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.
9:28 p.m. People age 30 and older may now receive the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in British Columbia, starting with hot spots for transmission.
Health Minister Adrian Dix and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry say in a statement on Tuesday the vaccine will be made available across the province as B.C. receives enough doses to add more pharmacy appointments.
Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization recommended last week that the vaccine may be offered to people 30 and up who don’t want to wait for an approved mRNA vaccine, and if certain other conditions are met.
Those conditions include a benefit-risk analysis, informed consent, and that there would be a substantial delay to receive an mRNA vaccine.
B.C. confirmed 799 new cases of COVID-19 and no new deaths on Tuesday.
There are now 8,089 active infections in the province and hospitalizations have ticked up to 500, including 164 people in intensive care.
9:17 p.m. Alberta’s chief medical officer of health says there are 20,721 active cases of COVID-19 in the province — the second-highest total since the pandemic began.
“Our numbers are still very high and it’s important to underline that cases are still growing,” Dr. Deena Hinshaw said Tuesday while acknowledging the rate of growth is slowing.
“Simply put, we’re still heading in the wrong direction.”
The province has had more than 1,000 new cases every day for weeks and hospitalization rates are approaching what they were during the peak of the second wave of the pandemic in December.
The highest recorded active case count was 21,649 on Dec. 15.
It was during that time that Premier Jason Kenney’s government invoked a renewed round of restrictions on business and public gatherings to keep the caseload from swamping the health system.
In early January, hospitalizations peaked at more than 900, then dropped to around 250 in late February before starting to climb again.
On Tuesday, Hinshaw announced 1,539 new cases, with 635 people in hospital, including 143 in intensive care.
The positivity rate remained high at 11.4 per cent.
The more contagious variant strains of COVID-19 made up about two-thirds of active cases.
There were seven more deaths, bringing that total in Alberta to 2,081. However, Hinshaw announced that 14 of the cases, after a review, did not have COVID-19 as a contributing cause of death, reducing the total to 2,067.
The government has not brought in new restrictions since April 6.
8:45 p.m. About 80 employees at a Canada Post facility in Mississauga have been ordered into isolation after a COVID-19 outbreak.
On Tuesday, Peel Public Health ordered the shutdown of the afternoon shift of the Toronto Exchange Office within Canada Post’s Gateway West facility at 4567 Dixie Rd after 12 employees tested positive for the virus within the last week.
Canada Post said the workers were sent home Tuesday and told to isolate for 10 days. Some employees who were not scheduled to work Tuesday have also been told to self-isolate.
5:54 p.m. Despite warning signs — and even padlocks — Toronto residents appear to be defying provincial COVID-19 regulations, playing basketball, tennis, volleyball and exercising in outdoor facilities that are closed under the latest stay-at-home order.
The provincial order issued April 16 closed outdoor recreation and fitness facilities in an attempt to curb the spread of the virus, though playgrounds were allowed to stay open.
But many residents have taken to social media to express their frustration at the seemingly arbitrary nature of the lockdown and over the past several days, the Star has seen people using many of the city’s outdoor facilities.
Read the complete story by the Star’s Danica Samuel.
5:13 p.m. A woman in her 50s has died of a blood clot that occurred after receiving the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, the Quebec government announced Tuesday.
Public health director Dr. Horacio Arruda told a news conference he believes it is the first death in Canada to be potentially linked to the vaccine.
Both Arruda and Health Minister Christian Dube said the government had always known side-effects could occur in a very small number of people but stressed that the vaccine saves far more lives than it endangers.
Premier François Legault offered condolences to the victim’s family. “I’m sad to know that a 54-year-old woman, in good shape … died because she was vaccinated,” Legault said in Quebec City. He called the news “hard to take” but said it was not unexpected.
“We had an experience elsewhere in the world where we said: there is a risk once out of 100,000,” he said.
Legault began the news conference with an announcement that he would allow Quebec City-area elementary schools to reopen next week and would push back the evening curfew in Montreal from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. beginning Monday.
