British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to confirm Monday that all remaining lockdown restrictions in England will be lifted in a week’s time while urging people to remain cautious amid a huge resurgence of the coronavirus.
Johnson is expected to say at a news conference that face masks and all physical distancing measures will be lifted in England on July 19. However, given the sharp rise in new cases, he is also likely to downplay talk of “Freedom Day.”
The U.K. as a whole has seen infections soar in recent weeks as a result of the delta variant. Daily infection levels are running at over 30,000, their highest rates since January. Most infections have largely occurred among younger people, many of whom have yet to receive a first dose of vaccine.
Though the government has warned that daily case numbers will rise further, potentially hitting 100,000 at some point this summer, it is pressing on with the unlocking because of the rapid rollout of vaccines.
The government hopes that the vaccine rollout has severely disrupted the link between infections and those needing hospitalization.
However, there is growing evidence to show that the number of people requiring hospitalization and dying from COVID-19 are picking up pace, too, though not at the same rate as infections.
Concern over rising cases
Still, concerns over the rapid increase in cases has piled pressure on Johnson to take a more cautious approach over the latest unlocking. For example, he is expected to recommend that people continue to wear face masks in enclosed places, such as on public transport and in shops.
Public health officials and scientists have been voicing their concerns, saying ditching masks and physical distancing altogether could be dangerous.
Prof. Peter Openshaw, a member of a group that advises the government on new and emerging respiratory viruses, said it was vital to keep some protective measures in place, such as wearing face coverings.
“I really don’t see why people are reluctant to wear face coverings. It is quite clear that they do greatly reduce transmission,” he told BBC Radio. “Vaccines are fantastic, but you have to give them time to work, and in the meantime keeping up all those measures, which we have learned to reduce the transmission, is to me really vital.”
The British government, which enforced one of the longest lockdowns in the world, has lifted restrictions for England in a series of steps that began with reopening schools in March. The fourth and final stage was delayed last month to provide time for more people to be vaccinated amid the rapid spread of the delta variant, which was first discovered in India.
Other parts of the U.K. — Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — are following their own, broadly similar road maps out of lockdown.
-From The Associated Press, last updated at 7:10 a.m. ET
What’s happening across Canada
WATCH | What to know about adapting to rising COVID-19 vaccinations, fewer restrictions:
An epidemiologist and infectious disease physician answer questions about safely adjusting to life as COVID-19 vaccinations rise and restrictions are reduced. 5:38
As of early Monday morning, Canada had reported 1,420,844 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 5,258 considered active. National deaths stood at 26,437. More than 42.2 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered so far across the country, according to CBC’s vaccine tracker.
In Ontario on Monday, health officials reported no new deaths and 114 new cases of COVID-19.
Quebec, meanwhile, on Monday reported one additional death and 199 new cases since Friday.
In Atlantic Canada, there were four new cases of COVID-19 reported in Nova Scotia on Sunday. There were no new cases reported in New Brunswick, and no updates provided in Newfoundland and Labrador or Prince Edward Island.
In the Prairie provinces on Sunday, Manitoba reported one death and 63 new cases of COVID-19
In Saskatchewan on Sunday, health officials reported one death and 19 new cases of COVID-19.
Health officials in Alberta and British Columbia are expected to provide an update later Monday.
Across the North, there were no new cases of COVID-19 reported in Nunavut. There were no updates Sunday from officials in Yukon or the Northwest Territories.
-From CBC News and The Canadian Press, last updated at 10:15 a.m. ET
What’s happening around the world
Commuters make their way on Ratchaprasong intersection in Bangkok on Monday on the first day of stricter lockdown restrictions to try to contain the spread of COVID-19. (Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP/Getty Images)
As of early Monday morning, more than 186.8 million cases of COVID-19 had been reported worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University, which has been tracking coronavirus-related data from around the world. The reported global death toll stood at more than four million.
The GAVI alliance said on Monday it had signed two advance purchase agreements with Chinese drugmakers Sinopharm and Sinovac to provide up to 550 million COVID-19 vaccines to the COVAX program. The new deals include up to 170 million doses of the Sinopharm shot and up to 380 million doses of the Sinovac vaccine, through to the middle of 2022, the statement said. Sinovac confirmed the agreement in a statement.
COVAX, which distributes vaccines to poorer countries, has struggled to meet its early commitments amid Indian export disruptions, forcing many countries to freeze their inoculation programs in their early phases.
In the Asia-Pacific region, authorities in Bangladesh say the country has registered the highest number of COVID-19 casualties and positive cases in a single day.
The government’s Directorate General of Health Services said that 230 people died and 11,874 tested positive on Sunday. That’s a single-day record on both counts. About 100,000 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in the last 10 days.
Workers are seen last week refilling oxygen cylinders inside an oxygen factory amid a countrywide lockdown in Dhaka, Bangladesh. (Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters)
Experts say if the present trend continues, already overwhelmed hospitals would struggle to provide treatment. Bangladesh has been under a nationwide lockdown since July 1, but new records of positive cases are being reported everyday.
