Canada’s chief public health officer said Sunday that the country is seeing more infections from coronavirus variants of concern, adding that now is a “crucial moment” to tamp down on the spread of COVID-19.
“In parts of Canada, variants of concern represent an increasingly high proportion of cases and are being associated with a greater number of outbreaks,” Dr. Theresa Tam said in a statement.
“If we can keep up with personal protective measures and limit our contacts for a final push to keep COVID-19 infection rates down as vaccine programs scale up, we can keep the path clear for vaccines to do their part.”
Tam said there have been 4,499 cases of coronavirus variants confirmed in Canada as of Thursday. Variants of concern are taking a particularly strong hold in Western Canada, with Regina seeing nearly all of its cases from the variants, prompting health officials to urge caution and warn that lockdowns may return.
Have a question or something to say? CBC News is live in the comments now.
1/2 <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/COVID19?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#COVID19</a> key concerns in ????????: With vaccine programs expanding, infection rates are dropping in adults >80 years & fewer outbreaks in long term care reassure us that vaccines will bring more & greater benefits in the weeks to come. <a href=”https://t.co/6ijCCnrMeG”>https://t.co/6ijCCnrMeG</a>
However, Tam noted that cases are down nationally and said she is encouraged by Canada’s vaccine numbers. More than 670,000 doses were administered in the past week, she said, out of more than 3.68 million overall.
“Each week, a new high is being set for the number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered, and we can expect more and greater benefits to come,” Tam said.
What’s happening across Canada
As of 6 p.m. on Sunday, Canada had reported 933,790 cases of COVID-19, with 35,009 cases considered active. A CBC News tally of deaths stood at 22,679.
The province says there is an elevated risk of COVID-19 in Regina due to community transmission of coronavirus variants. It recommends that Regina and area residents, particularly those over age 50, not increase their household bubbles to include the two to three households up to 10 people allowed under current regulations. They should consider remaining with their current household only, the province says.
WATCH | Officials urge caution as variants take hold in Western Canada:
The COVID-19 variants are taking hold in much of Western Canada with confirmed cases doubling in some provinces and Regina seeing nearly all its cases from the variants, prompting health officials to urge caution and warn that lockdowns may return. 1:32
Health Minister Christine Elliott says residents aged 75 and older will be able to book vaccination appointments online starting on Monday.
Starting March 22, Ontarians aged 75+ will be able to book vaccination appointments online at <a href=”https://t.co/pxlgLpkLxR”>https://t.co/pxlgLpkLxR</a> or call the Provincial Vaccine Information Line at 1-888-999-6488. Please only access the booking tool or call for support if you’re eligible for an appointment. <a href=”https://t.co/aesDfsEj5a”>pic.twitter.com/aesDfsEj5a</a>
Starting on March 26, three of the province’s regions are set to move to the yellow alert level.
That means restrictions will loosen, bars can reopen and curfews will be cancelled in the Gaspé and the Magdalen Islands, the North Shore and Northern Quebec.
Nova Scotia reported six new cases, the highest daily number in two weeks. The province now has 21 known active cases.
In a news release, Premier Iain Rankin noted that Sunday is the last day of March break, and he urged teachers and children to remain vigilant.
“Please remember to keep doing what we have been doing so well all along,” he said. “Keep our social circles small, follow public health measures and get tested.”
WATCH | Atlantic bubble set for April reopening:
Four premiers have planned to reopen the Atlantic bubble in mid-April, allowing people to travel between Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, P.E.I. and New Brunswick without isolating. 1:56
New Brunswick added one new case on Sunday as the province announced a program to vaccinate high school teachers.
It’s expected that this week, 4,500 staff from high schools province-wide will receive a first dose at a clinic in one of 16 locations. Schools will be closed to students on the days that local clinics are being held to allow for high school staff to be vaccinated and plan for the full return to school.
Newfoundland and Labrador‘s active caseload remains at five after the province again saw no new infections on Sunday.
N.L. is moving into Phase 2 of its vaccine rollout, meaning those who are 70 and older can pre-register for their shot. The Department of Health said registration can be done online, but people will not receive a separate email confirmation after pre-registering.
