OTTAWA —
By next week Canada could see thousands of new COVID-19 cases diagnosed, hitting a total of 197,830 COVID-19 cases nationwide and up to 9,800 deaths, the latest federal modelling on the short-term trajectory of the pandemic shows.
The new projections show that, as of Oct. 17, Canada is on track to hit between 188,150 and 197,830 cases, and between 9,690 and 9,800 deaths.
“We’re at a tipping point in this pandemic. Not only is the second wave underway, yesterday we hit the highest daily recorded cases, well above what saw this spring,” said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. “We flattened the curve before, we can do it again.”
The updated national picture on the severity of the second wave of COVID-19 shows that “a stronger response is needed now,” according to the report issued by Health Canada.
Asked about why the federal government is not stepping in to make sure stronger actions are taken by provincial governments like using the Emergencies Act, Trudeau defended the federal response, citing the different realities across the country.
“We’ve seen tremendous variances in effectiveness of various measures and in population behaviors,” he said. “Let’s make no mistakes about it. The second wave is really frustrating for a whole bunch of people who’ve been through this spring and who don’t want to see this happen right now. A whole bunch of us would love to see this simply go away, well it will only go away if we all do our part.”
The modelling comes after the country has already blown past the September estimates for new cases and deaths by this time.
As of the time the modelling was released, there were 177,600 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 18,755 of those are currently active, and to-date there have been and 9,583 deaths. Those numbers have since continued to increase.
“Living through a global pandemic has not been easy on anybody, and our lives have all been disrupted and upset. We’ve all had to change and adapt so much. Families have been strained, people have lost jobs, we’ve had to let go of celebrations, change our plans and forego seeing our loved ones,” said Health Minister Patty Hajdu. “And of course far too many lives have been lost and COVID-19.”
The new data shows that, if Canadians maintain their current rate of contacts, the epidemic will resurge as rates of infection are already accelerating rapidly in Quebec, Ontario, and Alberta, while the pandemic remains largely under control within the Atlantic bubble.
As has been the case over the last month, the rate of hospitalization is increasing, but now what was a lessened rate of deaths from the virus is also trending up once again. The second wave is hitting younger age groups harder than other demographics, the data also shows.
However, the latest data also shows a “concerning rise” in new cases among individuals 80 years of age and older, who are at the highest risk of severe outcomes.
Across Canada there have been 250 schools with COVID-19 cases, and there continues to be a growing number of outbreaks in long-term care homes, though not yet as many as were seen in the spring.
“If strategic closures are needed to reduce contacts between individuals, results of dynamic modeling shows us that acting fast, will have the greatest impact,” said Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam.
Canada’s top public health officials are speaking to the new figures, as Ontario has rolled out new restrictions and is urging people across the province to stay home except for essential purposes in certain hard-hit regions that will restrict indoor dining and close gyms after that province broke a record for the largest daily increase in cases since the pandemic was declared.
Tam extended this recommendation to Canadians nationwide about their behaviour over the next few weeks, as the country is told once again that the curve needs to be flattened to have a chance at a somewhat normal winter holiday season, after weeks of growing case counts and a minimal reintroduction of regional restrictions.
“What we do now will shape the numbers we see in two weeks, and set us hopefully on the right track for family gatherings at Christmas. So let’s work together,” Trudeau said.
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland also detailed the new plan for businesses in terms of what their second wave financial supports will look like should they be forced to close due to a pandemic-related public health order.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers placed All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey on injured reserve because of his lingering calf and Achilles tendon injuries.
The move made Saturday means McCaffrey will miss at least four more games after already sitting out the season opener. He is eligible to return for a Thursday night game in Seattle on Oct. 10.
McCaffrey got hurt early in training camp and missed four weeks of practice before returning to the field on a limited basis last week. He was a late scratch for the opener on Monday night against the Jets and now is sidelined again after experiencing pain following practice on Thursday.
McCaffrey led the NFL last season with 2,023 yards from scrimmage and was tied for the league lead with 21 touchdowns, winning AP Offensive Player of the Year.
The Niners made up for McCaffrey’s absence thanks to a strong performance from backup Jordan Mason, who had 28 carries for 147 yards and a touchdown in San Francisco’s 32-19 victory over the New York Jets. Mason is set to start again Sunday at Minnesota.
