People in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick will see more COVID-19 restrictions eased next week, said officials, who pointed to signs of a waning Omicron wave.
In Nova Scotia, Dr. Robert Strang, the province’s chief medical officer of health, cautioned that the health system is still under “tremendous pressure” but noted that hospital admissions for COVID-19 have peaked.
Premier Tim Houston said the next shift will happen on Feb. 14, with the return of sports, arts and cultural events. Gathering limits for informal events will increase, and a range of businesses will be allowed to increase capacity.
The shift is happening because of “our high vaccination rates” and strong booster dose campaign, said Houston.
“It’s also happening because we know the need to balance between restrictions and the risk of COVID in terms of our overall public health.”
More restrictions will be lifted through a phased approach, Houston said.
In New Brunswick, Premier Blaine Higgs announced restrictions would be eased as of Feb. 18, including increased capacity at a range of businesses and increased limits on the number of people who can come together at household gatherings.
Dr. Jennifer Russell, the province’s chief medical officer of health, said while many people in the province are still being infected and hospitals are still under strain, the province is seeing signs that the Omicron wave is slowing.
“Today, there are 139 New Brunswickers in hospital due to COVID-19,” Russell said at the briefing on Wednesday, a decline from the peak of 165 a week earlier. The number of health workers off sick or isolating is also decreasing, which means hospitals are better positioned to handle current cases, as well as any increases, she said.
Hospitalizations as of Thursday stood at 140, with 15 people in New Brunswick’s intensive care units, according to the province’s COVID-19 dashboard.
Higgs said the end of mandates in New Brunswick is in sight — provided certain conditions are met, including hospitalizations declining as projected. When the province makes that decision, he said, “it will be based on science, as all of our COVID-19 decisions have been.”
“I am hopeful we’ll see the end of the emergency order, and further restrictions and mandates, by the end of March,” the premier said as he outlined the changes.
Horizon Health Network, a key health-care provider in New Brunswick, said Thursday that non-urgent procedures and surgeries are resuming. The update noted that hospitals are still under strain, but the organization “is now able to safely resume” procedures delayed by measures imposed to control the Omicron wave.
In Newfoundland and Labrador, the province’s top doctor also unveiled an easing of some restrictions, including loosening rules around gatherings and sporting events.
Canadians weigh travel concerns ahead of March break
14 hours ago
Duration 1:48
A continued advisory against non-essential travel and COVID-19 testing requirements have some Canadians reconsidering international travel over March break and some experts questioning the value of the restrictions. 1:48
With lab-based testing capacity deeply strained and increasingly restricted, experts say true case counts are likely far higher than reported. Hospitalization data at the regional level is also evolving, with several provinces saying they will report figures that separate the number of people in hospital because of COVID-19 from those in hospital for another medical issue who also test positive for COVID-19.
For more information on what is happening in your community — including details on outbreaks, testing capacity and local restrictions — click through to the regional coverage below.
In Central Canada, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health is set to hold a pandemic briefing later Thursday. Dr. Kieran Moore’s weekly COVID-19 news conference comes a day after the province’s health minister said Ontario will keep its mask mandate and vaccine certificate system in place for now.
Moore’s news conference also comes after the province began making rapid test kits available for free at grocery stores, pharmacies and other sites.
Ontario on Thursday reported 1,897 people in hospital with COVID-19 — down by 162 from a day earlier — and 445 patients in intensive care. The province also reported 44 additional deaths.
In Quebec, the interim public health director said Wednesday that the province’s vaccine passport program is expected to stay in place until mid-March. The decision to stop using vaccine passports will be linked to the COVID-19 situation in the province, said Dr. Luc Boileau.
“We’ll see then if it’s still a lever that has all the efficacy it has had in the last few months,” Boileau said of the passports. “Mostly it’ll be related to the epidemiological situation and the progression of this wave.”
Health officials in Quebec on Thursday said COVID-19 hospitalizations stood at 2,312 — down by 36 from a day earlier — with 173 people in ICU.