Olympic host city Tokyo entered a new state of emergency on Monday, less than two weeks before the Games begin amid worries about whether the measures can stem a rise in COVID-19 cases.
A nighttime curfew and other new coronavirus restrictions began Monday in Thailand’s capital and several other provinces, as health officials announced that medical workers will be given booster shots of the AstraZeneca vaccine after already receiving two doses of China’s Sinovac vaccine.
Thailand has been battling rising COVID-19 cases and deaths since April, worsened by the spread of the more contagious delta variant.
Thailand reported 8,656 new cases and 80 deaths on Monday, bringing its totals since the pandemic began to 345,027 confirmed cases and 2,791 deaths.
In Africa, Nigeria’s Lagos state faces a “potential third wave” of infections, its governor said in a statement.
In the Middle East, Israel said on Sunday it will begin offering a third dose of Pfizer’s vaccine to adults with weak immune systems, but it was still weighing whether to make the booster available to the general public.
In the Americas, thousands of Cubans joined street protests on Sunday in the biggest anti-government demonstrations on the Communist-run island in decades amid its worst economic crisis since the fall of the Soviet Union and a record surge in COVID-19 cases.
Moderna Inc. said on Monday it had signed a supply agreement with the government of Argentina for 20 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine or its updated variant booster vaccine candidate. The company said delivery was expected to begin in the first quarter of 2022.
In Europe, the European Union has delivered enough vaccine doses to member states to reach a target to fully vaccinate at least 70 per cent of adults in the 27-nation bloc, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said over the weekend.
-From The Associated Press and Reuters, last updated at 10:10 a.m. ET
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LONGUEUIL, Que. – People in a part of Longueuil, Que., were being asked to stay indoors with their doors and windows closed on Thursday morning after a train derailed, spilling an unknown quantity of hydrogen peroxide.
Police from the city just east of Montreal said it didn’t appear anyone was hurt, although a CN rail official told a news conference that three employees had been taken to hospital as a precautionary measure.
The derailment happened at around 9 a.m. in the LeMoyne area, near the intersection of St-Louis and St-Georges streets. Mathieu Gaudreault, a spokesman for CN rail, said about eight cars derailed at the Southwark rail facility, including four that toppled over.
“As of this morning, the information we have is it’s hydrogen peroxide that was in the rail car and created the fumes we saw,” he said, adding that there was no risk of fire.
François Boucher, a spokesman for the Longueuil police department, said police were asking people in the area, including students at nearby schools, to stay indoors while experts ensure the air is safe to breathe.
“It is as a preventive measure that we encourage people to really avoid exposing themselves unnecessarily,” he told reporters near the scene.
Police and fire officials were on site, as well as CN railworkers, and a large security perimeter was erected.
Officers were asking people to avoid the sector, and the normally busy Highway 116 was closed in the area. The confinement notice includes everyone within 800 metres of the derailment, officials said, who added that it would be lifted once a team with expertise in dangerous materials has given the green light.
In addition to closing doors and windows, people in the area covered by the notice are asked to close heating, ventilation and air exchange systems, and to stay as far from windows as possible.
Gaudreault said it wasn’t yet clear what caused the derailment. The possibilities include a problem with the track, a problem with a manoeuvre, or a mechanical issue, he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 14, 2024.
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia’s Liberal party is promising to improve cellphone service and invest in major highways if the party is elected to govern on Nov. 26.
Party leader Zach Churchill says a Liberal government would spend $60 million on building 87 new cellphone towers, which would be in addition to the $66 million the previous Progressive Conservative government committed to similar projects last year.
As well, Churchill confirmed the Liberals want to improve the province’s controlled access highways by adding exits along Highway 104 across the top of the mainland, and building a bypass along Highway 101 near Digby.
Churchill says the Liberals would add $40 million to the province’s $500 million capital budget for highways.
Meanwhile, the leaders of the three major political parties were expected to spend much of today preparing for a televised debate that will be broadcast tonight at 6 p.m. local time.
Churchill will face off against Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Houston and NDP Leader Claudia Chender during a 90-minute debate that will be carried live on CBC TV and streamed online.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 14, 2024.
TORONTO – A group of hotel service workers in Toronto is set to hold a rally today outside the Fairmont Royal York to demand salary increases as hotel costs in the city skyrocket during Taylor Swift’s concerts.
Unite Here Local 75, the union representing 8,000 hospitality workers in the Greater Toronto Area, says Royal York employees have not seen a salary increase since 2021, and have been negotiating a new contract with the hotel since 2022.
The rally comes as the megastar begins her series of six sold-out concerts in Toronto, with the last show scheduled for Nov. 23.
During show weekends, some hotel rooms and short-term rentals in Toronto are priced up to 10 times more than other weekends, with some advertised for as much as $2,000 per night.
The union says hotel workers who will be serving Swifties during her Toronto stops are bargaining for raises to keep up with the rising cost of living.
The union represents hospitality workers including food service employees, room attendants and bell persons.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 14, 2024.
