Several European countries report record new cases.
Brazil’s COVID-19 death toll tops 150,000.
Canada’s chief public health officer says the spread of COVID-19 seems to be shifting toward seniors, while the hardest-hit provinces scramble to avoid a worst-case scenario for the second wave.
Dr. Theresa Tam said in a statement that while the summer saw cases concentrated in the 20-to-39 age range, infections are now increasing in older populations.
Tam said reports of outbreaks in long-term care and retirement homes have been rising in recent weeks but seem to be more contained than the eruption of cases that overwhelmed several facilities in April and May.
However, she warned that older Canadians are at higher risk for COVID-19 complications, and any spread in care homes often has deadly consequences.
Tam’s statement comes as the Ontario and Quebec governments work to rein in surging case counts with new restrictions in regional hot spots.
WATCH | Quebec, Ontario target hardest-hit regions with new restrictions:
Ontario and Quebec are introducing measures in the regions hardest hit by COVID-19 to try to slow the spread of the pandemic. Both provinces have seen surges in case counts. 6:00
What’s happening in Canada
As of 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, Canada had 180,179 confirmed or presumptive coronavirus cases. Provinces and territories listed 151,357 of those as recovered or resolved. A CBC News tally of deaths based on provincial reports, regional health information and CBC’s reporting stood at 9,608.
Manitoba reported two more deaths and 97 new cases on Saturday. The one-day jump in new cases is a new high for Manitoba, coming just a day after the previous record was set.
Ontario reported 809 new cases on Saturday and seven more deaths related to COVID-19, a day after recording yet another daily record with 939 new cases and five more deaths.
Premier Doug Ford closed gyms, movie theatres and casinos and banned indoor dining, and he asked people to stay home as much as possible for at least 28 days.
WATCH | Ottawa gym owner on closures:
Ashley Mathieu, who owns two Anytime Fitness locations, is frustrated her business is being closed in the current shutdown. 0:57
Saskatchewan saw a second-consecutive day of double-digit increases in cases on Saturday, recording 34 more. This follows 22 new cases reported Friday.
In Quebec, health officials confirmed 1,097 new cases Saturday and 13 more deaths. The province exceeded reporting more than 1,000 new infections for the eighth time in nine days.
Premier François Legault asked Quebecers to make sacrifices and avoid socializing over the long weekend as 433 more people landed in hospital — up eight patients from the day before, with 67 people in intensive care, one less than the day before.
A cyclist wearing a face mask rides past a sign for a COVID-19 testing clinic in Montreal on Saturday. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press)
Nova Scotia added three new cases Saturday, leaving the province with a total of five active cases.
Newfoundland and Labrador also added three new cases Saturday for a total of nine active cases.
New Brunswick announced 20 new cases on Saturday, with nine of the cases related to an outbreak at the Manoir Notre-Dame in Moncton. Officials also said there was a case confirmed at an elementary school in Dalhousie.
Education Minister Dominic Cardy announces a case of COVID-19 at a New Brunswick school on Saturday. (Gary Moore/CBC)
According to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, the global total of confirmed coronavirus cases stands at more than 36.9 million. More than one million people have died, while more than 25.7 million have recovered.
In Asia, India’s confirmed cases are nearing seven million with another 73,272 reported in the past 24 hours. India is seeing a slower pace of spread since mid-September, but health experts have warned that congregations during major festivals later this month and in November have the potential for the virus to spread.
WATCH | India struggles to control COVID-19 as cases reach 2nd highest in the world:
India has the world’s second-highest number of COVID-19 cases, growing by a seven-day average of 69,368. Yet despite a stigma against contracting coronavirus, few people seem to be taking precautions seriously. 2:01
In Europe, a number of countries are reporting record single-day jumps in new cases. The Czech Republic registered 8,618; neighbouring Slovakia, 1,887; Ireland, 1,012; and Portugal, 1,646.
Africa has seen more than 1.5 million confirmed cases and more than 37,000 deaths. The majority of the cases on the continent are in South Africa, which accounts for more than 688,000 cases.
In the Americas, Brazil registered 559 additional coronavirus deaths over the last 24 hours and 26,749 new cases, the nation’s Health Ministry said on Saturday. The South American country has now registered 5,082,637 total confirmed coronavirus cases and 150,198 total deaths.
Mexico’s Health Ministry on Saturday reported 4,577 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infection and 135 additional fatalities, bringing the total in the country to 814,328 cases and 83,642 deaths.
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.