But the optimism over declining case counts was overshadowed by news of the woman’s death.
Dube said the province is investigating four cases of serious complications out of some 400,000 people who have received the AstraZeneca vaccine. That puts the rate of complications at about one in 100,000 doses, which he said is consistent with what has been observed elsewhere.
“That’s very unfortunate and we’re sad about it, but that’s the price of vaccination,” he said.
Health Canada has said the Oxford-AstraZeneca is safe and effective despite the fact that there’s evidence to suggest it may cause very rare blood clots.
The clotting syndrome has been labelled VIPIT, short for vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia. It occurs when the body’s immune system begins to attack blood platelets, leading to clots, and it is treatable.
Arruda said a laboratory in Hamilton, Ont., confirmed the woman died from a blood clot to the brain associated with antibodies that created a platelet problem.
Currently the province is offering the vaccine to Quebecers between the ages of 45 and 79, and Arruda said there are no plans to change that strategy.
The news came as health officials reported fewer than 1,000 new cases of COVID-19 in the province for the second day in a row, with 899 new infections. There were 14 additional deaths, including three in the previous 24 hours. Hospitalizations rose by three, to 667, and 170 people were in intensive care, an increase of three.
Legault said that despite some loosening, special measures, including an 8 p.m. curfew and the closure of high schools and non-essential businesses, will remain in place in harder hit parts of the province — Quebec City, Chaudiere-Appalaches and the Outaouais region bordering Ontario. Primary schools in the latter region remain closed.
3:52 p.m. Nova Scotia Premier Iain Rankin has announced a provincewide shutdown to combat a surge in COVID-19 cases.
As of Wednesday at 8 a.m., all schools and non-essential indoor services will be closed in the province for the next two weeks.
Rankin says the closures affect malls, gyms, stores, bars and restaurants, but curbside pickup and takeout will be allowed.
The announcement comes as the province’s COVID-19 daily case count jumped to a record 96 cases on Tuesday.
2:15 p.m. The Quebec government has announced that a woman in her 50s has died of a blood clot that occurred after receiving the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
Public health director Dr. Horacio Arruda says the benefits of the vaccine far outweigh the risks, and the province always knew that rare complications were possible.
Health Minister Christian Dube says the province is currently investigating four cases of serious complications out of some 400,000 people who have received the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Currently the province is offering the vaccine to Quebecers between the ages of 45 and 79, and Arruda says there are no plans to change that strategy.
1:22 p.m. Staring 8 a.m. Tuesday in Toronto, anyone 45 or older living in one of the 53 postal codes across Toronto designated as a high-risk hot spot by the Province of Ontario is eligible to book a vaccination appointment at a city-operated vaccination clinic. This change makes an additional 206,169 Torontonians eligible for vaccination at a city-run clinic.
A small number of first dose appointments are available at city-operated clinics next week, with greater availability starting the week of May 10.
Read here for a full list of who qualifies for vaccines and where to book your appointment.
11:52 a.m. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the Canadian Armed Forces is deploying 60 service members to help out at COVID-19 testing centres in Nova Scotia.
Trudeau says the province asked for help as the number of COVID-19 cases has been rising quickly, especially in the Halifax region.
This comes the day after the federal government confirmed it would be deploying military medical personnel to help Ontario’s beleaguered health-care system.
Trudeau says the Forces carried out its assessment of what Ontario needs on the ground Monday and that military personnel will be mobilized over the next days.
He says sending “women and men in uniform to help in Ontario is a serious step” and that Ottawa made this choice “because the situation requires it.”
Trudeau says the federal government has also reached out to Alberta on what support the province might need.
More Coming.
11:06 a.m. Ontario is making it easier for people in designated COVID-19 hot zones and licensed child care workers to get their shots.
Starting Tuesday, anyone turning 45 this year in one of 114 hot spots as defined by postal codes in 13 health units can book appointments at mass clinics on the provincial or local public health websites or telephone hotlines, said Health Minister Christine Elliott.
