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As Canada’s most-populous province rolls back restrictions in several COVID-19 hot spots on Saturday, other provinces are moving ahead with further public health measures in an effort to curb a surge in infections.
Ontario’s new tiered, colour-coded COVID-19 restriction framework came into effect at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday. The system classifies each public health unit as a grey, red, orange, yellow or green zone based on factors including caseload, transmission levels and health-care capacity.
Peel Region, which has seen rising cases in recent weeks, is the sole red zone, which means indoor restaurant dining is now limited to 10 people and gyms limited to 10 people indoors.
Health officials in Peel had asked that the region remain under a modified Stage 2 — the restriction classification system previously used by the government — which involved more stringent rules such as a ban on indoor dining in restaurants and bars.
WATCH | Peel Region deemed red zone under Ontario’s new pandemic plan:
Earlier this week, the province rolled out its new tiered, colour-coded COVID-19 restriction framework. The red zone is less restrictive than the current modified Stage 2: restaurants and bars can serve indoors but only 10 customers are allowed inside, and gyms can open with restrictions. 0:56
York Region and Ottawa, which previously were also under a modified version of Stage 2, are now classified as orange zones. The orange level limits bars and restaurants to 50 people indoors, with no more than four seated together.
Toronto, which continues to see the most COVID-19 cases in the province, is staying in modified Stage 2 for another week.
The Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) has criticized the government’s decision to proceed with reopening, calling it “reckless” in the face of continuing spread of the coronavirus.
Ontario reported 1,132 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, its highest ever single-day increase in cases, and 11 deaths, with 852 recoveries.
According to documents obtained by CBC News, 100 COVID-19 patients are in intensive care units as of Friday night — the highest since June.
Meanwhile, new restrictions are coming to another region of Manitoba, with the province’s chief public health officer saying that simply asking people to follow public health advice hasn’t worked.
In a press conference Friday, Dr. Brent Roussin said Southern Health region will move to the highest level of the province’s pandemic system on Monday, joining Winnipeg, which moved to the red level earlier this week.
A COVID-19 test site is pictured last month in Portage la Prairie, which is part of the Southern Health region that is moving to the red, or critical, level of Manitoba’s pandemic response system on Monday. (Lyzaville Sale/CBC)
Among the new restrictions the Southern Health region will see are all restaurants and bars closed for dine-in service, and capacity at cultural or religious gatherings reduced to 15 per cent, or 100 people, whichever is lower.
Roussin said the new restrictions are needed to stem the tide of cases in the region and across the province. Manitoba reported 243 new cases of COVID-19 and five deaths on Friday. Fifty-two of those new cases were in Southern Health, which includes larger population centres like Steinbach, Portage la Prairie, Winkler and Morden.
In Saskatchewan, new public health orders took effect on Friday, with masks now mandatory in indoor public spaces in Saskatoon, Regina and Prince Albert.
The allowable size of private gatherings provincewide has also been reduced to 10 from 15. The province said that much of the recent spread of COVID-19 has occurred in private settings and in homes.
Saskatchewan reported 87 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday. There were 33 people in hospital, with four of those in intensive care.
What’s happening across Canada
As of 1:15 p.m. ET on Saturday, provinces and territories in Canada had reported a cumulative total of 258,184 confirmed or presumptive coronavirus cases. Provinces and territories listed 212,966 cases as recovered or resolved. A CBC News tally of deaths based on provincial reports, regional health information and CBC’s reporting stood at 10,475.
Quebec reported 1,234 new COVID-19 cases and an additional 29 deaths on Saturday, as Premier François Legault urged residents in an open letter to stay united and maintain their efforts to keep COVID-19 at bay this winter.
In the letter published Saturday morning, Legault thanked Quebecs for their efforts so far and struck a hopeful tone, saying, “I want us to celebrate Christmas in Quebec.”
He cautioned that “it won’t be a big Christmas with the whole family, but if grandparents could see their grandchildren at last, that for me would be a great victory.”
