Ontario and Quebec are among the provinces going ahead with plans to ease COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, despite concerns about their capacity for testing and tracking the spread of the virus that causes the contagious respiratory illness.
Health officials in Ontario on Saturday released data showing the province has added 412 cases, a number not as high as the 441 counted on Friday — the most on a single day since May 8 — but it’s still in line with an upward trend seen in the past week and a half.
Dr. Matthew Oughton, an infectious diseases expert and professor at McGill University, spoke to CBC News about the need for being prepared.
“We should be monitoring much more, even than what we currently are, and we should certainly have more capacity in our hospital system to absorb new cases than we do right now,” he said.
Our weekend business panel discusses how retailers are struggling to adapt under the global pandemic. Plus, a look at the details of a bridge financing program for large companies unveiled by the federal government this week. 16:55
“If we are lucky and everything goes smoothly, everyone would be thrilled with that. But if things don’t go smoothly, we need to have surplus capacity, not already be at capacity in hospitals. That’s really a setting for potential problems.”
Earlier in the week, the Quebec government began allowing people to gather outdoors in groups of up to 10, from a maximum of three households. There were 646 new cases of COVID-19 in the province on Friday and 65 more deaths.
Ontario, meanwhile, entered Stage 1 of its framework to reopen the economy on Tuesday, giving the green light for retail stores outside of shopping malls with street entrances to reopen with physical distancing measures. Golf courses, marinas and private parks were also allowed to reopen.
As of Saturday, labs across Canada have tested 1,429,000 people for COVID-19, with about five per cent of these testing positive, Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam said.
Health-care workers talk next to a mobile COVID-19 testing clinic in Montreal on Saturday. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press)
“We are now testing an average of 28,000 people daily,” Tam said in a statement.
As warmer weather draws more people outside, public health officers have been urging Canadians not to get complacent about safety. Deputy chief public health officer Dr. Howard Njoo says people should get outside for fresh air and exercise, but physical distancing is still recommended.
An infectious disease specialist answers questions about the COVID-19 pandemic including whether two metres are still enough for physical distancing. 3:05
Njoo says it is too early to know whether an uptick in cases in Ontario in the last few days is a sign of a second wave of infections or something else but says overall Canada has been good at flattening the curve.
As small businesses begin reopening, some are starting to add a COVID-19 surcharge. It’s there to help cover the cost of personal protective equipment, and for some, to make up for income lost from having to reduce the number of customers they serve.
Winnipeg hair salon owner Joanne Rempel opened three weeks ago and says masks and hand sanitizer are expensive. She has scaled down the workplace, cutting the number of sinks and stylist chairs. Rempel herself is doing without a salary because she is just trying to get all her stylists back to work and pay the rent.
Some small businesses like hair salons are adding surcharges to the cost of their services to make up for the expenses associated with additional sanitation, protective gear and physical distancing. 1:46
Non-medical masks increasingly look likely to be part of the country’s new normal, especially in places where physical distancing is largely impossible. In Winnipeg for example, unions appealed this past week for masks to be mandatory on buses.
The Ontario government is recommending, but not enforcing masks on public transit as the province’s economy gradually reopens. It says transit agencies should provide sanitizers in the vehicles, barriers between drivers and passengers, and physical distancing measures.
Health Minister Patty Hajdu said Friday her ministry has been working with provinces to make sure they have the materials needed to meet their testing goals, including swabs, reagents and people to do the work.
A face mask is meant to limit the spread of COVID-19. But if it slips below your nose, hovers around your chin, or you touch the outside with your hands, medical experts say that might be riskier than not wearing one at all. 3:55
“We see ourselves as building capacity for all the provinces and territories to test to their fullest need,” she told the House of Commons committee on government operations. Each province has its own testing strategy, and Ottawa must adapt its support to meet their individual needs, she said.
On the political front, negotiations are to continue this weekend among federal parties over how Parliament should function as the COVID-19 crisis drags on, along with lockdown measures introduced in March.
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer has said Parliament should reconvene on Monday for regular in-person sittings, arguing that the current practice of virtual meetings has run its course. He wants Parliament declared an essential service.
