Alberta yet again surpassed record high COVID-19 cases on Sunday, with another 1,584 people testing positive, 319 people in hospital and 60 in intensive care.
It’s the fifth time Alberta has reported more than 1,000 cases in a single day — the first time was one week ago.
By comparison, Ontario — which has three times the population of Alberta — reported 1,534 new cases on Sunday. Quebec, which has twice the population of Alberta, reported 1,154 new cases.
Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, had said Friday that the impact of the new restrictions — put into place last Friday — would start to be seen this weekend. Instead, cases have continued to hit record highs.
Alberta reported no new deaths on Sunday. The total deaths in the province remains at 471.
The province said the woman in her 20s who died lived in the south zone and had comorbidities, but declined to share any further details, citing patient confidentiality.
There are more than 4,600 active cases in Calgary and more than 5,400 active cases in Edmonton.
Pfizer said Friday it is asking U.S. regulators to allow emergency use of its COVID-19 vaccine, starting the clock on a process that could bring limited first shots as early as next month.
Alberta Health says the median time between identifying a positive case and notifying close contacts is between seven and 10 days.
First Nations in Alberta are seeing the highest number of COVID-19 cases compared with reserves in other parts of Canada.The latest data shows 860 cases since the pandemic hit — the next closest is Manitoba with 710, according to Indigenous Services Canada.
Alberta hospitals are tightening restrictions on visitors as the second wave of infections hits, with patients in all hospitals now limited to one or two designated family or support people for their entire stay.
From last Friday to Nov. 27, in much of the province, the government suspended indoor group fitness programs, team sports and group performance activities, and reduced operating hours for restaurants, bars and pubs in much of the province.
Canadians travelling to Hawaii this winter will be allowed to avoid quarantine so long as they show proof of a negative COVID-19 test, under new rules announced Thursday.
(CBC)
What you need to know today in Alberta
As of 12:50 p.m. ET Sunday, Canada’s COVID-19 case count stood at 328,402, with 52,624 of those considered active cases. A CBC News tally of deaths based on provincial reports, regional health information and CBC’s reporting stood at 11,443.
Dr. Joe Vipond, an emergency doctor and clinical associate professor at the University of Calgary, said with an eight per cent hospitalization rate and 3.5 per cent mortality rate — that could mean 106 new hospitalizations and 46 deaths from Saturday’s newly reported cases alone.
This week has set multiple records for the province, which only surpassed 1,000 daily new cases for the first time on Nov. 14. The province’s deadliest day was Monday, when 20 more deaths were reported. It also surpassed 10,000 active cases for the first time — the number of active cases now sits at 11,274.
Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, had said Friday that the impact of the new restrictions — put into place last Friday — would start to be seen this weekend. Instead, cases have continued to hit record highs.
Nine more people have died, bringing the total deaths in the province to 471. The deaths include a woman in her 20s — just three deaths of people in their 20s have been reported in the province, and none younger than their 20s.
Pfizer said Friday it is asking U.S. regulators to allow emergency use of its COVID-19 vaccine, starting the clock on a process that could bring limited first shots as early as next month and eventually an end to the pandemic — but not until after a long, hard winter.
Should ongoing trials for COVID-19 vaccine candidates continue successfully, Alberta expects it will receive around 686,000 doses early in the new year of the Pfizer vaccine and 221,000 of the Moderna vaccine.
Speaking Friday at a press conference, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the province’s chief medical officer of health, said the situation in Alberta was “grim” and noted that two individuals in their 30s were among the deaths announced during this past week.
“Having a chronic medical condition is very common,” she said. “These conditions include things like high blood pressure and diabetes. In Alberta, almost one quarter of all adults over the age of 20 have a chronic condition. That is almost 800,000 people.”
Tyler Shandro said Tuesday he is in favour of all resources that help in the fight against the pandemic, but reiterated the federal app isn’t a good fit for Alberta.
Alberta and British Columbia are the only provinces that have not signed onto the federal app, COVID Alert, which has been downloaded well over five million times.
The Opposition accuses Shandro of refusing to adopt the federal app because of long-standing personal and political friction between United Conservative Premier Jason Kenney and Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
AHS says the number of “unknown sources” of transmission among active cases on Wednesday was 76 per cent. But Hinshaw has said we should not be looking at active cases for unknown source cases. Hinshaw has said older data sets are more accurate because they have had more time to contact trace those cases. The province ultimately can’t identify the sources in almost one in three cases, she said.
As of Nov. 15, about 40 per cent of cases were linked to households or social gatherings or private events, she said. Another 10 per cent were linked to continuing care centres, four per cent to child care or K-12 schools, and three per cent to acute-care outbreaks.