Pedestrians protect themselves from the cold and COVID-19 as they wait for a light to change in Montreal this week. (Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press)
Nova Scotia reported four new cases on Saturday, bringing the number of active cases in the province to 20, the highest number since May 23.
New Brunswick reported three new cases, all in the Fredericton region, and one new recovery on Saturday.
Newfoundland reported two new cases and one new recovery on Saturday. Health officials there are asking people who are returning from work at Manitoba Hydro’s Keeyask Generating Station to self-isolate after news of an outbreak at the site earlier this week.
Until recently, P.E.I. was the only province in Canada with no active cases of COVID-19. That changed Friday when it announced two new cases, men in their 20s and 50s who had travelled outside Atlantic Canada.
British Columbia’s provincial health officer and health minister will hold a rare weekend news conference on Saturday amid a dramatic spike in COVID-19 cases.
Dr. Bonnie Henry and Adrian Dix will speak at 1 p.m. local time, though there is no word yet on what will be announced. In a news conference earlier this week, Henry said they were talking with health authorities about possibly bringing in region-specific restrictions, if necessary.
WATCH | B.C.’s top doctor talks about hard-hit Fraser Health region:
Dr. Bonnie Henry says there are a number of factors, including a large number of essential workers and multigenerational families. 1:50
The province set a new COVID-19 record for the second straight day on Friday, announcing a record 589 new cases and two more deaths.
In Alberta, Premier Jason Kenney urged people to forego parties and social gatherings in their homes as COVID-19 cases surge in the province, but rejected any further public health restrictions for the time being.
The province announced 609 new COVID-19 cases on Friday after reporting a record 802 new cases the day before.
In the North, Nunavut confirmed its first COVID-19 case on Friday, in Sanikiluaq.
Residents in the community of about 900 people are being asked to remain at home and to avoid mingling with those who are not part of their households, and all travel to and from Sanikiluaq is now restricted to cargo and emergencies.
What’s happening around the world
As of Saturday morning, more than 49.5 million of COVID-19 cases have been reported worldwide, with more than 32.6 million of those listed as recovered, according to a coronavirus tracking tool maintained by Johns Hopkins University. The global death toll stood at more than 1.2 million, the U.S.-based university reported.
In the Americas, the United States set a record of more than 126,400 confirmed cases in a single day on Friday. The seven-day rolling average of new daily cases in the U.S. is approaching 100,000 for the first time, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Total U.S. cases since the start of the pandemic stand at 9.7 million, with more than 236,00 deaths. The seven-day rolling average for daily deaths in the U.S. rose in the past two weeks from 772 on Oct. 23 to 911 on Friday. Those numbers were higher in the spring and August.
An attendant talks to a person waiting in their car at a coronavirus testing site in El Paso, Texas, on Oct. 31. The seven-day rolling average of new daily cases in the U.S. is approaching 100,000, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. (Cengiz Yar/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows, has been diagnosed with the coronavirus. Meadows traveled with Trump in the run-up to election day and last appeared in public early Wednesday morning without a mask as Trump falsely declared victory in the vote count.
In Europe, Germany’s disease control centre reported a daily record of 23,300 coronavirus infections on Saturday, surpassing the record of 21,506 set the day before. The Robert Koch Institute also reported 130 deaths, a number trending upward but far lower than the high of 315 deaths reported one day in April.
Germany has imposed significant new restrictions to prevent the health system from being overwhelmed. A four-week partial shutdown took effect on Monday, with bars, restaurants, leisure and sports facilities closed and new contact restrictions imposed. Shops and schools remain open.
Police detain a demonstrator during a rally against the government’s restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Leipzig, Germany, on Saturday. (Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters)
In the Asia-Pacific region, Malaysia’s government says it will expand movement restrictions to most parts of the country after coronavirus cases tripled in a month. Another 1,168 new cases were reported Saturday, bringing the total tally to 39,357 — compared to just 13,993 cases a month ago. The death toll stands at 282.
Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob says the entire peninsula of Malaysia, except for three states, will be placed under a conditional movement control order from Monday until Dec. 6. He says the move will help curb the virus spread and allow targeted screening to be done.
