People receive COVID-19 rapid tests in Toronto’s Union Station on Tuesday. Ontario reported another record for COVID-19 cases on Friday. (Spencer Gallichan-lowe/CBC)
Coronavirus case figures continue to grow in Canada, with Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, New Brunswick and P.E.I. all reporting record-high numbers on Friday.
According to the open data portal in Quebec, slightly more than 10,000 new cases were added in the province on Friday, eclipsing the previous record of 9,397 new cases reported one day earlier. Details on COVID-19 related hospitalizations and vaccinations will be released next week.
“The Omicron variant is more contagious than anything seen since the start of the pandemic,” Premier François Legault wrote in a Christmas message posted to Facebook. “I count on your judgment to respect the instructions and to be careful.”
Sources told Radio-Canada that the province has agreed to spend $86 million on the order, which could secure at least 12 million rapid tests. It is not known when Quebec will receive this order.
Ontarioreported 9,571 cases, eclipsing the 5,790 the province posted on Thursday, along with six additional deaths.
Health Minister Christine Elliott tweeted that 508 people are hospitalized with the virus — 355 not fully vaccinated or with an unknown vaccination status. On Thursday, 440 people were in hospital due to COVID-19.
The number of people in Ontario intensive-care units due to COVID-19 hit 164. Of those, 136 were not fully vaccinated or had an unknown vaccination status and 28 were fully vaccinated, Elliott tweeted. Friday’s total number of ICU cases is down by five from Thursday.
Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, said earlier this week that record-high daily case counts were expected and will likely continue for several weeks.
British Columbia health officials announced 2,441 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, the fourth straight day with record daily case numbers in the province. On Wednesday, B.C. shut down bars, nightclubs and gyms, and banned gatherings such as weddings.
Officials also said contact tracing and testing sites are at maximum capacity. They urged residents not to seek testing for travel purposes, as the screening needs to be available for those most at risk, as well as health-care workers who need negative tests in order to work.
“If you have any symptoms of COVID-19 … you must assume you have COVID and take measures to avoid passing it on,” B.C. Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said at a Friday news conference. “Omicron is different…. In a sense, we’re in a different game.”
In Manitoba, an all-time daily record of nearly 742 new COVID-19 cases was reported Friday, along with one additional death. At a news conference earlier in the day, Chief Provincial Public Health Officer Dr. Brent Roussin said the caseload is an underestimate because of a backlog in testing.
“We have to expect this will put significant strain on our health-care system if we continue these case numbers at this rate,” he said.
“Given that we’re still learning about Omicron, we cannot rely on some of the reports of Omicron being less severe.”
WATCH | Reconsider in-person events over coming days, Manitobans told:
Reconsider in-person events over coming days, Manitobans told
8 hours ago
Duration 1:58
Due to the rapid transmission of Omicron in Manitoba, Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Brent Roussin says residents should reconsider their holiday plans and limit the amount of contact they have with other people. 1:58
Anyone planning multiple Christmas gatherings in Manitoba is being urged to cut that back to one. Though current health orders allow for up to 10 visitors inside a home, not counting the people who live there, Roussin is pleading with people to scale that back.
In the Maritimes, New Brunswick reported a new daily high of 265 cases on Friday and one new death.
As in many other jurisdictions, the province’s chief medical officer of health is urging people to limit their contacts. People in New Brunswick are being asked to stick to a steady bubble of 20 and, after Dec. 27, to a smaller, steady bubble of 10.
Prince Edward Island reported its highest-ever new daily cases at 40, as the province’s new pandemic restrictions went into effect.
Wedding and funeral receptions, as well as wakes and visitations, will no longer be permitted. Organized gatherings such as worship services, wedding and funeral ceremonies, concerts and shows will be capped at 50 people, and schools won’t return to in-person learning until at least Jan. 10.
On Thursday, Canada reported more than 20,000 new COVID-19 cases for the first time, a culmination of a record-shattering day that saw several provinces confirm new highs in infections.
What’s happening elsewhere in Canada
For more details on how COVID-19 is impacting your community — including hospital data and the latest on restrictions — check out the coverage from CBC newsrooms around the country.
WATCH | Health-care workers tired of the ‘burden of the virus,’ doctor says:
Health-care workers tired of the ‘burden of the virus,’ doctor says
10 hours ago
Duration 6:50
Though he is not tired of caring for patients, critical care physician Dr. Del Dorscheid says he and his colleagues are tired of the burden that COVID-19 has become and wonder if it will ever really go away. 6:50
Nova Scotia reported 611 new cases on Friday, down from the previous day’s high of 689. While the province originally encouraged people to use rapid tests as a precautionary measure, it is now asking that the test only be used when people have symptoms or are identified as close contacts, in order to conserve resources.
