Canada’s two largest provinces reported record high COVID-19 case counts Thursday, as preliminary data from Britain indicated that people with the Omicron variant are up to 70 per cent less likely to need hospitalization than those with the Delta mutation.
In total, Canada added 20,192 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday — pushing the national total to over 1.94 million infections.
Another 19 COVID-related deaths were also added by the provinces, raising the death toll to 30,131. Over 1.81 million patients have recovered from the disease however, though there are currently over active 98,000 cases.
In Quebec, the provincial government reported 9,397 new cases and a rise of 28 COVID-19-related hospitalizations, for a total of 473. The province also reported six more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus.
As well, exponential growth in COVID-19 cases was reported in Montreal, where a top health official confirmed that one of every five tests for the virus was coming back positive. Dr. Mylene Drouin said that 60 per cent of the positive cases in Montreal were among people between the ages of 18 and 44, adding that the city’s latest data also confirm that 90 per cent of new infections involved the Omicron variant.
“The message is we are having intense community transmission in Montreal,” Drouin told a news conference. “It’s exponential, it’s touching young adults.”
Another big upswing in cases was reported Thursday in Ontario, with 5,790 new cases detected. That tally was well above the previous single-day high of 4,812 recorded back in April. Canada’s most populous province also confirmed seven new deaths attributed to the virus. In all, 400 people were recovering in hospital, including 136 who were not vaccinated.
Despite the big increase in Ontario, an expert says the latest numbers represent a poor guess because testing is not keeping up with the Omicron-driven fifth wave of the pandemic.
“In all likelihood, you’d have to multiply these numbers at least three or four times to get a sense of what’s actually happening,” said. Dr. Fahad Razaka, a member of the province’s science table.
Prince Edward Island also posted a new record for its daily case count on Thursday with 35. That prompted the Island’s government to ban all wedding receptions, funeral receptions and wakes as of Friday at 8 a.m.
Records were also broken in Nova Scotia, British Columbia and New Brunswick.
Several provinces recently reinstated stricter public health measures in response to Omicron, including caps on social gatherings and closures of some businesses.
1:46 Rethinking masking methods
Rethinking masking methods
Public health restrictions were tightened Thursday in Iqaluit. They include a ban on non-essential travel in and out of the city. Officials said the changes were necessary because a case of COVID-19 had been detected in a person who had not left Iqaluit for more than a month, a likely sign of community transmission.
The Manitoba government said Thursday that COVID-19 testing is so backed up in the province that case counts have been under-reported. The government asked that only Manitobans experiencing COVID-19, cold or flu-like symptoms should seek testing.
Alberta said it is adjusting its COVID-19 testing rules to cope with the ongoing soaring rise in cases driven by Omicron.
Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the chief medical officer of health, urged Albertans with COVID-19 symptoms to rely on the rapid antigen tests rather than the more accurate PCR tests to free up resources for those in higher priority settings, such as those in continuing care.
Meanwhile, the latest findings from the U.K. Health Security Agency add to emerging evidence that Omicron produces milder illness than other variants, though it spreads faster and better evades vaccines. The agency said that based on cases in the U.K., an individual with Omicron is estimated to be “50 to 70 per cent less likely to be admitted to hospital” when compared with a person infected with the Delta variant.
The agency, however, cautioned that the analysis is preliminary and “highly uncertain” because of the small number of Omicron patients in hospitals and the fact that most cases involved younger age groups. The research said the protection a vaccine booster shot gives against Omicron infections appears to wane after about 10 weeks, though protection against hospitalization and severe disease is likely to hold up for longer.
The analysis follows two studies from Imperial College London and Scottish researchers that found patients with Omicron were between 20 per cent and 68 per cent less likely to require hospital treatment than those with Delta.
“Cautious optimism is perhaps the best way to look at this,” said Manuel Ascano Jr., a biochemist who studies viruses at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn.
Canada’s public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, has confirmed the Omicron variant has become the dominant mutation of COVID-19 in several provinces. Infections across Canada have risen from an average of 5,000 per day last week to more than 11,000 this week, which is why Tam has called for urgent action to curb the spread of Omicron.
Meanwhile in Saskatchewan, the Opposition New Democrats asked why the government has yet to announce new measures to deal with Omicron.
5:49 B.C. breaks another record with more than 2,000 COVID cases
B.C. breaks another record with more than 2,000 COVID cases
NDP Leader Ryan Meili said he couldn’t understand why Saskatchewan is the only province that hasn’t taken any new steps, even though the government’s modelling suggests Omicron cases could skyrocket over the next few weeks.
Premier Scott Moe later defended the province’s decision to forgo stronger restrictions because of low COVID-19 hospitalizations and manageable case numbers. Moe said his government is tracking the situation daily and hasn’t ruled out introducing additional measures about large gathering sizes next week.
In British Columbia, the province reported 2,046 new COVID-19 infections on Thursday, eclipsing the previous record set the day before as the Omicron variant spreads. The province says 975 cases of the highly transmissible variant have been confirmed so far, with more than half in the Vancouver Coastal Health region.
TORONTO – Will Taylor Swift bring chaos or do we all need to calm down?
It’s a question many Torontonians are asking this week as the city braces for the massive fan base of one of the world’s biggest pop stars.
Hundreds of thousands of Swifties are expected to descend on downtown core for the singer’s six concerts which kick off Thursday at the Rogers Centre and run until Nov. 23.
And while their arrival will be a boon to tourism dollars, it could further clog the city’s already gridlocked streets.
