Canada’s chief public health officer issued a pre-weekend warning to young people to be cautious to prevent the spread of COVID-19 after an uptick in cases, largely among people in their 20s and 30s.
Dr. Theresa Tam says there’s a worrisome trend of rising infections among people aged 20 to 39. She noted that less than one per cent of Canadians have been infected, which means the population remains highly susceptible to getting sick.
Tam said the peak of new daily cases arrived in early May, when the average daily case count was 1,800. That number fell to 273 in early July but has crept back up to 487 in the last seven days.
WATCH | The challenge to contact trace passengers as Canadian air travel picks up:
As Canadian air travel begins to pick up, some hope a new national contract tracing app that is now in beta testing will help warn people of possible exposure to COVID-19. Others warn limitations in technology and passenger information gathering will hinder it. 1:55
Federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu has urged Canadians to ask themselves before going out this weekend: “Is what I’m about to do worth the risk?”
Hadju on Friday said the government needs to do a better job of tailoring its public health messaging to younger Canadians. She said her department is working on new language and new ways to connect with an age group the government often struggles to reach.
“I have had a pit in my stomach that I haven’t felt quite frankly since February or March when we saw our numbers start to surge,” she said.
WATCH | Going to a playground during the pandemic: What to expect:
As playgrounds reopen during the COVID-19 pandemic, National co-host Andrew Chang walks through the risks and how to keep kids safe. 1:42
More than 15.8 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 638,271 have died, according to a Reuters tally. Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.
In the United States, a world-leading 4.1 million cases have been confirmed and more than 145,000 people have died from COVID-19.
“We have to change our behaviour now, before this virus completely moves back up through the north,” said Dr. Deborah Birx, who is with the White House coronavirus task force.
Fans outside the ballpark stand as the U.S. national anthem is performed inside Fenway Park in Boston on Friday before the shortened season opening MLB baseball game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Boston Red Sox. The game was played before an empty ballpark because of COVID-19. (Brian Snyder/Reuters)
“This first wave that we see now across Florida, Texas, California and Arizona began with under-30-year-olds, many who were asymptomatic and didn’t know they were spreading it,” she said.
Texas was approaching 400,000 cases on Friday, while Florida passed that mark, health officials said.
WATCH | Can kids wear masks all day, and other school questions:
Doctors answer questions about reopening schools during the COVID-19 pandemic including whether it’s safe and what precautions are needed to mitigate spread of the virus. 5:29
Recovering from even mild coronavirus infections can take at least two to three weeks, according to a study published Friday and led by researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
They surveyed 274 patients in several states who tested positive for the virus. After three weeks of having symptoms, about one-third of middle-aged adults had not fully recovered, and for those 50 and older, the rate was almost half. Patients with chronic illness, especially obesity, were more likely to have lingering symptoms.
What’s happening with coronavirus in Canada
As of 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Canada has seen 113,556 confirmed coronavirus cases. There are 5,523 active cases overall in the provinces and territories, with 99,115 listed as recovered or resolved. A CBC News tally based on provincial reports, regional health information and CBC’s reporting indicates that 8,918 Canadians have died.
WATCH | Should bars and restaurants be shut down following uptick?
Infectious disease expert Dr. Isaac Bogoch says indoor spaces like bars and restaurants are contributing to the uptick in coronavirus cases among younger people, but shutting them down may not be the answer. 3:04
Ontario reported 138 new cases on Saturday for a total of 38,543. Thirty-three of those cases were in the Windsor-Essex area, which posted the highest number of new infections in the province on Friday — 57 cases — a majority of them involving agri-food workers.
Premier Doug Ford said his team has been asked to consult a constitutional lawyer to find out if the province can order mandatory testing for migrant farm workers. The province has sent mobile testing units to some farms, but the uptake isn’t as high as Ford would like.
WATCH | COVID-19 is becoming more common in young people:
Whether it’s because they’re returning to work or socializing more, COVID-19 is becoming more common in young people, says infectious disease researcher Craig Jenne. 6:32
Quebec reported 171 new cases on Saturday for a total of 58,414.
