EDMONTON —
Alberta is reporting 61 new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday, including 16 variant cases, during the chief medical officer of health’s last scheduled COVID-19 update.
Alberta currently has 1,132 active COVID-19 cases, the lowest number since Aug. 26, according to Dr. Deena Hinshaw. The positivity rate for the province is sitting at 1.6 per cent after 3,453 tests on Monday.
“Across the board our numbers are moving in the right direction. Cases, hospitalizations, ICU admissions and our positivity rate are the lowest they’ve been since last summer,” said Hinshaw. “We should all be proud of these numbers and take heart in them.
“If we all keep making wise choices and more people get vaccinated, active cases could fall below 500 in a few short weeks.”
She also added that there are only five COVID-19 cases in all the continuing care facilities across Alberta.
There are currently 170 Albertans in hospital due to COVID-19, including 36 in intensive care. There have been four new deaths due to the disease, bringing Alberta’s total to 2,299.
“It is to prevent outcomes like this that immunization is so important,” said Hinshaw.
The province is changing the data it uses to report the percentage of Albertans who have been vaccinated to be in line with the federal government and many other provinces in Canada, according to Hinshaw.
The province will now use the Statistics Canada July 2020 population data for vaccination rate reporting, rather than Alberta Health’s 2021 population data.
Tuesday, the province reported that 72.7 per cent of eligible Albertans have received a single vaccine dose and 40.7 per cent have been fully vaccinated.
Vaccine trials are underway for children under 12, who are not eligible for any COVID-19 vaccines yet. Hinshaw said there is no timeline yet for if or when a vaccine will be approved for that age group.
She advised that the best way to protect younger Albertans is for people in their lives who are eligible to get vaccinated to do so.
Hinshaw added that crowded indoor spaces tend to be higher risk spaces, rather than outdoor spaces.
Many municipalities in the province are set to lift their own mandatory mask bylaws on July 1, like the province, but still recommend wearing masks.
RARE VACCINE SIDE EFFECT
Hinshaw addressed reports from Israel and the U.S. of “a rare side effect” that caused heart lining and heart muscle lining inflammation after Pfizer and Moderna vaccine doses.
“This side effect is being seen most often in younger people, mostly males,” said Hinshaw.
“The heart inflammation reported after the second dose is almost always very mild, resolving with anti-inflammatory treatment.”
She said Canada and the U.K. had not seen similar numbers to the U.S. and Israel, “possibly due to the fact that second doses in younger people have not yet been given in large numbers.”
“Young people who get infected with COVID-19 have about 100 times greater risk of experiencing heart inflammation than what is being seen after the second dose in Israel and the U.S.,” said Hinshaw.
She added that advisory bodies in the U.S., Israel and Alberta determined that the benefit of being immunized “far outweighs” the risks.
“I continue to recommend that all Albertans 12 and older get the vaccine, first and second doses, to be protected.”
Hinshaw added that since January, 95 per cent of people infected with COVID-19 had not received a dose of a vaccine, “or hadn’t yet developed immunity from the first dose.” The same is true for 92 per cent of people hospitalized with the disease in that time frame.
“Vaccines are safe,” said Hinshaw.
ALBERTA IN STAGE 3
Alberta is set to remove all public health restrictions on Thursday. Masks will still be required under provincial regulations in certain circumstances, including on transit, in taxis and ride shares.
“While cases are dropping and spread is declining, COVID-19 is not going away completely. It remains a potentially serious illness that we must keep respecting,” said Hinshaw.
She reminded Albertans who feel “even a little unwell” to stay home and get a COVID-19 test.
Beginning on July 5, two designated support people will be allowed to visit patients at the same time at AHS acute care facilities in the province, according to Hinshaw.
Hinshaw also advised Albertans to do research before travelling as some places may still require incoming travelers to quarantine.
“There will be challenges in the months ahead. We will still identify new cases and outbreaks will occur, but we are watching closely, ready to act as needed, and I am confident that we will get through this, as we always have, together,” said Hinshaw.
Contact tracing and variant screening will continue to happen. Hinshaw added that COVID-19 will become one of many illnesses and risks Albertans deal with every day, not the main one.
Hinshaw announced June 22 that she would stop giving twice-weekly COVID-19 updates. Data will be announced online going forward unless a live update is “needed.”
An increase in cases and hospitalizations could prompt a live update from the chief medical officer of health, but she added that there could be “good news stories,” such as lifting more restrictions, that would prompt one as well.
MONTREAL – Travel company Transat AT Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter compared with a profit a year earlier as its revenue edged lower.
The parent company of Air Transat says it lost $39.9 million or $1.03 per diluted share in its quarter ended July 31.