Swift’s shows collide with other scheduled events at the nearby Scotiabank Arena, including a Toronto Raptors game on Friday and a Toronto Maple Leafs game on Saturday.
Some locals have already adjusted their plans to avoid the area.
Aahil Dayani says he and some friends intended to throw a birthday bash for one of their pals, until they realized it would overlap with the concerts.
“Ultimately, everybody agreed they just didn’t want to deal with that,” he said.
“Something as simple as getting together and having dinner is now thrown out the window.”
Dayani says the group rescheduled the birthday party for after Swift leaves town. In the meantime, he plans to hunker down at his Toronto residence.
“Her coming into town has kind of changed up my social life,” he added.
“We’re pretty much just not doing anything.”
Max Sinclair, chief executive and founder of A.I. technology firm Ecomtent, has suggested his employees stay away from the company’s downtown offices on concert days, since he doesn’t see the point in forcing people to endure potential traffic jams.
“It’s going to be less productive for us, and it’s going to be just a pain for everyone, so it’s easier to avoid it,” he said.
“We’re a hybrid company, so we can be flexible. It just makes sense.”
Toronto Transit Commission spokesperson Stuart Green says the public agency has been preparing for over a year to ease the pressure of so many Swifties in one confined area.
Dozens of buses and streetcars have been added to the transit routes around the stadium, while the TTC has consulted with the city on how to handle potential emergency scenarios.
“There may be some who will say we’re over-preparing, and that’s fair,” Green said.
“But we know based on what’s happened in other places, better to be over-prepared than under-prepared.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13, 2024.
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – Electronic Arts has incorporated the Professional Women’s Hockey League into its NHL 25 video game.
The six teams starting their second seasons Nov. 30 will be represented in “play now,” “online versus,” “shootout” and “season” modes, plus a championship Walter Cup, in the updated game scheduled for release Dec. 5, the PWHL and EA Sports announced Wednesday.
Gamers can create a virtual PWHL player.
The league and video game company have agreed to a multi-year partnership, the PWHL stated.
“Our partnership with EA SPORTS opens new doors to elevate women’s hockey across all levels,” said PWHL operations senior vice-president Amy Scheer in a statement.
“Through this alliance, we’ll develop in-game and out-of-game experiences that strengthen the bond between our teams, players, and fans, bringing the PWHL closer to the global hockey community.”
NHL 22 featured playable women’s teams for the first time through an agreement with the International Ice Hockey Federation.
Toronto Sceptres forward Sarah Nurse became the first woman to appear on the video game’s cover in 2023 alongside Anaheim Ducks centre Trevor Zegras.
The Ottawa Charge, Montreal Victoire, Boston Fleet, Minnesota Frost and New York Sirens round out the PWHL. The league announced team names and logos in September, and unveiled jerseys earlier this month.
“It is so meaningful that young girls will be able to see themselves in the game,” said Frost forward Taylor Heise, who grew up playing EA’s NHL games.
“It is a big milestone for inclusivity within the hockey community and shows that women’s prominence in hockey only continues to grow.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13, 2024.
Maple Leaf Foods Inc. continued to navigate weaker consumer demand in the third quarter as it looked ahead to the spinoff of its pork business in 2025.
“This environment has a particularly significant impact on a premium portfolio like ours and I want you to know that we are not sitting still waiting for the macro environment to recover on its own,” said CEO Curtis Frank on a call with analysts.
Frank said the company is working to adapt its strategies to consumer demand. As inflation has stabilized and interest rates decline, he said pressure on consumers is expected to ease.
Maple Leaf reported a third-quarter profit of $17.7 million compared with a loss of $4.3 million in the same quarter last year.
The company says the profit amounted to 14 cents per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a loss of four cents per share a year earlier. Sales for the quarter totalled $1.26 billion, up from $1.24 billion a year ago.
“At a strategic level … we’re certainly seeing the transitory impacts of an inflation-stressed consumer environment play through our business,” Frank said.
“We are seeing more trade-down than we would like. And we are making more investments to grow our volume and protect our market share than we would like in the moment. But again, we believe that those impacts will prove to be transitory as they have been over the course of history.”
Financial results are improving in the segment as feed costs have stabilized, said Dennis Organ, president, pork complex.
Maple Leaf, which is working to spin off its pork business into a new, publicly traded company to be called Canada Packers Inc. and led by Organ, also said it has identified a way to implement the plan through a tax-free “butterfly reorganization.”
Frank said Wednesday that the new structure will see Maple Leaf retain slightly lower ownership than previously intended.
The company said it continues to expect to complete the transaction next year. However, the spinoff under the new structure is subject to an advance tax ruling from the Canada Revenue Agency and will take longer than first anticipated.
Maple Leaf announced the spinoff in July with a plan to become a more focused consumer packaged goods company, including its Maple Leaf and Schneiders brands.
“The prospect of executing the transaction as a tax-free spin-off is a positive development as we continue to advance our strategy to unlock value and unleash the potential of these two unique and distinct businesses,” Frank said in the news release.
He also said that Maple Leaf is set on delivering profitability for its plant protein business in mid-2025.
“This includes the recent completion of a procurement project aimed at leveraging our purchasing scale,” he said.
On an adjusted basis, Maple Leaf says it earned 18 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 13 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
The results were largely in line with expectations, said RBC analyst Irene Nattel in a note.
Maple Leaf shares were down 4.5 per cent in midday trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange at $21.49.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13, 2024.