“I encourage everyone to is eligible to book their appointment as soon as they can,” added Elliott, who is considering a recommendation from the science table advising Premier Doug Ford to put half of all new vaccine shipments into 76 of the hardest-hit hot zone neighbourhoods for people aged 16 and older to better curb the spread of COVID-19.
Read the full story here from the Star’s Rob Ferguson.
10:11 a.m. (updated) Ontario is reporting 3,265 COVID-19 cases with 29 deaths Tuesday. The seven-day average is down to 3,888 cases per day or 187 weekly per 100,000, and up to 29.6 deaths per day, a third wave high. Labs report 34,000 completed tests (low for a Tuesday) & 10.2 per cent positivity.
Locally, there are 1,044 new cases in Toronto, 673 in Peel, 452 in York Region, 171 in Durham and 150 in Ottawa. As of 8 p.m. Monday, 4,791,030 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered.
9:10 a.m. Enforcement officers issued the most tickets last week for alleged COVID-19 rule violations in Mississauga since February.
Thirty-four COVID-19 fines were issued from April 19 to 25, according to a city report, which is the most in Mississauga since the week of Feb. 8.
An alleged car meetup in the city on April 24 saw 15 $880 tickets issued, the most tickets in a single incident for the week. Two more $880 tickets were given out at alleged private gatherings that day.
The report showed that 10 $880 tickets were issued at an alleged organized soccer game on April 25, and one more for a gathering at a private residence that day.
Under Ontario’s stay-at-home and emergency orders, gatherings of multiple households inside or outside aren’t allowed, except in a few circumstances such as religious services.
The province has also recently ordered outdoor amenities to close, except for playgrounds, aiming to limit the spread of COVID-19 as case rates hit new highs in Peel and elsewhere in Ontario.
The Mississauga report also showed that four COVID-19-related tickets were handed out in relation to alleged organized basketball games on April 23, and a fifth fine was issued that day for use of a recreational amenity.
In total, more than $29,000 in COVID-19-related fines were issued last week.
9 a.m. Ontario workers would be eligible for up to $1,000 a week in COVID-19 sick pay if Premier Doug Ford can convince Ottawa to let Queen’s Park bolster the existing federal program.
Under fire for months due to the lack of a provincial paid sick-leave plan, Ford is offering to double the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB), which pays $500 a week to ill workers.
In a letter last Thursday, provincial Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy made that pitch to federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland.
“As part of Ontario’s plan to address gaps in the programs available for workers, Ontario would like to move ahead and double the benefit for every Ontario application,” he wrote in a missive first reported by the Globe and Mail and also obtained by the Star.
“Specifically we would like everyone in Ontario to be eligible for $1,000 per week, as opposed to the current $500,” the provincial treasurer continued.
Read the full story from the Star’s Robert Benzie
8 a.m. The Ontario government is expanding booking for COVID-19 vaccination appointments to people 45 and over in designated hot spot communities in 13 public health units, as identified by postal code, through its provincial booking system. Child care workers in licensed child care settings across the province will also be eligible to book their COVID-19 vaccination appointments.
As of 8 a.m., all individuals who are 45 and over in 2021, living in one of the 114 high-risk neighbourhoods, will be eligible to book a COVID-19 vaccine appointment at a mass immunization clinic through the provincial online booking system and call centre or directly through public health units that use their own booking system.
7:55 a.m. There are now 865 patients with COVID-related critical illness now in Ontario adult and pediatric ICUs as of April 26. 58 new admissions.
7:45 a.m. As cases and deaths soar, Turkey’s president has instructed people to stay home for nearly three weeks and shut down many businesses as part of the country’s strictest COVID-19 measures yet.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan did not announce a stimulus package to offset the economic impact of the new restrictions. With Turkey’s double digit inflation, sinking national currency and businesses in trouble, many Turks already have been struggling financially.
