Canada reported just under 6,000 new coronavirus infections Friday, setting another daily record as health officials across the country continue their pleas to the public to slow the spread of the pandemic.
The 5,963 new cases reported Friday brought the national total to 358,741. Of those, 286,500 patients are now considered to have recovered from the virus.
Officials also reported another 96 deaths over the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 11,894. Another 2,350 patients are receiving care for COVID-19 in hospital, as the country inches closer to the peak of over 3,000 hospitalizations seen in early May.
Friday’s cases more than tripled the highest number of daily cases seen in April, when the first wave of the pandemic crested. It’s also the eighth new record set this month alone as the virus spreads like wildfire in communities across the country.
As cases explode, Canadians are admitting to feeling fatigued by the ongoing pandemic. A new Ipsos poll released Friday found nearly half of respondents are getting tired of public health measures, even though nearly 90 per cent still intend to take them seriously.
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On Twitter, Canada’s chief medical health officer Dr. Theresa Tam said that attitude was the only defence against further spread of COVID-19.
“As with our last effort to bend the curve, this won’t be a quick solution, but a test of our determination and endurance,” she wrote.
“With resilience and resolve, let’s focus on what we can do to protect our families, friends & communities.”
3/3 As with our last effort to bend the curve, this won’t be a quick solution, but a test of our determination and endurance. With resilience and resolve, let’s focus on what we can do to protect our families, friends & communities. https://t.co/XA6qs0saSv
On Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said a “majority of Canadians” should be vaccinated by next September “if all goes according to plan,” citing the country’s top doctors.
One of those doctors, deputy chief public health officer Dr. Howard Njoo, said that timeline was “optimistic” but added he shares that optimism with the prime minister.
Njoo and other officials said this week that they expect a first round of six million vaccination doses to be delivered to provinces and territories in early 2021, and expect to have at least one vaccine candidate approved by the end of this year.
1:36 Coronavirus: Dr. Njoo responds to Trudeau’s statement that majority of Canadians could be vaccinated by next September
Coronavirus: Dr. Njoo responds to Trudeau’s statement that majority of Canadians could be vaccinated by next September
Ontario set a new daily record itself Friday after reporting 1,855 new cases along with 20 new deaths. The province’s health minister said the staggering total was not unexpected, as restrictions in hard-hit areas like Toronto only kicked in on Monday.
Christine Elliot said the rising infections are coming in part from some of the events and celebrations that have taken place around the province over the past few weeks.
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Quebec reported 1,269 more infections and another 38 deaths. The province’s death toll, already the highest in the country, is approaching 7,000.
Saskatchewan and Manitoba reported 329 and 344 new cases, respectively. Both provinces also saw new deaths: Saskatchewan reported that four more people had died, while another 14 deaths occurred in Manitoba.
New restrictions came into effect in Saskatchewan Friday banning all team sports and limiting capacity at public venues like churches, movie theatres and casinos to 30 people.
2:06 Ex-NATO mission head Fortin to lead Canada’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout
Ex-NATO mission head Fortin to lead Canada’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout
Alberta added another 1,227 new cases and nine more deaths. The province has more active cases than any other jurisdiction in Canada and has the highest seven-day infection rate in the country, according to federal data, with 209 cases per 100,000 people.
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New measures came into effect Friday to help blunt the spike in cases. Private indoor social gatherings are banned, capacity limits have been imposed on stores and students between grades 7 and 12 switch to remote learning on Monday.
The province’s justice minister said 700 more peace officers have been given the power to enforce those restrictions.
British Columbia also set a new record with 911 new cases, while 11 more deaths were also reported. Hospitalizations also topped 300 for the first time ever.
Cases are continuing to surge nearly three weeks after stringent new restrictions were imposed in parts of the province where infections are high, suggesting they haven’t been effective. Health officials said workplaces, which were not included in the orders, have become a major source of transmission.
In Atlantic Canada, three provinces reported a combined 25 new cases, though no new deaths were reported. Prince Edward Island did not release new testing data Friday.
0:53 Coronavirus: Trudeau pleads with young people to download COVID Alert app
Coronavirus: Trudeau pleads with young people to download COVID Alert app
Four more cases were reported in Nunavut and another three were added in Yukon, while the Northwest Territories did not report any new infections. That territory is the only jurisdiction in Canada with no active cases.
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As of 9 p.m. ET, more than 61.5 million infections have been confirmed worldwide since the beginning of the pandemic, according to Johns Hopkins University. The global death toll has surpassed 1.44 million.
The United States continues to lead the world in both cases and deaths, both of which have grown at alarming rates this month. The country surpassed 13 million cases on Friday, while over 264,000 people have died to date.
— With files from Global’s Rachel Gilmore and the Canadian Press
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese technology group SoftBank swung back to profitability in the July-September quarter, boosted by positive results in its Vision Fund investments.