Saskatchewan reported 37 new cases and 14 new recoveries on Saturday, or a total of 1,136 total cases and 862 recoveries.
Manitoba, which announced four new cases Saturday,was set to go ahead with a scaled-back Phase 4 plan for reopening.
Casinos and movie theatres will be able to operate at 30 per cent capacity of the site.
The current site capacity of 30 per cent for faith-based services and powwows will be maintained, while the requirement for participants to break into sub-groups has been eliminated.
The draft plan proposed that Manitobans could see walkup counter service when bars, microbreweries and distilleries reopen, but that section has been deferred.
WATCH | What back-to-school might look like across Canada:
Some provinces, including Alberta, have announced back-to-school plans to mixed response, while in Ontario, many parents and teachers are concerned about the lack of clear guidance from their provincial government for September. 4:03
Health officials in British Columbia have announced a new community outbreak of COVID-19 in Haida Gwaii. Until now, the remote islands have managed to avoid any cases, but 13 local residents have now tested positive.
What’s happening in the rest of the world
In the United Kingdom, the government announced that all people arriving from Spain as of Sunday will need to self-isolate to ensure they do not spread the coronavirus. The government is also advising against all but essential travel to mainland Spain.
A spokesperson for Spain’s Foreign Ministry said the country “respects decisions of the United Kingdom” and is in touch with authorities there.
But the announcement is expected to deal a blow to Spain, which is trying to recoup its tourism season after the sector took a battering from COVID-19 lockdowns and travel restrictions earlier this year. It will also hit airlines and travel companies struggling to get back to business. Spain has reported more than 272,000 cases of COVID-19 and more than 28,000 deaths.
In England, swimming pools and gyms were starting to reopen Saturday for the first time since the U.K. went into lockdown in March. At least a third of public pools were expected to remain closed.
The country’s new rules on mask-wearing took effect Friday, with face coverings required to enter banks, stores and food shops. Refusing to follow the rule can result in hefty fines.
WATCH | Britain’s indoor mask rules go into effect:
Face coverings are now required inside most enclosed public spaces in England. England is also offering most people a free flu vaccine to guard against overwhelming hospitals this flu season. 3:31
A German cruise shiphas set sail for the first time since the industry was shut down because of the coronavirus.
The TUI Cruises ship “Mein Schiff 2” — “My Ship 2” — set sail from Hamburg on Friday night for the weekend cruise in the North Sea, the dpa news agency reported. Occupancy was limited to 60 per cent, or 1,200 people, who will make no land stops before returning to Germany on Monday.
Passengers and crew are required to stay 1.5 metres apart or wear protective masks and won’t serve themselves at the ship’s buffet. All passengers filled out a health questionnaire before boarding and had temperatures checks.
Russia on Saturday reported 5,871 new coronavirus cases and 146 more deaths from the respiratory disease.
The nationwide tally of infections has risen to 806,720, Russia’s coronavirus crisis response centre said. The death toll now stands at 13,192, and 597,140 people have recovered.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Bulgaria passed 10,000 on Saturday, as the Balkan country reported 270 infections in the past 24 hours, official data showed.
Eight people had died from the virus overnight, taking the official death toll to 337. Total infections stand at 10,123. Some 5,252 people have recovered, data from the official coronavirus information platform showed.
Police officers check documents of commuters in Kokata, India, on Saturday, one of two days during the week when a lockdown has been imposed in West Bengal state to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. India is the third hardest-hit country by the pandemic after the U.S. and Brazil. (Bikas Das/The Associated Press)
Vietnam reported its first local coronavirus infection for more than three months on Saturday after a man in the central city of Danang tested positive four times for the virus, a government statement said.
Thanks to strict quarantine measures and an aggressive and widespread testing program, Vietnam had kept its virus total to an impressively low 415 cases and had reported no locally transmitted infections for 100 days.