In the Prairie provinces, Manitoba is hoping to lift all restrictions by spring, but Dr. Jazz Atwal, the province’s deputy chief public health officer, said the plan will be dictated by science — not the decisions of other jurisdictions or demands from protesters.
“Just because one province is doing something doesn’t mean we’re necessarily going to do that,” Atwal said Wednesday. Manitoba recently announced slight easing of COVID-19 restrictions, including allowing for larger gatherings.
The remarks came after major shifts in restrictions from officials in Saskatchewan and Alberta.
In the North, the latest COVID-19 wave hit the territories later than the rest of Canada, said Dr. Andre Corriveau, the deputy chief public health officer for the Northwest Territories. That means any opening plans will also lag behind, he added.
“The goal is still there,” Corriveau said. “The intent is that the public health emergency will be gone in the next couple of months.”
British Columbia is still working through the details of its public health orders and Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said more information will be provided next week about the “gradual process” of lifting restrictions. She said COVID-19 remains a severe illness and British Columbia’s resources are still stretched thin.
-From The Canadian Press and CBC News, last updated at 11:15 a.m. ET
What’s happening around the world
As of early Thursday morning, more than 403.3 million cases of COVID-19 had been reported worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University’s coronavirus tracker. The reported global death toll stood at more than 5.7 million.
In Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa, said 85 per cent of Africans had yet to receive a single dose of vaccine, and uptake needed to be significantly accelerated.
“A steady supply of doses is now reaching our shores, so the focus needs to be on translating those into actual shots in people’s arms,” she said.
In Europe, Paris police on Thursday banned road blockades threatened by groups organizing online against COVID-19 restrictions, in part inspired by protesters in Canada. Citing “risks of trouble to public order,” the Paris police department banned protests aimed at “blocking the capital” from Friday through Monday. Police will put measures in place to protect roads and detain violators. The vast majority of French adults are vaccinated against COVID-19.
In the Asia-Pacific region, South Korea will begin offering Novavax Inc.’s COVID-19 vaccine at hospitals, nursing homes and public health centres next week, adding another tool to fight a fast-developing Omicron surge. The country reported a record 54,122 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, but officials are expressing cautious hope that the country’s high vaccination rate will prevent an explosion in serious illnesses and deaths.
They say Novavax’s protein vaccine, which is similar to shots used for years against diseases including the common flu and hepatitis B, could appeal to people who are hesitant to use other COVID-19 vaccines designed with newer technologies.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has said she is deeply sorry and anxious about long queues at coronavirus testing centres and isolation facilities after a record number of new cases left authorities scrambling.
A long queue of people snakes down a road for a mobile COVID-19 testing station in Hong Kong on Thursday. (Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images)
In the Americas, the governors of New York and Massachusetts announced on Wednesday that they would end certain mask mandates in their states, joining a growing list of state leaders planning to lift face-covering rules as the latest COVID-19 surge eases.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said her state would stop requiring people to wear a mask or prove they had received a COVID-19 vaccine when entering most indoor public places, starting on Thursday, thanks to a decrease in COVID cases and hospitalizations.
“This is what we have been waiting for: tremendous progress after two long years,” Hochul, a Democrat, said at a news conference. “We’re not done, but this is trending in a very, very good direction.”
In New York City, the country’s most populous city, a requirement that people show proof of vaccination to enter restaurants, gyms, theatres and other indoor places will remain in effect for the time being, the office of Mayor Eric Adams said.
In Massachusetts, students, teachers and staff will no longer be required to wear masks in schools after Feb. 28, Gov. Charlie Baker said at a news briefing on Wednesday.
Baker, a Republican, said Massachusetts had “far more tools available to us to deal with the pandemic than we had at the beginning,” noting that children are unlikely to get seriously ill from COVID-19 and that his state has the country’s second-highest child vaccination rate.
In the Middle East, countries have seen a rise in coronavirus infections in the last six weeks because of low vaccination rates, officials at the WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office said.
-From Reuters, The Associated Press and CBC News, last updated at 9:15 a.m. ET
HAMILTON – It remains faint but Bo Levi Mitchell and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats still have a playoff pulse.
