 confirmed cases in Canada (31,630 active, 858,922 resolved, 22,495 deaths). The total case count includes 13 confirmed cases among repatriated travellers.
There were 2,847 new cases Monday. The rate of active cases is 83.23 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 22,355 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 3,194.
There were 25 new reported deaths Monday. Over the past seven days there have been a total of 220 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is 31. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.08 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 59.19 per 100,000 people.
There have been 25,996,052 tests completed.
4 a.m.: The latest numbers on COVID-19 vaccinations in Canada as of 4 a.m. ET on Tuesday, March 16, 2021.
In Canada, the provinces are reporting 124,640 new vaccinations administered for a total of 3,151,305 doses given. Nationwide, 600,918 people or 1.6 per cent of the population has been fully vaccinated. The provinces have administered doses at a rate of 8,314.948 per 100,000.
There were no new vaccines delivered to the provinces and territories for a total of 3,982,220 doses delivered so far. The provinces and territories have used 79.13 per cent of their available vaccine supply.
Monday 11 p.m.: An Amazon warehouse that was ordered to shut down last week due to a major COVID-19 outbreak is also being investigated for potential labour violations, the Ontario government said Monday.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Labour said the investigation was already underway when the local public health unit ordered thousands of workers at the Brampton, Ont., facility on Friday to isolate for two weeks,
“We continue to work closely with Peel Public Health and others to provide support, advice and enforcement as needed to ensure the health and safety of Ontario’s workers,” Harry Godfrey said in a statement.
Godfrey noted that penalties for labour violations could be as high as $1.5 million or imprisonment. He said the government would not hesitate to hold employers accountable if they fail to keep their employees safe.
Peel Region’s top doctor said the outbreak at the Amazon facility, which employs approximately 5,000 workers, began in October and has since been linked to more than 600 cases.
Dr. Lawrence Loh said nearly half of the cases were detected in the last few weeks, prompting the public health unit to issue a special order requiring the workers to self-isolate for two weeks starting March 13.
Workers were ordered to isolate until March 27 unless they’ve tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 90 days and have already completed their isolation period for that infection.
Amazon Canada said workers would be paid during the 14-day quarantine, but it disputed the data being used to support the plant closure, pointing to a round of tests that recently came back with a positivity rate of less than one per cent. It has said it plans to appeal the decision.
Peel Public Health said the closure will give the company further time to consider additional operational changes that may help prevent outbreaks in future.