British Columbia reported 28 additional COVID-19 deaths on Thursday, a single-day high that Dr. Bonnie Henry described as “one of the most tragic days we have had yet.”
Speaking at a briefing, the provincial health officer said all but two of the deaths were seniors who were in long-term care homes.
“These are family, these are friends, these are people who have had interesting and challenging lives,” she said as she offered condolences to families and those who lost loved ones.
With the additional deaths, the provincial death toll rose to 587. Hospitalizations stood at 346, with 83 people in critical care on intensive care units.
Henry said the upcoming COVID-19 immunization program is an “important, encouraging milestone” but cautioned that the province is “not yet through this storm.”
The province reported 723 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday and Henry urged people not to gather beyond households during upcoming religious observances.
What’s happening across Canada
As of 7:30 a.m. ET on Friday, Canada’s COVID-19 case count stood at 442,069, with 73,225 of those cases considered active. A CBC News tally of deaths based on provincial reports, regional health information and CBC’s reporting stood at 13,109.
In Alberta, health officials reported 1,566 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday and 13 additional deaths, bringing the provincial death toll to 666. Hospitalizations stood at 682, with 124 in intensive care units.
Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the chief medical officer of health, said the province completed roughly 16,800 new tests — for a positivity rate of approximately nine per cent.
“The messaging that we are clearly providing to Albertans is our health system is in trouble and we need to work together to save it,” Hinshaw said at a briefing Thursday in response to a question about public health restrictions and whether more needs to be done.
Saskatchewan reported 324 new cases of COVID-19 and four additional deaths on Thursday, bringing the provincial death toll to 75.
Health Minister Paul Merriman said residents will have to wait until next week to learn what public health orders will be in place over the holidays. He said the Saskatchewan Party government is ultimately responsible for any decisions made, but it works with the chief medical health officer, who presents them with recommendations.
WATCH | Military arrives in Shamattawa First Nation amid COVID-19 crisis:
A military team has arrived to help deal with the escalating COVID-19 crisis in Shamattawa First Nation in northern Manitoba, where some 300 people have tested positive in a community of about a thousand people. 1:39
In Manitoba, health officials reported 293 new cases of COVID-19 and 13 additional deaths, bringing the provincial death toll to 451.
Dr. Brent Roussin, the province’s chief provincial public health officer, again urged people to follow the rules and not gather for the holidays — saying that case numbers will spike again if people ignore the restrictions.
Ontario hit a new single-day high on Thursday with 1,983 cases of COVID-19. The province also reported 35 additional deaths, bringing the provincial death toll to 3,871. Hospitalizations stood at 829, with 228 people in intensive care units.
New modelling released by Ontario health officials Thursday is forecasting that hospital intensive care unit occupancy will continue to rise above 200 beds for the next month, particularly if public health interventions are relaxed.
WATCH | 27-year-old Windsor, Ont., man dies from COVID-19:
Weng James, 27, of Windsor, Ont., died of COVID-19 on Monday, with no underlying health conditions. His family and friends remember him as a leader and a caregiver. 1:55
In Quebec, health officials reported 1,842 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday and 33 additional deaths, bringing the total death toll in the hard-hit province to 7,382. Hospitalizations stood at 848, with 113 people in intensive care units, according to a provincial dashboard.
The province faced scrutiny Thursday for how its long-term care system handled the first wave of the pandemic. An ombudsperson’s report said Quebec’s long-term care system failed to ensure the safety and dignity of residents as the virus first spread last winter and spring.
In the report, Marie Rinfret said the system was disorganized and unprepared for the surge, with many homes lacking in personal protective equipment and some unable to provide basic care and services.
Across the North, there were no new cases of COVID-19 reported in Yukon or Nunavut on Thursday. Dr. Kami Kandola, chief public health officer of the Northwest Territories, said in a news release late Thursday five travel-related cases had been reported in Yellowknife.
PUBLIC HEALTH ADVISORY: Five COVID-19 cases identified in Yellowknife. All isolating appropriately. All identified as part of testing call due to wastewater signal. Details at the link. <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/yzf?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#yzf</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/nwtpoli?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#nwtpoli</a> <a href=”https://t.co/qIauzJZlsB”>https://t.co/qIauzJZlsB</a>
From The Associated Press and Reuters, last updated at 7:30 a.m. ET
As of early Friday morning, more than 69.7 million cases of COVID-19 had been reported worldwide with more than 44.9 million of those considered recovered or resolved, according to a tracking tool maintained by Johns Hopkins University. The global death toll stood at more than 1.5 million.
In the Americas, a U.S. government advisory panel has endorsed widespread use of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, putting the country just one step away from launching a widespread vaccination campaign against the outbreak that has killed close to 300,000 Americans.
Shots could begin within days, depending on how quickly the Food and Drug Administration signs off, as expected, on the expert committee’s recommendation. First in line for the vaccinations would be health-care workers and nursing home residents. Widespread access to the general public is not expected until the spring.
A staff member reacts near a table of appreciation gifts during a Christmas party at the Goodwin House senior living community centre in Arlington, Va., during the coronavirus pandemic on Thursday. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images)
According to Johns Hopkins, the U.S. has seen more than 15.6 million cases of the disease caused by the novel coronavirus and more than 292,000 deaths.
Besides the staggering human cost, the pandemic has taken aim at the U.S. economy, forcing millions out of work as state and local authorities imposed sweeping restrictions on social and economic activities to curb the virus. Many Americans, however, have resisted public health directives to wear face coverings in public and avoid large crowds.
On Thursday, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, a medical doctor, imposed a midnight-to-5 a.m. curfew among other measures that will kick in on Monday and last until at least Jan. 31.
Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio said he was extending his state’s 10 p.m.-to-5 a.m. curfew until Jan. 2, and Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, who tested positive for COVID-19 this week, announced new mitigation measures to take effect on Saturday.
In Europe, Denmark will expand lockdown measures announced earlier this week to more cities.
Worker Jan Loested cleans out a shed on Thursday that housed mink at the Semper Avanti mink farm in Moldrup, Denmark. The Danish government ordered a mink cull after hundreds of farms suffered outbreaks of coronavirus. (Andrew Kelly/Reuters)
Meanwhile, calls were growing Friday for tougher lockdown measures in Germany as officials report record daily increases in both coronavirus cases and deaths.
The Robert Koch Institute said the country’s 16 states reported 29,875 new cases of COVID-19, breaking the previous daily record of 23,679 cases reported the day before. The number of deaths from the virus rose by 598, to a total of 20,970. The previous daily record of deaths was 590, set on Wednesday.
In Africa, Nigeria may be on the verge of a second wave of COVID-19 infections, the health minister warned, as another official said the country expects to roll out a vaccine by April next year.
In the Middle East, Bahrain will provide the vaccine for free for all citizens and residents, state news agency BNA reported.
In the Asia-Pacific region, South Korean health officials reported another 689 new coronavirus cases on Friday.
Kim Young Sun, CFO of Korea Superfreeze, sprays water inside an ultra-cold storage facility at the Korea Superfreeze company in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, on Thursday in preparation for vaccines. (Heo Ran/Reuters)
The country is expanding the use of rapid tests and deploying hundreds of police officers and soldiers to help with contact tracing as it deals with its worst surge of coronavirus cases since the early days of the pandemic
Senior Health Ministry official Yoon Taeho said Friday that rapid antigen tests at emergency rooms, intensive-care units and remote-area hospitals will be covered by the national health insurance starting Monday,
In Japan, Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said he wanted to see the government avoid issuing another state of emergency over the coronavirus.
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