Tokyo-based SoftBank Group Corp. reported Tuesday a fiscal second quarter profit of nearly 1.18 trillion yen ($7.7 billion), compared with a 931 billion yen loss in the year-earlier period.
Quarterly sales edged up about 6% to nearly 1.77 trillion yen ($11.5 billion).
SoftBank credited income from royalties and licensing related to its holdings in Arm, a computer chip-designing company, whose business spans smartphones, data centers, networking equipment, automotive, consumer electronic devices, and AI applications.
The results were also helped by the absence of losses related to SoftBank’s investment in office-space sharing venture WeWork, which hit the previous fiscal year.
WeWork, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2023, emerged from Chapter 11 in June.
SoftBank has benefitted in recent months from rising share prices in some investment, such as U.S.-based e-commerce company Coupang, Chinese mobility provider DiDi Global and Bytedance, the Chinese developer of TikTok.
SoftBank’s financial results tend to swing wildly, partly because of its sprawling investment portfolio that includes search engine Yahoo, Chinese retailer Alibaba, and artificial intelligence company Nvidia.
SoftBank makes investments in a variety of companies that it groups together in a series of Vision Funds.
The company’s founder, Masayoshi Son, is a pioneer in technology investment in Japan. SoftBank Group does not give earnings forecasts.
Shopify Inc. executives brushed off concerns that incoming U.S. President Donald Trump will be a major detriment to many of the company’s merchants.
“There’s nothing in what we’ve heard from Trump, nor would there have been anything from (Democratic candidate) Kamala (Harris), which we think impacts the overall state of new business formation and entrepreneurship,” Shopify’s chief financial officer Jeff Hoffmeister told analysts on a call Tuesday.
“We still feel really good about all the merchants out there, all the entrepreneurs that want to start new businesses and that’s obviously not going to change with the administration.”
Hoffmeister’s comments come a week after Trump, a Republican businessman, trounced Harris in an election that will soon return him to the Oval Office.
On the campaign trail, he threatened to impose tariffs of 60 per cent on imports from China and roughly 10 per cent to 20 per cent on goods from all other countries.
If the president-elect makes good on the promise, many worry the cost of operating will soar for companies, including customers of Shopify, which sells e-commerce software to small businesses but also brands as big as Kylie Cosmetics and Victoria’s Secret.
These merchants may feel they have no choice but to pass on the increases to customers, perhaps sparking more inflation.
If Trump’s tariffs do come to fruition, Shopify’s president Harley Finkelstein pointed out China is “not a huge area” for Shopify.
However, “we can’t anticipate what every presidential administration is going to do,” he cautioned.
He likened the uncertainty facing the business community to the COVID-19 pandemic where Shopify had to help companies migrate online.
“Our job is no matter what comes the way of our merchants, we provide them with tools and service and support for them to navigate it really well,” he said.
Finkelstein was questioned about the forthcoming U.S. leadership change on a call meant to delve into Shopify’s latest earnings, which sent shares soaring 27 per cent to $158.63 shortly after Tuesday’s market open.
The Ottawa-based company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, reported US$828 million in net income for its third quarter, up from US$718 million in the same quarter last year, as its revenue rose 26 per cent.
Revenue for the period ended Sept. 30 totalled US$2.16 billion, up from US$1.71 billion a year earlier.
Subscription solutions revenue reached US$610 million, up from US$486 million in the same quarter last year.
Merchant solutions revenue amounted to US$1.55 billion, up from US$1.23 billion.
Shopify’s net income excluding the impact of equity investments totalled US$344 million for the quarter, up from US$173 million in the same quarter last year.
Daniel Chan, a TD Cowen analyst, said the results show Shopify has a leadership position in the e-commerce world and “a continued ability to gain market share.”
In its outlook for its fourth quarter of 2024, the company said it expects revenue to grow at a mid-to-high-twenties percentage rate on a year-over-year basis.
“Q4 guidance suggests Shopify will finish the year strong, with better-than-expected revenue growth and operating margin,” Chan pointed out in a note to investors.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
TORONTO – RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust says it has cut almost 10 per cent of its staff as it deals with a slowdown in the condo market and overall pushes for greater efficiency.
The company says the cuts, which amount to around 60 employees based on its last annual filing, will mean about $9 million in restructuring charges and should translate to about $8 million in annualized cash savings.
The job cuts come as RioCan and others scale back condo development plans as the market softens, but chief executive Jonathan Gitlin says the reductions were from a companywide efficiency effort.
RioCan says it doesn’t plan to start any new construction of mixed-use properties this year and well into 2025 as it adjusts to the shifting market demand.
The company reported a net income of $96.9 million in the third quarter, up from a loss of $73.5 million last year, as it saw a $159 million boost from a favourable change in the fair value of investment properties.
RioCan reported what it says is a record-breaking 97.8 per cent occupancy rate in the quarter including retail committed occupancy of 98.6 per cent.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