Mitchell threw two touchdown passes as Hamilton defeated the Ottawa Redblacks 37-21 in the CFL’s annual Hall of Fame game Saturday afternoon. The Ticats (4-9) earned a second straight win to move to within six points of the third-place Toronto Argonauts (7-6) in the East Division.
Hamilton visits Toronto on Friday night.
“Obviously they’re (wins) huge now,” Mitchell said. “We didn’t do ourselves any favours by getting into this position and not being able to really control our own destiny.
“But right now, we need certain people to win at certain times. Our job is to go out there and try to win the next five, then the next three after that.”
Mitchell finished 20-of-27 passing for 299 yards and an interception. He entered weekend action leading the CFL in passing yards (3,383) and TD strikes (21).
Greg Bell’s 15-yard TD run at 11:30 of the fourth and two-point convert put Hamilton up 36-21 after backup Jeremiah Masoli led Ottawa on two scoring drives. Following a 13-yard TD strike to Andre Miller at 2:53, Masoli found Dominique Rhymes on a 10-yard touchdown pass at 7:43 before Khalan Laborn’s two-point convert cut Hamilton’s lead to 29-21.
“When you’re scoring from (15) yards out on a run play, that makes offence easy,” Mitchell said. “It’s one of those things when you get down there as a quarterback, it takes you sometimes five, eight, 10 plays and now it’s ‘OK, now we have to create some stuff and find something.’
“When you hand the ball off and you’re scoring from (15) yards, it makes the offence really easy.”
Ottawa (8-4-1) would have clinched a playoff spot with a victory.
Ottawa committed six turnovers (three interceptions, two fumbles, once on downs) before an announced Tim Hortons Field gathering of 22,119. Lawrence Woods III also returned a punt 83 yards for a touchdown at 11:51 of the first quarter that put Hamilton ahead 10-3.
“You’ve got to bring your best every single week and this wasn’t our best, all of us, from coaches to the players,” said Ottawa head coach Bob Dyce. “If you don’t play great for four quarters, I don’t care who you’re playing you’re not going to have a successful day.
“We should’ve made the tackle (on Woods), we had him wrapped up it’s that simple. Even though we didn’t make the play on that, there should’ve been extra bodies there to clean it up when he did break the tackle.”
Hamilton also tied the season series with Ottawa 1-1. The teams meet again at TD Place on Oct. 25.
“If we didn’t turn it over today I would’ve said we played really well offensively and that to me is what the biggest difference is,” said Hamilton head coach Scott Milanovich. “Even the turnovers today (interception, fumble), at least they were in their end and we weren’t giving them a short field.
“The biggest play of the game was Woodsie’s return. It got us jump-started, gave us the lead and we were kind of off after that.”
Ottawa starter Dru Brown was 17-of-27 passing for 164 yards and an interception. Masoli entered late in the third and finished 13-of-19 passing for 183 yards with two TDs and two interceptions, but Dyce said Brown will start next weekend against Montreal (10-2-1), which earned a 19-19 tie Saturday night with Calgary (4-8-1).
The Canadian Football Hall of Fame’s ’24 class of S.J. Green, Chad Owens, Weston Dressler, Vince Goldsmith and Vince Coleman, along with builders Ray Jauch and Ed Laverty (posthumously), was honoured at halftime. All were enshrined Friday night.
Steven Dunbar Jr. and Ante Litre had Hamilton’s other touchdowns. Marc Liegghio kicked two field goals, three converts and two singles.
Ottawa’s Lewis Ward booted two field goals and a convert.
Mitchell culminated a five-play, 96-yard march with a 20-yard TD pass to Litre at 13:34 of the third. It followed Jonathan Moxey’s interception.
Liegghio’s single at 7:05 of the third put Hamilton up 22-6.
Mitchell’s 54-yard TD strike to Dunbar at 14:18 of the second staked Hamilton to its 21-6 halftime lead. The advantage was well-deserved as the Ticats had more first downs (12-six), net offensive yards (260-144) and scored on both offence and special teams.
Mitchell was 14-of-20 passing for 210 yards and a TD, but his interception cost Hamilton at least a field-goal attempt. Dunbar had five receptions for 113 yards and the touchdown.