Filipinos stranded due to COVID-19 restrictions are crammed inside a baseball stadium on Friday while waiting to be transported back to their provinces through a government transportation program at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila. (Eloisa Lopez/Reuters)
In the Philippines, thousands of people were crammed into a baseball stadium in Manila on Saturday, breaking physical distancing rules despite coronavirus risks, after people wanting to return to their home provinces flooded a government transportation program.
Officials had reserved the stadium as a place to test people before transporting them back to their home provinces under a program to help people who had lost their jobs in the capital return to their families elsewhere.
Officials had planned for 7,500 people to arrive at the stadium from Friday, but were caught out when another 2,000 people who were not yet scheduled to travel headed there anyway.
Hong Kong reported 133 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, including 126 that were locally transmitted, a record for a daily increase, as authorities warned that the city faces a critical period in containing the virus.
The Asian financial hub reported 123 new cases on Friday after it extended strict social distancing measures this week.
Since late January, more than 2,000 people have been infected in Hong Kong, 18 of whom have died.
Experts say Donald Trump’s election victory could shift interest rate policy in the U.S. as his promised policies risk higher inflation, which could ultimately have implications for Canadian rates and the loonie.
Among those promises are large tariffs on imported goods, especially from China, as well as lower tax rates and lighter regulation.
Trump has promised that with him as president, “inflation will vanish completely.” But some have raised concern that his economic policies could actually put upward pressure on inflation, and in turn, slow the pace of interest rate cuts expected from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
“Tradition tells us that that increase in tariffs will increase inflation in the U.S.,” said Sheila Block, an economist with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
Higher inflation would mean the U.S. Federal Reserve could be slower to cut interest rates, and markets are already shifting their bets on how low the central bank is likely to go on rates.
“If you’re enacting tariffs and pressing hard on the accelerator and creating job shortages and scarcity and wage inflation by running the economy hot, then the Fed won’t necessarily have as much license to cut rates as soon or as deeply as they would otherwise,” said Brian Madden, chief investment officer with First Avenue Investment Counsel.
The U.S. central bank cut its key rate as expected on Thursday by a quarter of a percentage point, lowering its benchmark overnight interest rate to the 4.5 per cent to 4.75 per cent range.
Following the election, markets started to price in a slightly higher neutral rate for the Fed, according to a TD Economics report Wednesday. That means markets believe the Fed will end its cutting cycle at a higher rate than previously anticipated.
“We are changing our forecast for the Fed, as higher inflation results in a slower pace of rate cuts in 2025,” the TD report said — with the Fed ending 2025 with its key rate at 3.5 per cent instead of three per cent, before reaching three per cent in 2026.
That means “we don’t see any change to the neutral rate, just that the Fed gets there later,” the economists wrote.
As the Bank of Canada works through its own rate cuts to address the cooling economy, experts say it has to keep the U.S. economy and the Fed’s policy in mind.
“As the value of the Canadian dollar is reduced relative to the U.S. dollar, that is also inflationary, because … many things that we import are denominated in U.S. dollars,” said Block.
“I think … that would be a factor that would make the Bank of Canada more hesitant about cutting rates too quickly,” she said.
However, Madden thinks the effect of a weaker loonie on Canadian inflation won’t be massive.
“On the one hand, imported goods would cost more because you’re buying them with cheaper dollars. On the other hand, Canadian exports into global markets, in the U.S. in particular, would be more competitive given the weaker Canadian dollar, which could stimulate demand,” he said.
— With files from The Associated Press
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet accused senators of betraying their fellow Canadians to benefit Americans and other trade partners, after a Senate committee voted in favour of adding a major caveat to a Bloc supply management protection bill. The committee amended the bill to exempt it from applying to existing trade deals. (Nov. 7, 2024)
By ordering TikTok to shut down its Canadian operations but not banning the app, digital media experts say the federal government is sending mixed messages that make it too hard for the average user to decide whether they should remain on the platform. They say the government is creating confusion by not addressing access to the TikTok app. (Nov. 7, 2024)
