Large parts of Canada are starting to hunker down, with new restrictions coming into effect as a fifth wave of COVID-19 spreads throughout the country, fuelled by the Omicron coronavirus variant.
Quebec on Tuesday reported yet another single-day high, with more than 5,000 new cases of COVID-19. The update came as the City of Montreal declared a local state of emergency in the face of quickly rising case numbers.
Prince Edward Island ramped up restrictions on Tuesday, including a quarantine requirement for people coming onto the island.
Health officials in several provinces and territories — including Nova Scotia and Ontario — are expected to hold COVID-19 briefings later Tuesday.
Other parts of the country also experienced a surge in new cases unseen since before the summer as the Omicron variant, identified by the World Health Organization as a potential concern only last month, has become increasingly prevalent in Canada.
And while hospitalizations have remained steady in Ontario and some other parts of the country, a recent spike in the number of severe cases in Quebec has added to concerns that the rest of the country could soon follow.
In response to the growing wave, several provinces have started to re-impose public health restrictions only days before the start of the holiday season that in many cases apply to both the vaccinated and unvaccinated.
In Ontario, new limits on social gatherings and capacity limits in stores and restaurants came into effect Sunday as the provincial government struggled to get escalating case counts under control. Restrictions came into effect in British Columbia and Quebec on Monday, and Manitoba on Tuesday.
The fifth wave has also sparked a rush for booster shots as the Omicron variant has caused a surge of infections among both vaccinated and unvaccinated Canadians.
-From The Canadian Press and CBC News, last updated at 11:35 a.m. ET
What’s happening across Canada
WATCH | Dr. Theresa Tam talks about Omicron — and how it’s spreading:
Dr. Theresa Tam warns more restrictions needed to slow Omicron’s spread
14 hours ago
Duration 5:42
Canada’s chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam tells Andrew Chang that slowing down the spread of the Omicron variant will require additional restrictions, better masks and improved access to vaccines. 5:42
For more details on how COVID-19 is impacting your community — including hospital data and the latest on restrictions — check out the coverage from CBC newsrooms around the country.
In Prince Edward Island, the premier announced ramped-up restrictions and announced adjusted rules for incoming travellers on Tuesday, as health officials reported 29 new cases of COVID-19.
Dr. Morrison announces 29 new cases of COVID-19, active case count is 112.<br><br>4 of those are not permanent residents, but are isolating here and being managed by public health. Going forward, Morrison says these types of cases will be counted as new cases, but not in active count
P.E.I. was the first Atlantic province to provide updates on Tuesday, with live briefings expected from officials in both Nova Scotia — where health officials reported 485 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday — and New Brunswick — which saw 118 new cases on Monday — later in the day.
In Quebec, health officials on Tuesday reported 5,043 new cases of COVID-19 and eight additional deaths. The update comes after Health Minister Christian Dubé announced sweeping new restrictions on Monday aimed at slowing the spread of the new variant.
“The epidemiological situation is critical,” Dubé said at the briefing on Monday. “Our health system is already in crisis … and things aren’t getting better.”
In Ontario, health officials on Monday reported 3,453 new cases of COVID-19 and 11 additional deaths. The update came as adults in the province scrambled to get booster shot appointments after the province expanded booster eligibility.
Across the North, Nunavut on Tuesday reported two additional cases in Pangnirtung, though health officials said full lab results weren’t expected until later in the day.
“At this time, we do not know which variant this is, but in light of the threat of Omicron, we are tightening public health measures in the community to limit possible spread to other communities,” Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Michael Patterson said. “We will know the variant strain within approximately a week.”
Health officials in Yukon and the Northwest Territories had not yet provided updated information for the day.
In the Prairies, Manitoba‘s new restrictions came into effect on Tuesday, a day after the province reported 809 cases of COVID-19 and six deaths over a period of three days. Saskatchewan, meanwhile, saw 59 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, as health officials expanded access to booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. In Alberta, 1,925 COVID-19 cases were reported over three days, health officials said Monday, along with six additional deaths.