Brown completed 13-of-21 passes for 127 yards.
Liegghio’s missed 47-yard attempt went for the single at 12:45 to put Hamilton ahead 14-6. It followed a Kiondre Smith catch that was ruled incomplete and at the very least cost the Ticats a first down that would’ve kept the drive alive.
Ward’s 30-yard kick at 9:15 had pulled Ottawa to within 13-6.
Liegghio’s 19-yard field goal at 5:13 pushed Hamilton’s lead to 13-3. It followed the defence stopping Ottawa’s Dustin Crum on third-and-one, giving the Ticats possession at the Redblacks 40.
Liegghio’s 47-yard field goal opened the scoring at 2:42 before Ward tied in with a 24-yard boot at 8:44.
UP NEXT
Redblacks: Host the Montreal Alouettes (10-2-1) next Saturday, Sept. 21.
Tiger-Cats: Visit the Toronto Argonauts (7-6) on Friday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.
TORONTO – Needing three points to keep their playoff push alive, Toronto FC’s Jonathan Osorio and Deandre Kerr stepped up with first-half goals against Austin FC on Saturday with goalkeeper Sean Johnson doing his bit at the other end.
A 76th-minute goal by Austin’s Owen Wolff made for a nervy ending but TFC hung on for a 2-1 win.
While Toronto (11-15-3) remains on the Major League Soccer playoff bubble in eighth place in the Eastern Conference (the eighth- and ninth-place teams in each conference square off in a wild-card playoff with the winner facing the top seed in the conference), other results went their way.
Seventh-place Charlotte, 10th-place Atlanta and 11th-place Philadelphia all lost while ninth-place D.C. United tied.
Toronto midfielder Alonso Coello called it “a game we had to win.”
“It’s a big win … To see that fight tonight was important,” added coach John Herdman.
Austin (9-12-7) came into the game in 11th place in the West, two points below ninth-place Minnesota. The Texas side has won just one of its last six league games (1-4-1).
Austin outshot Toronto 7-6 (6-2 edge in shots on target) in the first half but found itself trailing 2-0 at the break as Toronto took advantage of its chances and the visitors didn’t in their first-ever visit to BMO Field, before an announced crowd of 25,538.
Toronto had a dream start, catching Austin on the counterattack in the seventh minute. A sliding Austin player dispossessed an onrushing Kerr, who had been set free by a long ball from Coello, but the ball bounced to Osorio, who beat goalkeeper Brad Stuver with a rising shot.
It was the Toronto captain’s second goal of the season in league play and his 65th for TFC in all competitions. Only Sebastian Giovinco (83) and Jozy Altidore (79) scored more in Toronto colours.
TFC went ahead on another counterattack in the 30th minute after an Austin giveaway. Osorio found Richie Laryea outpacing his marker and the wingback unselfishly sent a perfect low cross across goal for Kerr to knock home for his third of the season.
Wolff, the son of Austin head coach Josh Wolff, made it interesting with his late strike. The 19-year-old U.S. youth international, controlling a long ball, beat defender Raoul Petretta and then waited out Johnson before slotting it home for his first of the season.
Toronto survived a nervy six minutes of stoppage time as Austin pressed for the equalizer. Austin outshot Toronto 14-9 (8-3 in shots on target) and had 52.5 per cent possession.
The win evened Toronto’s home record at 7-7-0, while Austin slipped to 3-8-3 on the road.
It was a costly evening for Austin with defender Brendan Hines-Ike, midfielder Jhojan Valencia and star attacker Sebastian Driussi allpicking up cautions to miss Wednesday’s game with Los Angeles FC due to yellow-card accumulation.
Toronto defender Shane O’Neill will miss Wednesday’s game against visiting Columbus for the same reason. Toronto could be short mid-week, too. The hope is veteran centre back Kevin Long, who missed Saturday’s game after tweaking his hamstring in training, will be good to go.
Toronto has five games remaining, including three more at home as it looks to return to the post-season for the first time since 2020 when it lost to Nashville after extra time at the first hurdle.
It is a challenging road.