In the Middle East, Iran reported 9,460 cases of the coronavirus on Saturday, breaking its previous single-day record earlier this week. The Health Ministry also registered 423 additional deaths, pushing its confirmed death toll to 37,832, the highest in the Middle East.
Iranians walk next to a sign advising people to wear masks on their way to shop in Tajrish square in Tehran on Nov. 1. (Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images)
Iran has seen a recent surge of infections as the government resists a centralized lockdown to salvage its sanctions-hit economy. However, authorities have recently tightened movement restrictions and introduced travel bans and mask mandates as hospitals in the hard-hit capital of Tehran near overwhelming numbers of patients.
Countries in Africa have reported more than 1.8 million confirmed COVID-19 cases since the pandemic started, with more than 1.5 million recoveries and more than 44,000 deaths.
South Africa has been the hardest-hit country on the continent, with more than 734,000 cases and more than 19,000 deaths reported.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Lightning selected Victor Hedman as the team captain on Wednesday as training camp opened, making the big defenseman the successor to Steven Stamkos.
Hedman, who is going into his 16th season with Tampa Bay, was considered the obvious choice to get the “C” after the Lightning did not re-sign Stamkos and their longtime captain left to join Nashville.
“Victor is a cornerstone player that is extremely well respected by his teammates, coaches and peers across the NHL,” general manager Julien BriseBois said. “Over the past 15 seasons, he has been a world-class representative for our organization both on and off the ice. Victor embodies what it means to be a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning and is more than ready for this exciting opportunity. We are looking forward to watching him flourish in his new role as we continue to work towards our goal of winning the Stanley Cup.”
The 33-year-old from Sweden was a key contributor in the Lightning hoisting the Cup back to back in 2020 and ’21, including playoff MVP honors on the first of those championship runs. Hedman also took home the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman in 2018 and finished in the top three in voting five other seasons.
Ryan McDonagh, who was reacquired early in the offseason in a trade with the Predators, and MVP finalist Nikita Kucherov will serve as alternate captains with the Lightning moving on to the post-Stamkos era.
TORONTO – While Toronto FC is looking to improve its position on the pitch, general manager Jason Hernandez is trying to do the same off it.
That has been easier said than done this season.
Sending winger Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty to CF Montreal for up to $1.3 million (all dollar figures in U.S. funds) in general allocation money before the secondary transfer window closed in early August helped set the stage for future moves.
But there have been plenty of obstacles, which Hernandez has been working to clear.
“We feel a lot more confident going into this upcoming off-season that we did the one prior,” said Hernandez. “There’s a level of what I would say booby-traps that were uncovered when I first got the (GM) role at the end of last summer.”
The club is paying off departed forwards Adam Diomande and Ayo Akinola as well as a $500,000 payment due in 2024 to Belgium’s Anderlecht for Jamaican international defender Kemar Lawrence. That payment was part of the transfer fee for Lawrence, who joined TFC from Anderlecht in May 2021 and was traded to Minnesota United in March 2022.
Diomande was waived while Akinola’s contract was terminated by mutual agreement.
“That comes to an end in ’25, which is nice,” said Hernandez. “We had to suffer from a salary cap perspective this season. But those things coming off, the Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty money coming in, we’re going to be in a position to make some good additions, which is positive.”
While MLS clubs are allowed one contract buyout per year, Toronto had already used its on former captain Michel Bradley, who retired after last season. Bradley had previously restructured his contract, deferring money.
TFC’s only other move during the summer transfer window was the signing of free-agent defender Henry Wingo. Hernandez said the club knew going into the window that it was likely limited to the one acquisition “unless other business happened”
“We knew we had this bucket of money and we knew we were going to go get Henry,” said Hernandez.
While the sale of the highly touted Marshall-Rutty opened up other possibilities, it came on the eve of the transfer window closing. And the team did not like what it saw in the free-agent market.
“A lot of the opportunities we were presented in the free agency space felt more like a short-term, Band-Aid decision versus what actually the club probably needs.”
