Ontario is seeking to suspend the arrival of international students in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday.
Premier Doug Ford made the request on a first ministers’ call and was the only premier to do so, Trudeau told a news conference.
“Many provinces feel that they’re doing a good job of managing these students, and that they’re not a huge source of cases,” Trudeau said.
“But last night, Premier Ford told me that he wanted us to suspend the arrival of international students coming into Ontario.”
Trudeau said the government came up with a mechanism for the provinces to do just that earlier in the pandemic. The Ford government would have to send a list of institutions that will no longer accept international travellers.
“My office is currently working with premier Ford’s office and the authorities in Ontario to do a followup to make sure that this approach is formalized,” Trudeau said.
Ford has repeatedly blamed the COVID-19 pandemic’s third wave on “porous borders,” including at a news conference on Friday.
“We will never get ahead of this virus if we can’t keep these deadly new variants out of our country,” he said.
Ford did not address his request to bar the entry of international students at the news conference.
A spokeswoman for the premier noted that the province has not made a formal request regarding international students, but said the federal government must take further action to prevent more contagious variants of the coronavirus from entering the country.
-From The Canadian Press, last updated at 4 p.m. ET
What’s happening across Canada
As of 2:35 p.m. ET Friday, Canada had reported 1,216,408 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 82,966 considered active. A CBC tally of deaths stood at 24,204.
Gross domestic product expanded by 0.4 per cent in February alone, the agency reported. Coupled with preliminary data for March showing 0.9 per cent growth, putting Canada on track for healthy growth for the quarter.
Nova Scotia reported 67 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, and eight new cases were reported in Newfoundland and Labrador. Fifteen new cases were reported in New Brunswick, while Prince Edward Island reported two new cases.
In Quebec, health officials reported 1,041 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday and 13 additional deaths.
Quebecers aged 50 to 59 became eligible to book a COVID-19 vaccine appointment Friday. The province says appointments should be open to everyone 18 and older by May 14.
WATCH | May will be ‘transformative’ month in Ontario, says doctor:
Significantly more people are going to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in Ontario in May because of a big boost in supply, broader eligibility and targeted programs, says infectious diseases specialist Dr. Isaac Bogoch. 4:39
In Ontario, Premier Doug Ford said Friday that his province will have delivered a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine to 40 per cent of its adult population as of the end of the day.
The update on the vaccination progress came on a day when Canada’s most populous province reported 3,887 new cases of COVID-19 and 21 additional deaths.
COVID-19 hospitalizations decreased by 47 since the last report, for a total of 2,201. There was virtually no change in the intensive care numbers, with 883 people in ICU as a result of COVID-related illness.
Manitobareported 295 new COVID-19 cases and one additional death on Friday, as Saskatchewan reported 274 new cases and four additional deaths.
On Thursday, Alberta reported 2,048 new cases and three additional deaths.
WATCH | Why it’s difficult to pinpoint herd immunity:
Health officials say Canadians should expect more freedoms once roughly 75 per cent of adults have received one dose of vaccine, but they also say determining when there will be COVID-19 herd immunity is a trickier milestone to pinpoint. 2:02
In British Columbia, health officials reported 853 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday and one additional death. COVID-19 hospitalizations stood at 503, with 178 patients in intensive care.
Across the North, Nunavut reported 11 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday.
There were no new cases reported on Thursday by health officials in Yukon or the Northwest Territories.
-From CBC News and The Canadian Press, last updated at 3:40 p.m. ET
What’s happening around the world
Second grader Londyn Vargas does her school work at Christa McAuliffe School in Jersey City, N.J., on Thursday. Students in kindergarten through Grade 3 are returning to their school buildings in Jersey City for the first time in more than a year. (Seth Wing/The Associated Press)
As of late Friday afternoon, more than 150.8 million cases of COVID-19 had been reported worldwide, according to a coronavirus tracking database maintained by Johns Hopkins University. The reported global death toll stood at more than 3.1 million.
In the Americas, the United States announced that it will restrict travel from India starting next week, citing a devastating rise in COVID-19 cases in the country and the emergence of potentially dangerous coronavirus variants.
In Mexico, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Friday he expects the U.S. to send Mexico around five million more doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to help with its efforts to inoculate the population.
WATCH | Significant need to speed up vaccination in Latin America: experts
Latin America is seeing a dramatic rise in COVID-19 infections and needs vaccines and other supports to help swamped health systems, says the Pan American Health Organization. 1:06
In Brazil, Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga told a World Health Organization briefing that countries should share spare vaccine doses with his country to help the global fight against COVID-19, including the spread of new variants.
In the Asia-Pacific region, Pakistan’s minister for planning and development warned that the number of critically ill COVID-19 patients is rapidly increasing and the next few weeks will be crucial. Asad Umar, who oversees Pakistan’s response to the coronavirus, said as many as 5,360 patients with COVID-19 were on oxygen support at hospitals.
Also Friday, India set another global record with 386,452 daily coronavirus cases. The country’s Health Ministry reported 3,498 deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 208,330.
India’s pandemic response has been marred by insufficient data. An online appeal — signed by over 350 scientists Friday afternoon — asks the government to release data about the sequencing of virus variants, testing, recovered patients and how people were responding to vaccines
Residents in Cambodia’s capital gathered to demand food from the government, outraged at what they called inadequate aid distribution during a tough lockdown that bars people from leaving their homes.
People line up for a free, cooked meal in front of the Carioca Aqueduct, or Arcos da Lapa, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Thursday According to organizers at the volunteer group, more people are coming to eat amid decreasing supplies, compared to when they started in April 2020. (Bruna Prado/The Associated Press)
In Europe, Italy is nearing its goal of administering half a million COVID-19 vaccines a day.