Newfoundland and Labrador reported 85 new cases on Friday. The province was back in COVID-19 Alert Level 3 as of Thursday morning, the change brought on by a rapid increase in cases, the emergence of the Omicron variant and outbreaks found across three of the province’s regional health authorities. At Level 3, people are asked to stay home as much as possible and to maintain a household bubble of up to 20 people.
This chart shows the latest rise in COVID-19 cases in Canada, as well as hospitalizations, which may not spike until weeks after cases do. (Adam Ciolfi and Wendy Martinez/CBC News)
Alberta reported 1,625 new cases on Thursday. The province’s chief medical officer of health said Albertans should use rapid tests to confirm whether they have COVID-19 if they show symptoms, rather than booking PCR tests. She noted that lab capacity has been strained in Quebec and Ontario, where Omicron is causing case counts to spike.
Saskatchewan reported 194 new cases and one additional death on Thursday.
Saskatchewan and Alberta are not expected to provide updates on COVID-19 numbers on Friday.
All Nunavut communities entered into a full lockdown on Friday as the territory reported four new cases, bringing the total number of active cases to eight. Dr. Michael Patterson, the chief public health officer, said the strict measures are to break transmission of the virus.
Yukon reported seven new cases on Friday.
The Northwest Territories has cancelled its travel bubble with Nunavut, citing concerns about COVID-19 community spread in the neighbouring territory. The cancellation took effect on Thursday at 5 p.m. local time.
“The updated [public health order] will now be treating all residents travelling from or through Nunavut as though they are travellers from outside of the N.W.T.,” said a new release from the N.W.T. Office of the Chief Public Health Officer.
– From CBC News and The Canadian Press, last updated at 6:35 p.m. ET
Christmas again scaled back in Bethlehem
In the West Bank, musicians banging drums and playing bagpipes marched through the biblical town of Bethlehem on Friday to the delight of smaller-than-usual crowds — a mix of conviviality and restraint reflected in celebrations around the world on a Christmas Eve dampened once again by the coronavirus.
A ban on nearly all incoming air traffic by Israel — the main entry point for foreign visitors heading to the occupied West Bank — is keeping many international travellers away again this year. The ban is meant to help control the spread of the highly contagious Omicron coronavirus variant.
Prior to the pandemic, thousands of Christian pilgrims from around the world would visit the town at Christmas, providing some holiday spirit and an economic boost to the town.
Christian pilgrims visit the Church of the Nativity, with security forces standing guard during Christmas celebrations in the biblical city of Bethlehem on Friday. (Abbas Momani/AFP/Getty Images)
The lack of foreign visitors has Bethlehem counting on the Holy Land’s small Christian community to lift spirits.
Bethlehem Mayor Anton Salman said the town was optimistic this Christmas would be better than last year, when local residents stayed home due to lockdown restrictions.
“Last year, our festival was virtual, but this year it will be face to face with popular participation,” Salman said.
In Bethlehem’s Manger Square, hundreds of people gathered as a line of bagpipe- and drum-playing bands streamed through the area. Later, Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the top Roman Catholic clergyman in the Holy Land, waved to well-wishers as his motorcade made its way through town.
“This year we see a lot of people, very crowded, and a lot of joy,” he said, before entering the Church of the Nativity to prepare for midnight mass. The church is built on the grotto where Christians believe Jesus was born.
– From The Associated Press, last updated at 3:45 p.m. ET
What’s happening elsewhere around the world
As of 3:45 p.m. ET Friday, more than 278.7 million cases of COVID-19 had been reported worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University’s case-tracking tool. The reported global death toll stood at almost 5.4 million.
Shoppers, some wearing face coverings to combat the spread of COVID-19, pass stores on Christmas Eve in Guildford, south of London. The U.K. has opted not to introduce tougher restrictions ahead of Christmas, focusing instead on a campaign to increase vaccine protection through a booster program. (Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images)
The FlightAware website reported that global airline carriers have cancelled nearly 3,400 cancelled flights on Friday and Saturday. Some carriers said some flights were scrapped because of the impact on flight crews of illnesses largely tied to the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
France reported another COVID-19 infection record on Friday with 94,124, while the number of people hospitalized for the disease reached a seven-month high at close to 16,200. The rising cases have prompted the government to convene a special meeting on the pandemic on Monday that could trigger new restrictions on movement.
In Australia, the federal government cut the wait time for people to get booster shots. Starting Jan. 4, the country will offer booster shots to everyone over 18 years old who had received their second vaccination shot four months earlier. The interval would be reduced again to three months by the end of the month, said federal Health Minister Greg Hunt. The move comes as Omicron cases in Australia hit 9,100 on Friday, up from the previous day’s record of 8,200.