Hernandez was not willing to take in players who came with a “club-friendly” salary cap charge in 2024 and a much bigger number in 2025.
Instead, Toronto promoted forward Charlie Sharp and wingback Nate Edwards to the first team from TFC 2 ahead of last Friday’s roster freeze.
MLS teams are operating on a salary budget of $5.47 million this season, which covers up to 20 players on the senior roster (clubs can elect to spread that number across 18 players). But the league has several mechanisms that allow those funds to go further, including using allocation money (both general and targeted) to buy down salaries.
Designated players only count $683,750 — the maximum salary charge — against the cap no matter their actual pay. Toronto’s Lorenzo Insigne is actually earning $15.4 million with fellow Italian Federico Bernardeschi collecting $6.295 million and Canadian Richie Laryea $1.208 million.
Hernandez says Laryea’s contract can — and “very likely” will — be restructured so as to remove the designated player status.
There are benefits in going with just two designated players rather than three.
Teams that elect to go with two DPs can sign up to four players as part of the league’s “U22 Initiative.” The pluses of that structure include a reduced salary cap charge for the young players and up to an extra $2 million in general allocation money.
Hernandez says the club is currently pondering whether that is the way to go.
Captain Jonathan Osorio who is earning $836,370 this season, restructured his deal to allow the team to sign Laryea as a DP. In doing so, Osorio had his option year guaranteed so his contact runs through 2026.
Hernandez and coach John Herdman will have decisions to make come the end of the year.
The contracts of goalkeeper Greg Ranjitsingh ($94,200), defenders Kevin Long ($277,500), Shane O’Neill ($413,000) and Kobe Franklin ($100,520), midfielder Alonso Coello ($94,050) and Brandon Servania ($602,710), and forward Prince Owusu ($807,500) — all on the club’s senior roster — expire at the end of 2024 with club options to follow.
While there is more work to do, Hernandez believes TFC is on the right road.
Toronto, which finished last in the league at 4-20-10 in 2023, went into Wednesday’s game against visiting Columbus in a playoff position at eighth in the East at 11-15-3.
“By every metric, we are miles ahead of where we were at this point last year,” said Hernandez.
“That’s a low bar, so that’s not saying much,” he added.
But he believes TFC is “quite competitive” when it has all its players at its disposal.
“To get results in this final stretch, we’re going to need our prominent players to really show up and have big performances, and be supported by the rest of the cast.”
After Columbus, TFC plays at Colorado and Chicago and hosts the New York Red Bulls and Inter Miami. The club also travels to Vancouver for the Canadian Championship final.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024
Mackenzie Hughes might just be what the International team needs as this year’s Presidents Cup.
Hughes, from Dundas, Ont., is one of three Canadians on the squad competing in the match-play event at Royal Montreal Golf Club next week.
His putting skills, cool demeanour under pressure, pre-existing connections with teammates and clubhouse leadership could help the team — made up of non-American players outside Europe — end a nine-tournament losing skid to the United States at the biennial event.
“I’ve had this one circled on the calendar for a few years now,” said Hughes on joining fellow Canadians Taylor Pendrith and Corey Conners as captain’s picks on the 12-player International team. “I pretty much knew that when it was announced the tournament would be in Canada and that Mike Weir was going to be the captain, you pretty much knew where that was going to go.
“To get that call from (Weir) is really special because he’s the guy that I looked up to, we all looked up to, as Canadian golfers.”
Pendrith and Conners are returning to the team after a disappointing 17 1/2 to 12 1/2 loss to the United States at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C. in 2022.
Hughes was ranked 14th on the International team standings in 2022 and could have easily been included on that squad after Australia’s Cameron Smith and Chile’s Joaquin Niemann were ruled ineligible after jumping ship to the rival LIV Golf circuit.
However, captain Trevor Immelman of South Africa instead chose the lower ranked Christiaan Bezuidenhout (16th) of South Africa, Pendrith (18th), South Korea’s Kim Si-woo (20th) and Australia’s Cameron Davis (25th).