Temporary new provincial restrictions kicked on Nov. 13. Until Nov. 27, indoor group fitness programs, team sports and group performance activities are suspended in Edmonton and surrounding areas, Calgary and its area, Grande Prairie, Lethbridge, Fort McMurray and Red Deer.
All restaurants, bars, lounges and pubs in Calgary and Edmonton and other areas under enhanced status (areas with more than 50 active cases per 100,000 people) must stop liquor sales by 10 p.m.
Premier Jason Kenney urged Albertans in any area under enhanced measures to not to have social gatherings in their homes.
WATCH | What is a ‘circuit-breaker’ lockdown and does it work?
Worksites in the province’s oilsands are dealing with multiple outbreaks. As of Thursday morning, there were six active outbreaks at oilsands sites, with 10 active cases tied to those outbreaks.
Over the course of the pandemic there have been roughly 258 cases of COVID-19 linked to oilsands work sites in Wood Buffalo, according to Alberta Health.
Canadians travelling to Hawaiithis winter will be allowed to avoid quarantine so long as they show proof of a negative COVID-19 test, under new rules announced Thursday.
Air Canada and the Calgary-based WestJet made the arrangements with Hawaii, which will come into effect in December.
David Ige, governor of the state, said Canada represents the second-largest international market for the islands.
This map shows the active cases count in different health zones of Calgary and area on Nov. 19. (Evelyne Asselin/CBC)
Here is the regional breakdown of active cases reported on Sunday:
Calgary zone: 4,614, up from 4,394 reported on Saturday.
Canada’s COVID-19 case count — as of Friday evening — stood at 320,719, with 52,739 of those considered active cases. A CBC News tally of deaths based on provincial reports, regional health information and CBC’s reporting stood at 11,334.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday warned that a “normal Christmas” this year is “right out of the question” with cases of COVID-19 surging around the country.
National modelling predicts a worst-case scenario of 60,000 cases per day by the end of the year, according to modelling charts prepared by the Public Health Agency of Canada and seen by CBC News.
British Columbia has brought in wide-ranging new rules for controlling the spread of COVID-19, including mandatory masks in indoor public and retail spaces and restricting social gatherings to household members only for everyone across B.C.
Meanwhile, Toronto and the neighbouring Peel Region are going back into lockdown, as of Monday. Several other regions of Ontario will move to higher restriction levels.
Ontario reported another 1,534 cases of COVID-19 and 21 more deaths on Saturday.
In Atlantic Canada, new restrictions are coming into effect starting Monday for most of the Halifax region, and will remain in place until at least Dec. 21.
New Brunswick reported 23 new cases on Saturday.
Quebec reported 1,154 new cases and 23 more deaths on Sunday. The latest major outbreak in the province is at a Quebec City convent, where 39 nuns and 43 workers at the Soeurs de la Charité in suburban Beauport have tested positive.
Manitoba introduced new COVID-19 restrictions on Thursday that ban people from having anyone inside their home who doesn’t live there, with few exceptions, and businesses from selling non-essential items in stores.
The province reported 387 new cases on Saturday, and 10 additional deaths.
Within weeks of the coronavirus pandemic being declared, one premier after another made tough promises to stop price gouging on essential products. Yet, CBC’s Marketplace has learned that despite tens of thousands of reported complaints, little legal action has been taken across the country.
Marketplace reached out to all provinces and territories and was told consumer complaints to government only led to one business being charged. It’s unclear how many, if any, charges were laid by local bylaw officers.
Self-assessment and supports:
With winter cold and influenza season approaching, Alberta Health Services will prioritize Albertans for testing who have symptoms, and those groups which are at higher risk of getting or spreading the virus.
General asymptomatic testing is currently unavailable for people with no known exposure to COVID-19.
Those who test positive will be asked to use the online COVID-19 contact tracing tool, so that their close contacts can be notified by text message.
The province says Albertans who have returned to Canada from other countries must self-isolate. Unless your situation is critical and requires a call to 911, Albertans are advised to call Health Link at 811 before visiting a physician, hospital or other health-care facility.
If you have symptoms, even mild, you are to self-isolate for at least 10 days from the onset of symptoms, until the symptoms have disappeared.
The province also operates a confidential mental health support line at 1-877-303-2642 and addiction help line at 1-866-332-2322, both available 24 hours a day.
Online resources are available for advice on handling stressful situations and ways to talk with children.
There is a 24-hour family violence information line at 310-1818 to get anonymous help in more than 170 languages, and Alberta’s One Line for Sexual Violence is available at 1-866-403-8000, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
MONTREAL – Travel company Transat AT Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter compared with a profit a year earlier as its revenue edged lower.
The parent company of Air Transat says it lost $39.9 million or $1.03 per diluted share in its quarter ended July 31.