In India, judges of the Allahabad High Court in Uttar Pradesh, the country’s most-populous state, urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to suspend political rallies and election campaigns in regions due to hold elections early next year. Despite rising infection numbers due to the Omicron variant, political parties, including Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, have been holding rallies and meetings where crowds continue to ignore pandemic protocols. The judges said, if possible, the elections that are expected to be held in February 2022 should be postponed by a couple of months.
In South Africa, people without COVID-19 symptoms won’t need to test or isolate if they have been in contact with a positive case, the government said Friday. The country’s Health Ministry said people will no longer need to isolate but should monitor for symptoms for five to seven days and avoid attending large gatherings. South Africa’s experience is being closely watched, as it was one of the first to identify the Omicron variant.
The United States will lift travel restrictions to eight southern African countries on New Year’s Eve, the White House announced. The restrictions, imposed on Nov. 29, were meant to slow the spread of the Omicron variant. The ban barred nearly all non-U.S. citizens who had recently been in South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi.
– From The Associated Press and Reuters, last updated at 3:45 p.m. ET
TORONTO – He’s firmly among Canada’s top three-year-olds but My Boy Prince faces a stiff test Saturday at Woodbine Racetrack.
The ’24 King’s Plate runner-up will be part of a global field in the $1-million Woodbine Mile turf event. Not only will it be My Boy Prince’s first race against older competition but among the seven other starters will be such horses as Naval Power (Great Britain), Big Rock (France) and Filo Di Arianna (Brazil).
My Boy Prince will race for the first time since finishing second to filly Caitlinhergrtness in the Plate on Aug. 23.
“It’s his first try against older horses and it’s hard to say where he fits in,” said trainer Mark Casse. “This time of year running a three-year-old against older horses, it’s like running a teenager against college athletes.
“We’re doing it because we believe a mile on the turf is his preferred surface … we wanted to give him a shot at this. (American owner Gary Barber) is someone who likes to think outside the box and take calculated risks so we’re going to see where he fits in.”
Casse, 16 times Canada’s top trainer, is a Hall of Famer both here and in the U.S. He’s also a two-time Woodbine Mile winner with filly Tepin (2016) and World Approval (2017).
Sahin Civaci will again ride My Boy Prince, Canada’s top two-year-old male who has six wins and 10 money finishes (6-3-1) in 11 career starts. The horse will be one of three Casse trainees in the race with Filo Di Arianna (ridden by Sovereign Award winner Kazushi Kimura) and Win for the Money (veteran Woodbine jockey Patrick Husbands aboard).
Naval Power, a four-year-old, has finished in the money in eight of nine starts (six wins, twice second) and will race in Canada for the first time. He comes to Woodbine with second-place finishes in two Grade 1 turf races.
Big Rock, another four-year-old, makes his North American debut Saturday. The horse has five wins and five second-place finishes in 14 starts but has struggled in ’24, finishing sixth, 10th and fifth in three races.
Filo Di Arianna is a four-time graded stakes winner with nine victories, three seconds and a third from 17 starts. It was Canada’s ’22 top male sprinter and champion male turf horse.
Other starters include Playmea Tune, Niagara Skyline and Secret Reserve.
Playmea Tune, a four-year-old, is trained by Josie Carrol. The gelding has made three starts, winning twice and finishing second in the Grade 3 Bold Venture on Aug. 23.
Woodbine-based Niagara Skyline is a six-year-old with 13 money finishes (six wins, five seconds, twice third) in 24-lifetime starts. The John Charlambous trainee has reached the podium (1-1-1) in all three races this year.
Secret Reserve, also a six-year-old, has finished in the money in 15-of-26 starts (six wins, one second, eight thirds). The horse, at 44-1, was third in the Grade 2 King Edward Stakes over a mile on the E.P. Taylor turf course.
The Mile highlights a stellar card featuring six graded stakes races. Also on tap are the $750,000 E.P. Taylor Stakes (fillies and mares), $500,000 bet365 Summer Stakes (two-year-olds) and $500,000 Johnnie Walker Natalma Stakes (two-year-old fillies), all Grade 1 turf events.
The Mile, Natalma and Summer winners earn automatic entries into the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar in November.
Casse has won all four races, earning his first E.P. Taylor title last year with filly Fev Rover, Canada’s horse of the year and champion female turf horse. Fev Rover will defend her title Saturday against a field that includes Moira, the ’22 King’s Plate winner and Canada’s horse of the year trained by Woodbine’s Kevin Attard.