After missing 23 games because of injuries in his final two full seasons with Carolina, McCaffrey had been healthy the past two seasons.
He missed only one game combined in 2022-23 — a meaningless Week 18 game last season for San Francisco when he had a sore calf. His 798 combined touches from scrimmage in the regular season and playoffs were the third most for any player in a two-year span in the past 10 years.
Now San Francisco will likely rely heavily on Mason, a former undrafted free agent out of Georgia Tech who had 83 carries his first two seasons. He had at least 10 touches just twice before the season opener, when his 28 carries were the most by a 49ers player in a regular-season game since Frank Gore had 31 against Seattle on Oct. 30, 2011.
The Niners also have fourth-round rookie Isaac Guerendo and Patrick Taylor Jr. on the active roster. Guerendo played three offensive snaps with no touches in the opener. Taylor had 65 carries for Green Bay from 2021-23.
San Francisco also elevated safety Tracy Walker III from the practice squad for Sunday’s game against Minnesota.
BRUSSELS – Canada walked away with some hardware at the Diamond League track and field competition Saturday.
Alysha Newman finished third in women’s pole vault, while Marco Arop did the same in the men’s 800-metre race.
Newman won a bronze medal in her event at the recent Paris Olympics. Arop grabbed silver at the same distance in France last month.
Australia’s Nina Kennedy, who captured gold at the Summer Games, again finished atop the podium. Sandi Morris of the United States was second.
Newman set a national record when she secured Canada’s first-ever pole vault medal with a bronze at the Olympics with a height of 4.85 metres. The 30-year-old from London, Ont., cleared 4.80 metres in her second attempt Saturday, but was unable conquer 4.88 metres on three attempts.
Arop, a 25-year-old from Edmonton, finished the men’s 800 metres with a time of one minute 43.25 seconds. Olympic gold medallist Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya was first with a time of 1:42.70.
Djamel Sedjati, edged out by Arop for silver in Paris last month, was second 1:42.87
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.
MILAN (AP) — Bologna’s preparations for its Champions League debut are not going well though it managed to spoil Como’s first Serie A home match in 21 years on Saturday.
Bologna came from two goals down to salvage a 2-2 draw to gather three points from its opening four matches.
Bologna hosts Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday. Its only other appearance in Europe’s top competition was in 1964 in the preliminary round of the old European Cup.
AC Milan is also winless as it prepares for a Tuesday Champions League match against Liverpool. The Rossoneri hosted promoted Venezia later. Juventus drew at Empoli 0-0.
Como made a great start in the fifth minute when Patrick Cutrone attempted to roll the ball across the six-yard box but it took a huge deflection off Bologna defender Nicolò Casale for an own goal.
Bologna thought it was gifted a way back into the match on the stroke of halftime when referee Marco Piccinini signalled for a penalty following an Alberto Moreno handball, but he revoked his decision and instead gave a free kick because the handball was just outside the area.
Bologna improved after the break but found itself further behind when Cutrone raced onto a through ball and cut inside past a defender and fired into the far bottom corner.
Tommaso Pobega hit the post for Bologna, which finally pulled one back in the 76th through substitute Santiago Castro.
Another substitute helped the visitors snatch a point when Samuel Iling-Junior curled a fine strike into the top left corner in stoppage time.
Unbeaten sides
Juventus, and more surprisingly Empoli, are among six unbeaten sides.
Empoli held Monza and Bologna to draws either side of a shock 2-1 win at Roma. Juventus’ perfect start to the season was ruined by Roma in a goalless draw before the international break.
On Saturday, there were few clearcut chances in Empoli although home goalkeeper Devis Vásquez made spectacular saves to fingertip out a Federico Gatti header and deny Dusan Vlahovic in a one on one with the Juventus forward.
Empoli had a good opportunity in the 73rd minute following an Alberto Grassi one-two with Pietro Pellegri but the finish was straight at Mattia Perin.
The host could have won it right at the death but Gatti flew in with a great sliding block to keep out Emanuel Gyasi’s close-range effort.
Juventus hosts PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Tuesday.