In British Columbia, health officials on Monday reported 2,550 new cases of COVID-19 and three additional deaths over three days.
-From The Canadian Press and CBC News, last updated at 11:30 a.m. ET
What’s happening around the world
Katherine Thompson, an emergency medical technician working as a contractor with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, gives a person a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine booster shot on Monday in Federal Way, Wash. (Ted S. Warren/The Associated Press)
As of early Tuesday morning, more than 275.5 million cases of COVID-19 had been reported worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University’s case-tracking tool. The reported global death toll stood at more than 5.3 million.
In the Americas, U.S. President Joe Biden plans to increase support for hospitals, improve access to COVID-19 tests and expand the availability of vaccines that can reduce the risks from the Omicron variant. The government will purchase 500 million rapid at-home tests to be delivered for free to Americans who request them.
Biden will stress in a Tuesday speech the importance of getting vaccinated to protect from a wave of infections tied to Omicron as Christmas approaches. Biden’s top medical adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci, says the president will issue “a stark warning of what the winter will look like” for unvaccinated Americans.
Meanwhile, Panama has detected its first Omicron case, while neighbouring Costa Rica detected three more confirmed cases.
In the Asia-Pacific region, Thailand on Tuesday decided to immediately reimpose a mandatory quarantine for visitors and suspend a “test-and-go” scheme for fully vaccinated arrivals as concerns grow over the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, the government said. The decision is a blow to efforts to revive Thailand’s battered tourism sector ahead of the peak holiday season.
About 200,000 people who have registered for the “test-and-go” scheme, known as Thailand Pass, but have not yet entered Thailand will be allowed to come, a spokesperson said. They will be subject to a coronavirus test on arrival and a second test seven days later at the expense of the government.
In Africa, Kenya on Monday reported 1,020 new cases of COVID-19 and no additional deaths. In South Africa, which raised the alarm about the new Omicron variant, health officials on Monday reported 8,515 new cases and 105 additional deaths.
In Europe, the European Union’s drugs regulator gave the green light to a fifth COVID-19 vaccine for use in the 27-nation bloc, granting conditional marketing authorization to the two-dose vaccine made by U.S. biotech company Novavax.
The European Medicines Agency decision to recommend granting conditional marketing authorization for the vaccine for people aged 18 and over, which must be confirmed by the EU’s executive commission, comes as many European nations are battling surges in infections and amid concerns about the spread of the new Omicron variant.
In the Middle East, Iran on Tuesday reported 2,413 new cases of COVID-19 and 43 additional deaths.
-From The Associated Press, Reuters and CBC News, last updated at 7 a.m. ET
EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.
The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.
Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.
TAKEAWAYS
Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.
Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.
KEY MOMENT
New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.
KEY RETURN?
Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.
OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN
The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.
The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.
UP NEXT
Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.
Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.
Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.
Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.
It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.
Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.
Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.
The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”
Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.
The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.
Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.
UP NEXT
Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Darcy Kuemper made 16 saves for his first shutout of the season and 32nd overall, helping the Los Angeles Kings beat the Nashville Predators 3-0 on Monday night.
Adrian Kempe had a goal and an assist and Anze Kopitar and Kevin Fiala also scored. The Kings have won two of their last three.
Juuse Saros made 24 saves for the Predators. They are 1-2-1 in their last four.
Kopitar opened the scoring with 6:36 remaining in the opening period. Saros denied the Kings captain’s first shot, but Kopitar collected the rebound below the goal line and banked it off the netminder’s skate.
Fiala, a former Predator, made it 2-0 35 seconds into the third.
The Kings held Nashville to just three third-period shots on goal, the first coming with 3:55 remaining and Saros pulled for an extra attacker.
Elsewhere in the NHL on Monday:
—
DEVILS 3 OILERS 0
EDMONTON, Alta. (AP) — Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his NHL career, helping the New Jersey Devils close their western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored. The Devils improved to 8-5-2. They have won three of their last four after a four-game skid.
Calvin Pickard made 13 saves for Edmonton. The Oilers had won two straight.