“It (E.P. Taylor) was definitely on my bucket list because it had eluded us,” Casse said. “But I honestly hadn’t realized I’d won all four of them, hadn’t really thought about it.”
Casse will have horses in all four turf races Saturday. Arguably the most intriguing matchup will be between Moira and Fev Rover, who ran 1-2, respectively, in a photo finish Aug. 11 in the Grade 2 Beverly D. Stakes, a 1 3/16-mile turf race, at Virginia’s Colonial Downs.
“What’s funny is the two of them went all the way to Virginia and she beat us by a nose,” Casse said. “We could’ve done that at Woodbine.
“There’s two of the best fillies in the world both from Toronto and they’re going to be competing Saturday.”
Some question having so many solid races on a single card but Casse likes the strategy.
“I think it’s a good thing,” he said. “On Saturday, the main focus on horse racing in the world will be on Woodbine and that’s because it’s such a great card.
“It’s an international day, there’s horses coming from everywhere and we’re going to do our best to represent Canada.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) — Maria Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam singles champion, led the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s fan vote her first year on the ballot — an important part to possible selection to the hall’s next class.
The organization released the voting results Friday. American doubles team Bob and Mike Bryan finished second with Canada’s Daniel Nestor third.
The Hall of Fame said tens of thousands of fans from 120 countries cast ballots. Fan voting is one of two steps in the hall’s selection process. The second is an official group of journalists, historians, and Hall of Famers from the sport who vote on the ballot for the hall’s class of 2025.
“I am incredibly grateful to the fans all around the world who supported me during the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s fan votes,” Sharapova said in a statement. “It is a tremendous honor to be considered for the Hall of Fame, and having the fans’ support makes it all the more special.”
Sharapova became the first Russian woman to reach No. 1 in the world. She won Wimbledon in 2004, the U.S. Open in 2006 and the Australian Open in 2008. She also won the French Open twice, in 2012 and 2014.
Sharapova was also part of Russia’s championship Fed Cup team in 2008 and won a silver medal at the London Olympics in 2012.
To make the hall, candidates must receive 75% or higher on combined results of the official voting group and additional percentage from the fan vote. Sharapova will have an additional three percentage points from winning the fan vote.
The Bryans, who won 16 Grand Slam doubles titles, will have two additional percentage points and Nestor, who won eight Grand Slam doubles titles, will get one extra percentage point.
The hall’s next class will be announced late next month.
TORONTO – Roots Corp. may have built its brand on all things comfy and cosy, but its CEO says activewear is now “really becoming a core part” of the brand.
The category, which at Roots spans leggings, tracksuits, sports bras and bike shorts, has seen such sustained double-digit growth that Meghan Roach plans to make it a key part of the business’ future.
“It’s an area … you will see us continue to expand upon,” she told analysts on a Friday call.
The Toronto-based retailer’s push into activewear has taken shape over many years and included several turns as the official designer and supplier of Team Canada’s Olympic uniform.
But consumers have had plenty of choice when it comes to workout gear and other apparel suited to their sporting needs. On top of the slew of athletic brands like Nike and Adidas, shoppers have also gravitated toward Lululemon Athletica Inc., Alo and Vuori, ramping up competition in the activewear category.
Roach feels Roots’ toehold in the category stems from the fit, feel and following its merchandise has cultivated.
“Our product really resonates with (shoppers) because you can wear it through multiple different use cases and occasions,” she said.
“We’ve been seeing customers come back again and again for some of these core products in our activewear collection.”
Her remarks came the same day as Roots revealed it lost $5.2 million in its latest quarter compared with a loss of $5.3 million in the same quarter last year.
The company said the second-quarter loss amounted to 13 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Aug. 3, the same as a year earlier.
In presenting the results, Roach reminded analysts that the first half of the year is usually “seasonally small,” representing just 30 per cent of the company’s annual sales.
Sales for the second quarter totalled $47.7 million, down from $49.4 million in the same quarter last year.
The move lower came as direct-to-consumer sales amounted to $36.4 million, down from $37.1 million a year earlier, as comparable sales edged down 0.2 per cent.
The numbers reflect the fact that Roots continued to grapple with inventory challenges in the company’s Cooper fleece line that first cropped up in its previous quarter.
Roots recently began to use artificial intelligence to assist with daily inventory replenishments and said more tools helping with allocation will go live in the next quarter.
Beyond that time period, the company intends to keep exploring AI and renovate more of its stores.
It will also re-evaluate its design ranks.
Roots announced Friday that chief product officer Karuna Scheinfeld has stepped down.
Rather than fill the role, the company plans to hire senior level design talent with international experience in the outdoor and activewear sectors who will take on tasks previously done by the chief product officer.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