A staff member sprays disinfectant on a cart before handing it off to a customer at a garden centre in Ottawa on Saturday. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)
The House of Commons has been largely adjourned since mid-March. Fewer than three dozen MPs have been meeting in the Commons chamber once a week, and twice a week by videolink, giving more MPs a chance to participate without risk of spreading the novel coronavirus.
As of 6 p.m. ET on Saturday, Canada had 83,621 confirmed and presumptive coronavirus cases, with 43,318 of those considered resolved or recovered. A CBC News tally of deaths attributed to coronavirus based on provincial data, regional health information and CBC’s journalism stood at 6,447.
Federal public health officials have been encouraging people to stick with frequent handwashing, cough etiquette, physical distancing and staying home when sick. On Wednesday, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam added another recommendation, saying people should wear non-medical face masks in public when they aren’t sure they will be able to physically distance.
Here’s what’s happening in the provinces and territories
British Columbia’s Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said Saturday that, for the first time in a long while, no new cases have been reported among residents of the province’s long-term care homes.
“Catching it early means we can respond, and make sure the chains of transmission are stopped,” she said. “The faster we can identify new cases, the faster we can respond to prevent spread.” Read more about what’s happening in B.C.
Dr. Bonnie Henry says British Columbians have been following social distancing guidelines as restaurants and businesses reopen. 0:43
In Alberta, Calgary and Brooks will join the rest of the province by allowing bars, restaurants, hair salons and barbershops to open on Monday, while more restrictions will be lifted across the province on June 1.
Premier Jason Kenney said Friday that the decision comes on the advice of the chief medical officer of health, though he warned that the virus is still a threat.
Saskatchewan said it will move to the next phase in its reopening on June 8. Bars and restaurants are among the businesses that will be allowed to reopen in Phase 3, though they will have to operate at reduced capacity and with physical distancing measures in place. Read more about what’s happening in Saskatchewan.
In Manitoba, two residential care homes run by the same company have been fined a total of more than $5,000 for violating public health orders in place to slow the spread of COVID-19 in the province.
As Manitoba continues to ease restrictions and plan for the next phase of its reopening plan, here’s what some people dream of doing once life gets back to a “new” normal. 1:38
Ontario reported 412 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, continuing an upward trend and pushing the total number of cases in the province to more than 25,000 since the pandemic began.
Meanwhile, new testing regulations took effect on Saturday, with asymptomatic front-line health-care workers being tested across the province.
The province will also begin a second round of testing in long-term care homes, which have been hardest hit by COVID-19. As criticism mounts about the number of tests being done in Ontario, Premier Doug Ford appealed to anyone with symptoms on Friday to visit a COVID-19 assessment centre. Read more about what’s happeing in Ontario.
People gather at a park in Toronto on Saturday as Ontario eases some COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. (Michael Charles Cole/CBC)
In Quebec, advocates say Montreal police have been unfairly ticketing homeless people and the support workers helping them and are calling for a moratorium on fines given to people living in the street.
People wait to be tested for COVID-19 at a mobile testing clinic in Montreal on Saturday. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press)
New Brunswick reported no new coronavirus cases on Saturday. A case reported Wednesday in the Campbellton region remains active and is still under investigation. The total number of cases is 121 with 120 of those patients listed as recovered. No one with COVID-19 is in hospital. Read more about what’s happening in N.B.
Nova Scotia reported one new case on Saturday.
“New case numbers are staying low and we continue to head in the right direction. We can, and should, be proud of how we’ve fared,” said Dr. Robert Strang, chief medical officer of health, said in a press release sent out Saturday. Read more about what’s happening in N.S.
More and more Nova Scotians are starting to wear non-medical masks when out in public. Public health officials say it’s an extra layer of protection whenever physical distancing is difficult to maintain. Darlene Ettinger, of Upper Kennetcook, N.S., has been busy sewing lots of masks and giving them away for free. The CBC’s Collen Jones has her story. 1:59
Prince Edward Island moved into Phase 2 of reopening on Friday,and is now allowing retail stores to open their doors to the public with physical distancing measures. Read more about what’s happening on P.E.I.
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
