The national COVID-19 death toll rose by five on Sunday, while the country’s top doctor urged Canadians to continue to protect themselves as the pandemic wears on.
Since late January, 113,866 cases of the novel coronavirus have been diagnosed in Canada, 349 of which were newly confirmed on Sunday. A total of 8,890 people have succumbed to the illness, according to figures provided by health authorities.
But the vast majority of those infected — more than 99,000 people — have recovered. Across the country, 4.4 million tests have been conducted.
Figures released on Sunday are not a complete daily snapshot, however. Many regions — B.C., Alberta, P.E.I. and all three territories — are not releasing updates on weekends.
Ontario added 137 cases on Sunday for an overall total of 38,680. The death toll stands at 2,763 after four additional deaths were confirmed. In Quebec, one person died and there were 169 additional diagnoses, bringing the totals to 58,583 cases and 5,667 fatalities.
Officials in Saskatchewan announced 42 new cases of the virus on Sunday, bringing the overall case count to 1,178. Sixteen deaths have been attributed to the virus in that province.
Manitoba has 371 confirmed cases as of Friday. The province announced four cases on Saturday, and six more on Sunday, but they are not yet reflected in Global News’ tally of lab-confirmed cases because the province has yet to indicate if the diagnoses are presumptive or confirmed through testing.
Other than the 371 previously announced cases, plus the 10 announced on the weekend, there are also 13 presumptive cases that have been recorded in Manitoba. Seven coronavirus patients have died.
One new COVID-19 case was announced in Newfoundland and Labrador, which health authorities said was a close contact of someone previously diagnosed. That province has had 266 cases overall, along with three deaths.
In the Maritimes, no new cases were identified over the weekend. Nova Scotia has had 1,067 diagnoses and 63 deaths while New Brunswick has had 170 cases and two deaths.
P.E.I.’s total — last updated on Friday — stands at 36 cases, 34 of which have recovered.
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On Friday, B.C.’s total stood at 3,397 cases — plus another 22 considered epidemiologically linked — and 191 deaths, while Alberta had 10,086 cases and 178 fatalities.
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Throughout the territories, there were only a handful of active cases as of Friday. Yukon has had 14 cases, 11 of which are recovered. Five cases diagnosed in Northwest Territories have long since been resolved and Nunavut has yet to confirm a case of the virus.
In a statement Sunday, Canada’s chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam said just one per cent of those tested in the last week were positive. But she expressed concern over COVID-19 transmission among young people — 63 per cent of those diagnosed in that time frame were under 39 years old, she said.
“Our public health objective remains to minimize severe illness and overall deaths during this pandemic. To achieve this, Canadians must continue to take steps to reduce their risk of exposure to the virus and spread of the infection to others, particularly vulnerable individuals,” she said.
“In addition to limiting our contacts to a small and consistent social circle, assessing your risks, taking everyday personal hygiene precautions and avoiding high-risk settings and activities will help prevent spread of the virus.”
It’s been nearly 20 weeks since COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization. Around the world, the number of new cases recorded daily has broken records in recent days.
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The U.S. went from three million cases to four million in a span of just over two weeks, and more than 146,000 people are dead as of Sunday, according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University.
Globally, roughly 16 million people have been diagnosed with COVID-19, and more than 645,000 deaths have been recorded.
While the number of new cases has declined dramatically in Canada since peaking in early May, some jurisdictions are seeing an uptick in cases as provinces gradually reopen.
Tam said that living with the virus means finding a balance between resuming activities while keeping rates headed in the right direction.
“In the absence of a vaccine, living with COVID-19 is not without risk. As our economy and society opens up, we will continue to see cases and clusters of COVID-19. That is why we need to proceed slowly and carefully as we live through the next phases of this pandemic,” she said.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Billie Jean King will become the first individual female athlete to be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.
Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey announced Tuesday that their bipartisan legislation had passed the House of Representatives and would be sent to President Joe Biden for his signature.
The bill to honor King, the tennis Hall of Famer and activist, had already passed unanimously in the Senate.
Sherrill, a Democrat, said in a statement that King’s “lifetime of advocacy and hard work changed the landscape for women and girls on the court, in the classroom, and the workplace.”