TFC hosts Columbus, the New York Red Bulls and Inter Miami while playing away at the Colorado Rapids and Chicago Fire. All but Chicago are in playoff positions.
The only previous meeting between Toronto and Austin was in May 2023, when Zardes scored a 91st-minute winner to give Austin a 1-0 win over visiting Toronto, which was then mired at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. That loss prompted a post-game outburst from Italian star Federico Bernardeschi about TFC’s drab play.
Then-coach Bob Bradley benched Bernardeschi for the next game.
Current coach John Herdman made four changes to his starting 11 with Bernardeschi and Osorio returning from suspension and Coello and Kerr also slotting in. Coello, who had missed the last eight league games with a hamstring injury, was impressive in his 59-minute return.
Both Toronto and Austin suffered home losses last time out going into the international break. Toronto was beaten 3-1 by D.C. United while Austin lost 1-0 to Vancouver.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.
MONTREAL – CF Montreal is back in the win column after securing a 2-1 Major League Soccer win over Charlotte FC on Saturday night at Stade Saputo.
Montreal’s form had suffered of late, with just one win in MLS since July, but Laurent Courtois’ squad showed a level of poise and control over the tempo of the game that had not been seen since the beginning of the season.
“What we’ve changed in the last few weeks or months in terms of our methodology or coaching, is nothing. We did the exact thing, We had the exact same words, and we expressed them the exact same way,” said Courtois. “Today, everything just clicked.”
Caden Clark scored for the first time as a Montreal (7-12-9) player in the 23rd minute, in addition to Bryce Duke’s goal three minutes later that ended up being the winner, while Tim Ream found the back of the net for Charlotte (10-10-8).
Montreal had the first major scoring chance of the match after 15 minutes of play. With a free kick roughly 25 metres away from goal, Gabriele Corbo sent a near-perfect shot smashing off the crossbar.
Montreal would continue to dictate the tempo in the opening phase, finding first blood just seven minutes later.
Following a phenomenal triple-save from Charlotte goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina, the ball fell to Clark who volleyed the ball into the wide-open net, picking up his first goal for the club.
“I think you don’t lose the feeling (of scoring), everything happens for a reason, you just can’t lose yourself in the chaos,” said Clark, who had missed a full season due to injury and was briefly without a club, but was grateful for Courtois’ confidence in him.
“(To have a coach’s confidence) is huge and is something I’ve had both ends of so you just can’t take advantage of that in the wrong way. I’m going to keep my discipline with the game plan and keep my head right.”
With momentum completely on their side, the home side doubled the lead just three minutes later. Montreal continued to build up play on the left flank and found a streaking Raheem Edwards in behind the defence who cut the ball back to Duke, sending the Stade Saputo crowd into a frenzy.
Just after the half-hour mark, Charlotte pulled one back through a set piece — something Montreal has struggled defending all season — as Ream rose above everyone at the back post to score his first with his new club.
The second half began in a similar fashion to the end of the first, with Charlotte pressing high up the pitch and forcing several turnovers in dangerous areas. After surviving the pressure, Montreal began to regain control of the game near the hour mark, enjoying the lion’s share of the possession while Charlotte looked to hit back on the counterattack.
“I think when we conceded that goal we were like ‘here we go again.’ 2-1 is a tough lead before halftime … and at the beginning of the half we kind of shot ourselves in the foot and they pressed a bit more, they moved a bit more forward and that opened some gaps,” said captain Samuel Piette.
“I was happy with that, it shows character. At the end of the day, we just wanted the three points and that’s what we got.”
As the game progressed, Charlotte pushed harder to find an equalizer but to no avail. With only one shot on target conceded, the second-worst defence in the league put up an impressive front and confidently rebuffed every single Charlotte attack.
“I’m a big fan of the back five’s performance in their discipline, competitiveness, and synchronization with balls in behind,” said Courtois.
“We can’t explain sometimes in a game it’s not there, they’re capable and today they showed it. Let’s see tomorrow.”
UP NEXT
Both teams are back in action on Sept. 18 away from home as Montreal will look to avenge a 5-0 rout against the New England Revolution while Charlotte visits Orlando City SC.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.