Gozde Aslan, a newspaper seller in Istanbul, said the lockdown would be difficult to weather.
“We have to bring food to our homes, and we live in a period where everything is very expensive,” she said. “May God help us.”
Erdogan announced Monday that a “full lockdown” would begin Thursday and last until May 17. Residents will be required to stay home except for grocery shopping and other essential needs, while intercity travel only will be allowed with permission. Restaurants are allowed to deliver food.
Some businesses and industries will be exempt from the shutdown, including factories, agriculture, health care and supply chain and logistics companies. The Interior Ministry also published a list of exempt individuals, who include parliament members, health care workers, law enforcement officers and many others.
7:30 a.m. A Toronto hospital said Monday that it had transferred its first patient to a temporary field hospital that was set up on its grounds to help handle a crush of COVID-19 cases.
In a written statement, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre said a patient had been transferred to one of 10 beds set up in its “mobile health unit.”
The statement did not say whether the patient who was moved to there was being treated for COVID-19.
Last month, the Star reported that a temporary field hospital was being set up in the Sunnybrook parking lot that would be able to accommodate as many as 100 patients.
Toronto Western Hospital and Toronto General Hospital have erected large tents to serve as patient waiting areas to help reduce crowding in the overstretched emergency departments.
Read the full story from the Star’s Zena Salem
7:10 a.m. Loblaw Companies Inc. and Sobeys are reporting that 17 employees from their grocery store and pharmacy locations in Brampton recently tested positive for COVID-19.
The cases were reported by Loblaw and Sobeys between April 20 and 26.
Here is a list of the cases reported at Brampton locations last week
7 a.m. The tragic news that 13-year-old Emily Victoria Viegas died of COVID-19 on Thursday has once again highlighted one of the third wave’s most striking features in Ontario: the increasing spread of the virus among young people.
Nearly 60,000 Ontarians in their 20s or younger have become infected since March 1, the approximate start of Wave 3. That’s a much larger share of total cases, 40 per cent, than the first and second wave, which saw huge outbreaks among unvaccinated seniors, especially in long-term-care homes.
The number of people in their 30s and younger who die after contracting COVID-19 has also been increasing as a percentage of overall deaths since the start of the third wave. In Wave 2, COVID-19 deaths among this cohort made up 0.5 per cent of all deaths (20 of 4,253); since the beginning of Wave 3, people in this age group have made up about three per cent (20 of 728 to date).
The province’s chief coroner also says most of the people who have died suddenly from COVID at home over the last month in south-central Ontario were under 60.
While the growth in younger cases is undoubtedly alarming news for parents who still rely on daycare, or people who live in multi-generational homes, seniors still make up the vast majority of people suffering the worst outcomes.
Read the full story from the Star’s Lex Harvey, Ed Tubb, Cameron Tulk, Kenyon Wallce and May Warren
6:50 a.m. South Korean President Moon Jae-in has met with the CEO of Maryland-based Novavax and promised to push for a swift approval of the company’s coronavirus vaccine, which will be produced through a local biotech firm.
South Korean officials hope that SK Bioscience’s production of the Novavax vaccine will help prevent possible supply shortages in coming months as the United States, European nations, and India strengthen controls on vaccine exports while coping with domestic outbreaks.
Officials say SK Bioscience is contracted to manufacture 40 million doses of the Novavax vaccine this year. Production could begin in June, and as many as 20 million shots could be delivered through September for use in South Korea, according to officials. SK already is producing at its factory in the southern town of Andong the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca.
In his meeting with Novavax CEO Stanley Erck on Tuesday, Moon said his government will establish a special team within the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety to ensure a speedy approval process for the Novavax vaccine, which is currently being reviewed in Britain and Europe, the South Korean government said.
Moon also expressed hope that Novavax would extend its manufacturing agreement with SK beyond next year to help stabilize future vaccine supplies.