The bill was introduced last September on the 50th anniversary of King’s victory over Bobby Riggs in the “Battle of the Sexes,” still the most-watched tennis match of all-time. The medal, awarded by Congress for distinguished achievements and contributions to society, has previously been given to athletes including baseball players Jackie Robinson and Roberto Clemente, and golfers Jack Nicklaus, Byron Nelson and Arnold Palmer.
King had already been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009. Fitzpatrick, a Republican, says she has “broken barriers, led uncharted paths, and inspired countless people to stand proudly with courage and conviction in the fight for what is right.”
SURREY, B.C. – Premier David Eby says new account control measures for young Instagram users introduced Tuesday by social media giant Meta are the “minimum” expected of tech companies to keep kids safe online.
The parent company of Instagram says users in Canada and elsewhere under 18 will have their accounts set to private by default starting Tuesday, restricting who can send messages, among other parental controls and settings.
Speaking at an unrelated event Tuesday, Eby says the province began talks with social media companies after threatening legislation that would put big tech companies on the hook for “significant potential damages” if they were found negligent in failing to keep kids safe from online predators.
Eby says the case of Carson Cleland, a 12-year-old from Prince George, B.C., who took his own life last year after being targeted by a predator on Snapchat, was “horrific and totally preventable.”
He says social media apps are “nothing special,” and should be held to the same child safety standards as anyone who operates a place that invites young people, whether it’s an amusement park, a playground or an online platform.
In a progress report released Tuesday about the province’s engagement with big tech companies including Google, Meta, TikTok, Spapchat and X, formerly known as Twitter, the provincial government says the companies are implementing changes, including a “trusted flagger” option to quickly remove intimate images.
— With files from The Associated Press
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024
EDMONTON – Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says as classrooms get overwhelmed with new grade school students, her government will fast-track new school builds with $8.6 billion over the next three years.
In a televised address Tuesday evening, Smith said the province’s existing budget isn’t enough to keep up with rapid population growth in kindergarten to Grade 12 schools.
“This is quite literally the fastest and largest build our province can manage given available construction workforce capacity and the time it takes to permit, prepare and service available school sites,” said Smith.
The province’s population grew by more than 200,000 people in the last fiscal year.
The premier said often the only thing holding back the cash is school boards getting projects ready for construction.
“If you can prepare the sites, the province will have the dollars set aside to get shovels in the ground,” said Smith.
The government is changing the process of approving construction funding so school boards don’t need to wait every year for the next budget cycle to get the go-ahead.
Previously approved school projects that are now in the planning and design stages could move forward to the next stage as soon as they are ready.
Smith’s announcement comes as the province’s two largest divisions, Edmonton Public Schools and the Calgary Board of Education, say their schools are expected to have a utilization rate of well over 90 per cent this school year, with some schools hitting capacity.
The addition of some $6.5 billion in capital funding would be a significant boost to what was budgeted in February.
Budget 2024 originally earmarked $1.9 billion in capital funding over the next three years for planning, design or construction of new and modernized school projects across the province.
In the summer, the government promised an added $215 million for school boards, including $90 million towards 100 more modular classrooms that are expected to be delivered by the end of the calendar year.
Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides told The Canadian Press that yearly budget numbers will vary under the new plan because different projects will be able to move forward at different times, but it will mean schools get built as quickly as possible.
“That (new) process will help make sure that it doesn’t take five, six years for schools to get built,” he said.
Smith said she expects the construction could lead to about 50,000 new student spaces over the next three years, and 12,500 new charter school student spaces over the next four years.
Smith also used her television address to take a swipe at Ottawa, accusing Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government of “unrestrained” border policies.
Smith said historically high immigration levels – especially for those with temporary visas – is exacerbating housing shortages and challenging education, health and other social services infrastructure.
“Alberta has always welcomed newcomers who possess our shared values – and we will continue to do so,” said Smith, explaining her definition of shared values.
“Welcoming those who believe in working hard, protecting our freedoms, contributing to society, following the rule of law, and who have a deep respect for other cultures and faiths different from their own, have long been a strength of our provincial culture and history.”
Smith called for “more sensible and restrained” policies but did not provide details.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