The result compared with a profit of $57.3 million or $1.49 per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue in what was the company’s third quarter totalled $736.2 million, down from $746.3 million in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Transat says it lost $1.10 per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of $1.10 per share a year earlier.
Transat chief executive Annick Guérard says demand for leisure travel remains healthy, as evidenced by higher traffic, but consumers are increasingly price conscious given the current economic uncertainty.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Dollarama Inc.’s food aisles may have expanded far beyond sweet treats or piles of gum by the checkout counter in recent years, but its chief executive maintains his company is “not in the grocery business,” even if it’s keeping an eye on the sector.
“It’s just one small part of our store,” Neil Rossy told analysts on a Wednesday call, where he was questioned about the company’s food merchandise and rivals playing in the same space.
“We will keep an eye on all retailers — like all retailers keep an eye on us — to make sure that we’re competitive and we understand what’s out there.”
Over the last decade and as consumers have more recently sought deals, Dollarama’s food merchandise has expanded to include bread and pantry staples like cereal, rice and pasta sold at prices on par or below supermarkets.
However, the competition in the discount segment of the market Dollarama operates in intensified recently when the country’s biggest grocery chain began piloting a new ultra-discount store.
The No Name stores being tested by Loblaw Cos. Ltd. in Windsor, St. Catharines and Brockville, Ont., are billed as 20 per cent cheaper than discount retail competitors including No Frills. The grocery giant is able to offer such cost savings by relying on a smaller store footprint, fewer chilled products and a hearty range of No Name merchandise.
Though Rossy brushed off notions that his company is a supermarket challenger, grocers aren’t off his radar.
“All retailers in Canada are realistic about the fact that everyone is everyone’s competition on any given item or category,” he said.
Rossy declined to reveal how much of the chain’s sales would overlap with Loblaw or the food category, arguing the vast variety of items Dollarama sells is its strength rather than its grocery products alone.
“What makes Dollarama Dollarama is a very wide assortment of different departments that somewhat represent the old five-and-dime local convenience store,” he said.
The breadth of Dollarama’s offerings helped carry the company to a second-quarter profit of $285.9 million, up from $245.8 million in the same quarter last year as its sales rose 7.4 per cent.
The retailer said Wednesday the profit amounted to $1.02 per diluted share for the 13-week period ended July 28, up from 86 cents per diluted share a year earlier.
The period the quarter covers includes the start of summer, when Rossy said the weather was “terrible.”
“The weather got slightly better towards the end of the summer and our sales certainly increased, but not enough to make up for the season’s horrible start,” he said.
Sales totalled $1.56 billion for the quarter, up from $1.46 billion in the same quarter last year.
Comparable store sales, a key metric for retailers, increased 4.7 per cent, while the average transaction was down2.2 per cent and traffic was up seven per cent, RBC analyst Irene Nattel pointed out.
She told investors in a note that the numbers reflect “solid demand as cautious consumers focus on core consumables and everyday essentials.”
Analysts have attributed such behaviour to interest rates that have been slow to drop and high prices of key consumer goods, which are weighing on household budgets.
To cope, many Canadians have spent more time seeking deals, trading down to more affordable brands and forgoing small luxuries they would treat themselves to in better economic times.
“When people feel squeezed, they tend to shy away from discretionary, focus on the basics,” Rossy said. “When people are feeling good about their wallet, they tend to be more lax about the basics and more willing to spend on discretionary.”
The current economic situation has drawn in not just the average Canadian looking to save a buck or two, but also wealthier consumers.
“When the entire economy is feeling slightly squeezed, we get more consumers who might not have to or want to shop at a Dollarama generally or who enjoy shopping at a Dollarama but have the luxury of not having to worry about the price in some other store that they happen to be standing in that has those goods,” Rossy said.
“Well, when times are tougher, they’ll consider the extra five minutes to go to the store next door.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
TORONTO – The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has ordered TD Bank Group to pay US$28 million for repeatedly sharing inaccurate, negative information about its customers to consumer reporting companies.
The agency says TD has to pay US$7.76 million in total to tens of thousands of victims of its illegal actions, along with a US$20 million civil penalty.
It says TD shared information that contained systemic errors about credit card and bank deposit accounts to consumer reporting companies, which can include credit reports as well as screening reports for tenants and employees and other background checks.
CFPB director Rohit Chopra says in a statement that TD threatened the consumer reports of customers with fraudulent information then “barely lifted a finger to fix it,” and that regulators will need to “focus major attention” on TD Bank to change its course.
TD says in a statement it self-identified these issues and proactively worked to improve its practices, and that it is committed to delivering on its responsibilities to its customers.
The bank also faces scrutiny in the U.S. over its anti-money laundering program where it expects to pay more than US$3 billion in monetary penalties to resolve.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