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South Korea hopes to get 190 million doses of coronavirus vaccines this year through bilateral deals with pharmaceutical companies and the WHO-backed COVAX program.
Around 2.4 million of South Korea’s 51 million people had received their first shots as of Tuesday.
6:45 a.m. Iran says three cases of the coronavirus variant first identified in South Africa have been confirmed in the country’s south, state television reported Tuesday.
A state TV broadcast quoted Health Minister Saeed Namaki as saying, “We have received a report that said in one of our southern provinces we have found three cases of South African coronavirus variant for the first time.”
Namaki said the Health Ministry is monitoring the cases and conducting more tests to make sure the variant was identified correctly.
He also said that cases involving a virus variant identified in India have turned up very close to Iran’s border and the government is testing all Indian citizens in Iran.
Iranian officials reported Tuesday that the daily death toll from COVID-19 rose by 462, putting the country’s total in the pandemic at 70,532. Authorities blame the deaths on people disregarding infection-control measures while using public transportation and during family gatherings.
Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said 20,963 new cases were confirmed in 24 hours, bringing that total to more than 2,438,000.
6:30 a.m. Ontario is on the verge of boosting vaccine supplies to COVID-19 hot zones in a bid to slow the surge in hospitalizations — and as Newfoundland and Labrador sends nine critical care specialists to help.
Health Minister Christine Elliott said Monday the government is giving serious consideration to a recommendation from the science table of experts advising Ford to increase shipments to 50 per cent of the total received, up from 25 per cent.
“We know that does have a really significant effect in reducing transmission, getting the numbers down, which means fewer people hospitalized and so on,” she told reporters as hospitals hit new pandemic records of 2,271 patients with COVID-19, including 877 in intensive care and 605 on ventilators.
“It’s 20 per cent of areas in Ontario that are causing 80 per cent of the infections so we take this recommendation very seriously and expect to have a final decision made very shortly on it.”
Read the full story from the Star’s Rob Ferguson
6:20 a.m. Toronto police say they were called to 210 gatherings over the weekend, where they laid up to 160 charges for violations of the provincial stay-at-home order.
In a release on Monday, police said the downtown area generated the most calls, with Saturday being the busiest night for large indoor gatherings at apartments, houses, short-term rentals and businesses.
Officers responded to a call for one noisy party at a building in the York and Harbour streets area.
Police heard loud music coming from another unit and discovered a separate apartment being used as a short-term rental, six people were charged under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMCPA).
Another instance was at a condo in the King and Portland streets area, where police found 10 people who did not live at the building’s address. The homeowner and all the guests were charged under EMCPA.
On April 22, Toronto police introduced 16 teams of officers dedicated to enforce stay-at-home rules and charge accordingly under the act.
Read the full story from the Star’s Breanna Xavier-Carter
6:10 a.m. The vast majority of new COVID-19 cases in Ontario are variants of concern that are continuing to spread rapidly — and are fuelling a devastating third wave of the virus.
To improve how Canada tracks and identifies variants so the spread can be curbed, Genome Canada, a non-profit funded by the federal government, is launching a new portal Tuesday that will share genome sequencing of COVID-19 faster with labs across the country.
The tool will help public health units better understand the nature of multiple variants — as not all variants are created equal and will impact the population in different ways, said Dr. Catalina Lopez-Correa, executive director the Canadian COVID Genomics Network, a program under Genome Canada.
The portal will help every province see which variants are popping up where, and at what rate, so that public health can make the right choices, she explained.
Also, as new variants continue to emerge in Canada, it’s important that the public understands that there is much to learn about them and that those recently identified aren’t necessarily more dangerous, infectious disease experts told the Star.
Read the full story from the Star’s Olivia Bowden
5:53 a.m. France is sending breathing machines, ICU gear and long-term oxygen equipment aimed at helping hospitals around India treat thousands of virus patients.
The first aid shipment is expected to leave France later this week, bringing eight oxygen generators. Each generator can equip a hospital of 250 beds for several years, French President Emmanuel Macron’s office said.