“I certainly wanted to be on that team but also I understood the picks,” said Hughes, who lives in Charlotte and plays at Quail Hollow regularly. “I think that like a lot of guys that don’t get picked you more so look back on your own play and I wish I had made that selection easier for them.
“I didn’t do myself any favours in the six weeks leading up to it and that’s a hard pill to swallow.”
It may have been a costly oversight on Immelman’s part, as finishing holes was an issue for the International team in 2022 and Hughes is one of the best putters on the PGA Tour. This season he’s third in shots gained around the green and fifth in shots gained from putting.
“It doesn’t mean that just because I was there it would have turned the tide, but I’d like to think maybe I could have helped,” said Hughes. “That’s why you play the matches. You have to get out there and do it.”
This year Hughes made it easier for Weir, the Canadian golf legend from Brights Grove, Ont., to choose him. Hughes is 51st in the FedEx Cup Fall standings and has made the cut seven tournaments in a row, including a tie for fourth at last week’s Procore Championship.
“Mac played very solidly all year. Really like his short game, an all-around short game,” said Weir on Sept. 3 after announcing his captain’s picks. “He’s one of the elite and best short game guys on the PGA Tour
“I also love Mac’s grit. So that was the reason I picked him.”
Hughes’s intangible qualities go beyond grit.
He, Pendrith and Conners will arrive at Royal Montreal as a unit within the International squad, having become close friends while playing on Kent State University’s men’s golf team before turning pro. They’re also part of a group of Canadians, including Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., that regularly practice together before PGA Tour events.
“To have those guys with me is really icing on the cake, it’s very special,” said Hughes. “Opportunities like this don’t come around very often: to play this kind of team competition, which is already hard to do, but to play with some of your best friends, it almost seems scripted.”
An 11-year professional, Hughes has also been a member of the PGA Tour’s player advisory council the past two years and has been an outspoken advocate for making professional golf more accessible to fans.
Although Weir relied heavily on analytics to make his captain’s selections, Hughes’s character came up again and again when asked why he was named to the team.
“I just have a gut feeling with Mac that he has what it takes in these big moments,” said Weir. “They’re big pressure moments, and I have a feeling he’s going to do great in those moments.”
DP WORLD TOUR — Aaron Cockerill of Stony Mountain, Man., continues his chase for a spot in the Europe-based DP World Tour’s playoffs. The top 50 players on the Race to Dubai standings make the DP World Tour Championship and Cockerill moved eight spots up to 39th in the rankings after tying for ninth at last week’s Irish Open. He’ll be back at it on Thursday at the BMW PGA Championship at the Wentworth Club in Surrey, England.
KORN FERRY TOUR — Myles Creighton of Digby, N.S., is ranked 38th on the second-tier Korn Ferry Tour’s points list. He leads the Canadian contingent into this week’s Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship. He’ll be joined at Ohio State University Golf Club — Scarlet Course in Columbus, Ohio by Edmonton’s Wil Bateman (53rd), Etienne Papineau (65th) of St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Que., and Sudarshan Yellamaraju (99th) of Mississauga, Ont.
CHAMPIONS TOUR — Calgary’s Stephen Ames is the lone Canadian at this week’s Pure Insurance Championship. He’s No. 2 on the senior circuit’s points list. The event will start Friday and be played at Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill Golf Course in Monterey, Calif.
LPGA TOUR — There are four Canadians in this week’s Kroger City Championship. Savannah Grewal (97th in the Race to CME Globe Rankings) of Mississauga, Ont., Hamilton’s Alena Sharp (115th), and Maude-Aimee Leblanc (142nd) of Sherbrooke, Que., will all tee it up at TPC River’s Bend in Maineville, Ohio.
EPSON TOUR — Vancouver’s Leah John is the low Canadian heading into the Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout. She’s 54th in the second-tier tour’s points list. She’ll be joined by Maddie Szeryk (118th) of London, Ont., and Brigitte Thibault (119th) of Rosemere, Que., at Mystic Creek Golf Club in El Dorado, Ark.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