In Africa, Uganda has detected the variant associated with India, stirring fears the East African nation could suffer a resurgence of cases just when its outbreak has waned, a senior health official said.
In the Middle East, the number of reported COVID-19 cases was approaching 2.5 million, with more than 71,300 reported deaths.
-From The Associated Press and Reuters, last updated at 4:05 p.m. ET
Have questions about this story? We’re answering as many as we can in the comments.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A linebacker at Division II West Virginia State was fatally shot during what the university said Thursday is being investigated by police as a home invasion.
The body of Jyilek Zyiare Harrington, 21, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was found inside an apartment Wednesday night in Charleston, police Lt. Tony Hazelett said in a statement.
Hazelett said several gunshots were fired during a disturbance in a hallway and inside the apartment. The statement said Harrington had multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said they had no information on a possible suspect.
West Virginia State said counselors were available to students and faculty on campus.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Jyilek’s family as they mourn the loss of this incredible young man,” West Virginia State President Ericke S. Cage said in a letter to students and faculty.
Harrington, a senior, had eight total tackles, including a sack, in a 27-24 win at Barton College last week.
“Jyilek truly embodied what it means to be a student-athlete and was a leader not only on campus but in the community,” West Virginia State Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Nate Burton said. “Jyilek was a young man that, during Christmas, would create a GoFundMe to help less fortunate families.”
Burton said donations to a fund established by the athletic department in Harrington’s memory will be distributed to an organization in Charlotte to continue his charity work.
West Virginia State’s home opener against Carson-Newman, originally scheduled for Thursday night, has been rescheduled to Friday, and a private vigil involving both teams was set for Thursday night. Harrington previously attended Carson-Newman, where he made seven tackles in six games last season. He began his college career at Division II Erskine College.
“Carson-Newman joins West Virginia State in mourning the untimely passing of former student-athlete Jyilek Harrington,” Carson-Newman Vice President of Athletics Matt Pope said in a statement. “The Harrington family and the Yellow Jackets’ campus community is in our prayers. News like this is sad to hear anytime, but today it feels worse with two teams who knew him coming together to play.”
DETROIT (AP) — Joe Schmidt, the Hall of Fame linebacker who helped the Detroit Lions win NFL championships in 1953 and 1957 and later coached the team, has died. He was 92.
The Lions said family informed the team Schmidt died Wednesday. A cause of death was not provided.
One of pro football’s first great middle linebackers, Schmidt played his entire NFL career with the Lions from 1953-65. An eight-time All-Pro, he was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973 and the college football version in 2000.
“Joe likes to say that at one point in his career, he was 6-3, but he had tackled so many fullbacks that it drove his neck into his shoulders and now he is 6-foot,” said the late Lions owner William Clay Ford, Schmidt’s presenter at his Hall of Fame induction in 1973. “At any rate, he was listed at 6-feet and as I say was marginal for that position. There are, however, qualities that certainly scouts or anybody who is drafting a ballplayer cannot measure.”
Born in Pittsburgh, Schmidt played college football in his hometown at Pitt, beginning his stint there as a fullback and guard before coach Len Casanova switched him to linebacker.
“Pitt provided me with the opportunity to do what I’ve wanted to do, and further myself through my athletic abilities,” Schmidt said. “Everything I have stemmed from that opportunity.”
Schmidt dealt with injuries throughout his college career and was drafted by the Lions in the seventh round in 1953. As defenses evolved in that era, Schmidt’s speed, savvy and tackling ability made him a valuable part of some of the franchise’s greatest teams.
Schmidt was elected to the Pro Bowl 10 straight years from 1955-64, and after his arrival, the Lions won the last two of their three NFL titles in the 1950s.
In a 1957 playoff game at San Francisco, the Lions trailed 27-7 in the third quarter before rallying to win 31-27. That was the NFL’s largest comeback in postseason history until Buffalo rallied from a 32-point deficit to beat Houston in 1993.
“We just decided to go after them, blitz them almost every down,” Schmidt recalled. “We had nothing to lose. When you’re up against it, you let both barrels fly.”
Schmidt became an assistant coach after wrapping up his career as a player. He was Detroit’s head coach from 1967-72, going 43-35-7.
Schmidt was part of the NFL’s All-Time Team revealed in 2019 to celebrate the league’s centennial season. Of course, he’d gone into the Hall of Fame 46 years earlier.
Not bad for an undersized seventh-round draft pick.
“It was a dream of mine to play football,” Schmidt told the Detroit Free Press in 2017. “I had so many people tell me that I was too small. That I couldn’t play. I had so many negative people say negative things about me … that it makes you feel good inside. I said, ‘OK, I’ll prove it to you.’”
VICTORIA – British Columbia‘s Environment Assessment Office has fined Coastal GasLink Pipeline Ltd. $590,000 for “deficiencies” in the construction of its pipeline crossing the province.
The office says in a statement that 10 administrative penalties have been levied against the company for non-compliance with requirements of its environmental assessment certificate.
It says the fines come after problems with erosion and sediment control measures were identified by enforcement officers along the pipeline route across northern B.C. in April and May 2023.
The office says that the latest financial penalties reflect its escalation of enforcement due to repeated non-compliance of its requirements.
Four previous penalties have been issued for failing to control erosion and sediment valued at almost $800,000, while a fifth fine of $6,000 was handed out for providing false or misleading information.
The office says it prioritized its inspections along the 670-kilometre route by air and ground as a result of the continued concerns, leading to 59 warnings and 13 stop-work orders along the pipeline that has now been completed.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