France will also send breathing machines, pumps and containers of liquid medical oxygen aimed at helping up to 10,000 patients per day, according to the French Foreign Ministry. That first oxygen shipment is expected to arrive from Europe to India next week.
The value of the aid was not released.
The French government said the effort aims to provide long-term help to Indian hospitals both for the crisis they are facing now and beyond the pandemic.
France is still fighting a persistent virus surge at home.
5:35 a.m. Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines could soon be coming to select pharmacies in Toronto and Peel, the Ontario Pharmacy Association (OPA) has confirmed.
The vaccine will be available at a “limited” number of pharmacies in targeted hot spots, said OPA CEO Justin Bates. “Anything that gets more access is a good thing, because right now demand continues to outpace supply.”
The program is expected to operate for two weeks at a limited capacity, with plans for “a more broad implementation across participating pharmacies,” he said.
The program is still in its planning stages and the precise timeline of when the vaccines will be offered in pharmacies is under discussion, Bates said.
Supply of AstraZeneca is expected to dwindle this week or early next, he said, so a targeted roll out of Pfizer doses into pharmacies could help curb supply interruptions.
Offering Pfizer in pharmacies will help “test the operational elements to distribution,” Bates explained.
Read the full story from the Star’s Jenna Moon
5:34 a.m. More than a dozen workplaces have been ordered to close in Toronto and Peel Region as health authorities say they’re working on a “case-by-case basis” to determine whether or not a business with five or more COVID-19 cases should be shuttered.
Since Friday, the regions have moved to temporarily close 13 businesses under a Section 22 order that gives Toronto and Peel Region the authority to shutter any workplace that reports five or more cases of COVID-19 over a two-week period.
On Monday, Toronto ordered the full closure of Classic Fire Protection Inc., High Park Nissan, a McDonald’s location, and Meat & Co. Boutique Inc.
It also ordered partial closures of Heroux Devtek Magtron in Scarborough, Reliance Construction Toronto, Rex Pak Limited in Scarborough, Deciem Inc. in Etobicoke, Scepter Canada Inc. in Scarborough, The Butcher Shoppe in Etobicoke and Trend Line Furniture Limited in North York.
On Saturday Peel Region announced that two Amazon warehouses would be partially closed.
Read the full story from the Star’s Jacob Lorinc
5:32 a.m. India recorded more than 320,000 new cases of coronavirus
infection Tuesday as a grim surge of illness and death weighed on the country and its sinking health system started getting much-needed support from foreign nations.
Tuesday’s 323,144 new infections raised India’s total past 17.6 million, behind only the United States. It ended a five-day streak of recording the largest single-day increases in any country throughout the pandemic, but the decline likely reflects lower weekend testing rather than reduced spread of the virus.
The health ministry also reported another 2,771 deaths in the past 24 hours, with roughly 115 Indians succumbing to the disease every hour. The latest fatalities pushed India’s fatalities to 197,894, behind the U.S., Brazil and Mexico. Experts say even these figures are probably an undercount.
Foreign ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi tweeted photos Tuesday of the first shipment of medical aid India received from Britain. It included 100 ventilators and 95 oxygen concentrators.
Other nations like the U.S., Germany, Israel, France and Pakistan have also promised medical aid to India. The countries have said they will supply oxygen, diagnostic tests, treatments, ventilators and protective gear to help India at the time of crisis which World Health Organization’s chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Monday called “beyond heartbreaking.”
The surge, spurred by insidious new variants of coronavirus, has undermined the Indian government’s premature claims of victory over the pandemic. The country of nearly 1.4 billion people is facing a chronic shortage of space on its intensive care wards. Hospitals are experiencing oxygen shortages and many people are being forced to turn to makeshift facilities for mass burials and cremations as the country’s funeral services have become overwhelmed.
Meanwhile, in a bid to tackle the shortage of beds, Indian authorities are turning to train carriages, which have been converted into isolation wards. India has also started airlifting oxygen tankers to states in need. Special trains with oxygen supplies are also running in the country.