The result compared with a profit of $57.3 million or $1.49 per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue in what was the company’s third quarter totalled $736.2 million, down from $746.3 million in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Transat says it lost $1.10 per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of $1.10 per share a year earlier.
Transat chief executive Annick Guérard says demand for leisure travel remains healthy, as evidenced by higher traffic, but consumers are increasingly price conscious given the current economic uncertainty.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Dollarama Inc.’s food aisles may have expanded far beyond sweet treats or piles of gum by the checkout counter in recent years, but its chief executive maintains his company is “not in the grocery business,” even if it’s keeping an eye on the sector.
“It’s just one small part of our store,” Neil Rossy told analysts on a Wednesday call, where he was questioned about the company’s food merchandise and rivals playing in the same space.
“We will keep an eye on all retailers — like all retailers keep an eye on us — to make sure that we’re competitive and we understand what’s out there.”
Over the last decade and as consumers have more recently sought deals, Dollarama’s food merchandise has expanded to include bread and pantry staples like cereal, rice and pasta sold at prices on par or below supermarkets.
However, the competition in the discount segment of the market Dollarama operates in intensified recently when the country’s biggest grocery chain began piloting a new ultra-discount store.
The No Name stores being tested by Loblaw Cos. Ltd. in Windsor, St. Catharines and Brockville, Ont., are billed as 20 per cent cheaper than discount retail competitors including No Frills. The grocery giant is able to offer such cost savings by relying on a smaller store footprint, fewer chilled products and a hearty range of No Name merchandise.
Though Rossy brushed off notions that his company is a supermarket challenger, grocers aren’t off his radar.
“All retailers in Canada are realistic about the fact that everyone is everyone’s competition on any given item or category,” he said.
Rossy declined to reveal how much of the chain’s sales would overlap with Loblaw or the food category, arguing the vast variety of items Dollarama sells is its strength rather than its grocery products alone.
“What makes Dollarama Dollarama is a very wide assortment of different departments that somewhat represent the old five-and-dime local convenience store,” he said.
The breadth of Dollarama’s offerings helped carry the company to a second-quarter profit of $285.9 million, up from $245.8 million in the same quarter last year as its sales rose 7.4 per cent.
The retailer said Wednesday the profit amounted to $1.02 per diluted share for the 13-week period ended July 28, up from 86 cents per diluted share a year earlier.
The period the quarter covers includes the start of summer, when Rossy said the weather was “terrible.”
“The weather got slightly better towards the end of the summer and our sales certainly increased, but not enough to make up for the season’s horrible start,” he said.
Sales totalled $1.56 billion for the quarter, up from $1.46 billion in the same quarter last year.
Comparable store sales, a key metric for retailers, increased 4.7 per cent, while the average transaction was down2.2 per cent and traffic was up seven per cent, RBC analyst Irene Nattel pointed out.
She told investors in a note that the numbers reflect “solid demand as cautious consumers focus on core consumables and everyday essentials.”
Analysts have attributed such behaviour to interest rates that have been slow to drop and high prices of key consumer goods, which are weighing on household budgets.
To cope, many Canadians have spent more time seeking deals, trading down to more affordable brands and forgoing small luxuries they would treat themselves to in better economic times.
“When people feel squeezed, they tend to shy away from discretionary, focus on the basics,” Rossy said. “When people are feeling good about their wallet, they tend to be more lax about the basics and more willing to spend on discretionary.”
The current economic situation has drawn in not just the average Canadian looking to save a buck or two, but also wealthier consumers.
“When the entire economy is feeling slightly squeezed, we get more consumers who might not have to or want to shop at a Dollarama generally or who enjoy shopping at a Dollarama but have the luxury of not having to worry about the price in some other store that they happen to be standing in that has those goods,” Rossy said.
“Well, when times are tougher, they’ll consider the extra five minutes to go to the store next door.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
TORONTO – The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has ordered TD Bank Group to pay US$28 million for repeatedly sharing inaccurate, negative information about its customers to consumer reporting companies.
The agency says TD has to pay US$7.76 million in total to tens of thousands of victims of its illegal actions, along with a US$20 million civil penalty.
It says TD shared information that contained systemic errors about credit card and bank deposit accounts to consumer reporting companies, which can include credit reports as well as screening reports for tenants and employees and other background checks.
CFPB director Rohit Chopra says in a statement that TD threatened the consumer reports of customers with fraudulent information then “barely lifted a finger to fix it,” and that regulators will need to “focus major attention” on TD Bank to change its course.
TD says in a statement it self-identified these issues and proactively worked to improve its practices, and that it is committed to delivering on its responsibilities to its customers.
The bank also faces scrutiny in the U.S. over its anti-money laundering program where it expects to pay more than US$3 billion in monetary penalties to resolve.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