France was sending breathing machines, ICU gear and eight oxygen generators in a shipment expected to be sent later this week. Each generator can equip a hospital of 250 beds for several years, French President Emmanuel Macron’s office said.
France will also send breathing machines, pumps and containers of liquid medical oxygen aimed at helping up to 10,000 patients per day, according to the French Foreign Ministry. That first oxygen shipment is expected to arrive from Europe to India next week.
The White House was moving to share raw materials for the production of the AstraZeneca vaccine with India by diverting some U.S. orders to the vaccine manufacturer Serum Institute of India.
White House COVID-19 co-ordinator Jeff Zients told The Associated Press that the Biden administration was working to satisfy other “key requests” from the Indian government, namely for personal protective equipment, tests, therapeutics and supplies of oxygen and respiratory assistance devices.
Epidemiologists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were also expected to soon travel to India to assist with its virus response.
Tuesday 5:25 a.m. The Ontario government is asking Ottawa for enhanced measures for interprovincial travellers as the province grapples with skyrocketing hospitalizations and cases of COVID-19 variants.
In a letter Monday to the federal ministers of health and public safety, Ontario says it has already closed its boundaries with Quebec and Manitoba to non-essential travel, but there are no measures in place to protect provinces from the spread of COVID-19 variants through interprovincial air travel, an area of federal responsibility.
The province is asking for mandatory pre-departure PCR testing for all domestic air travellers entering Ontario, an extension to current rules for international passengers seeking entry into Canada.
The letter, which was shared with The Canadian Press, says there have been 17 domestic flights in the past two weeks to Toronto’s Person International Airport with possible COVID-19 exposures.
It adds there have also been potential exposures on flights landing at other Ontario airports, including Ottawa and Hamilton.
The letter comes as health-care workers from Newfoundland and Labrador are set to arrive in Ontario today, as well as three teams of nurses and medical technicians from the Canadian Armed Forces.
It says limiting mobility is a key factor to reducing the risk of further spread of COVID-19 variants.
“Over 70 per cent of daily cases in Ontario have been confirmed as variants of concern,” says the letter signed by Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott and Solicitor General Sylvia Jones.
“These variants entered through our borders, both international and domestic, and it is critical that every effort is made to keep them out.”
The letter says it is crucial that the transport of essential goods is not hindered by border measures, but “it is likewise crucial that all non-essential travel be curtailed.”
“The introduction of stricter pre-departure testing measures, in addition to providing an extra layer of protection for interprovincial travellers, is a significant step to achieve that goal and ensure that collectively we are doing all we can to protect our citizens,” the letter reads.
“These new measures should be in place for as long as necessary, or until the risks of new variants in Canada have been effectively minimized.”
Monday 7:45 p.m. A 13-year-old Brampton girl’s death from COVID-19 is both an “exceedingly uncommon” outcome and a reminder to Ontario parents to know the risks and warning signs if their child gets sick, experts say.
The Star’s Irelyne Lavery has the basics on what parents need to know about the risks the virus poses to children.
6:20 p.m. A federal court judge has refused to temporarily ban the government from requiring international air travellers to quarantine at designated hotels upon arrival until they test negative for COVID-19, finding the order is in the public interest.
The application for an injunction was brought by a group of nine Canadians, most of whom live in Mexico, who argued they would suffer “irreparable harm” and “devastating emotional, relational, and spiritual harm” if forced to stay at a quarantine hotel.
They objected to the quarantine requirement upon returning to Canada, mostly due to the cost. Two also said they would not feel safe at the hotels, and another objected to the government “insert(ing) a foreign object into (his) body under the guise of testing” when he would have already undergone a test before leaving Mexico. One couple said they should not be subject to quarantine because they had been vaccinated in Florida.
Read the complete story from the Star’s Alyshah Hasham.
Read Monday’s rolling file