What’s happening around the world
As of Sunday, more than 122.9 million cases of COVID-19 had been reported worldwide with 69.3 million cases listed as recovered, according to a tracking tool maintained by Johns Hopkins University. The global death toll stood at more than 2.7 million.
In Asia, India reported 43,846 new cases — its highest number of new infections in four months — amid a worrying surge that has prompted multiple states to return to some form of restrictions on public gathering.
A person is tested for COVID-19 at a long distance train station in Mumbai on Sunday. (Rafiq Maqbool/The Associated Press)
In Europe, Romania on Sunday recorded 1,334 COVID-19 patients in intensive care units — its highest number since the pandemic began.
In the Americas, Colombia became the first country in the region to receive a shipment of vaccines from the United Nations-backed COVAX initiative after more than a million doses of Chinese-developed Sinovac and AstraZeneca shots touched down in Bogota late Saturday.
In Africa, Guy Brice Parfait Kolélas, the leading opposition presidential candidate in Republic of Congo, was receiving oxygen at a private hospital after being diagnosed with COVID-19, a family member said, casting Sunday’s election into doubt.
Have questions about this story? We’re answering as many as we can in the comments.
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese technology group SoftBank swung back to profitability in the July-September quarter, boosted by positive results in its Vision Fund investments.
Tokyo-based SoftBank Group Corp. reported Tuesday a fiscal second quarter profit of nearly 1.18 trillion yen ($7.7 billion), compared with a 931 billion yen loss in the year-earlier period.
Quarterly sales edged up about 6% to nearly 1.77 trillion yen ($11.5 billion).
SoftBank credited income from royalties and licensing related to its holdings in Arm, a computer chip-designing company, whose business spans smartphones, data centers, networking equipment, automotive, consumer electronic devices, and AI applications.
The results were also helped by the absence of losses related to SoftBank’s investment in office-space sharing venture WeWork, which hit the previous fiscal year.
WeWork, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2023, emerged from Chapter 11 in June.
SoftBank has benefitted in recent months from rising share prices in some investment, such as U.S.-based e-commerce company Coupang, Chinese mobility provider DiDi Global and Bytedance, the Chinese developer of TikTok.
SoftBank’s financial results tend to swing wildly, partly because of its sprawling investment portfolio that includes search engine Yahoo, Chinese retailer Alibaba, and artificial intelligence company Nvidia.
SoftBank makes investments in a variety of companies that it groups together in a series of Vision Funds.
The company’s founder, Masayoshi Son, is a pioneer in technology investment in Japan. SoftBank Group does not give earnings forecasts.
Shopify Inc. executives brushed off concerns that incoming U.S. President Donald Trump will be a major detriment to many of the company’s merchants.
“There’s nothing in what we’ve heard from Trump, nor would there have been anything from (Democratic candidate) Kamala (Harris), which we think impacts the overall state of new business formation and entrepreneurship,” Shopify’s chief financial officer Jeff Hoffmeister told analysts on a call Tuesday.
“We still feel really good about all the merchants out there, all the entrepreneurs that want to start new businesses and that’s obviously not going to change with the administration.”
Hoffmeister’s comments come a week after Trump, a Republican businessman, trounced Harris in an election that will soon return him to the Oval Office.
On the campaign trail, he threatened to impose tariffs of 60 per cent on imports from China and roughly 10 per cent to 20 per cent on goods from all other countries.
If the president-elect makes good on the promise, many worry the cost of operating will soar for companies, including customers of Shopify, which sells e-commerce software to small businesses but also brands as big as Kylie Cosmetics and Victoria’s Secret.
These merchants may feel they have no choice but to pass on the increases to customers, perhaps sparking more inflation.
If Trump’s tariffs do come to fruition, Shopify’s president Harley Finkelstein pointed out China is “not a huge area” for Shopify.
However, “we can’t anticipate what every presidential administration is going to do,” he cautioned.
He likened the uncertainty facing the business community to the COVID-19 pandemic where Shopify had to help companies migrate online.
“Our job is no matter what comes the way of our merchants, we provide them with tools and service and support for them to navigate it really well,” he said.
Finkelstein was questioned about the forthcoming U.S. leadership change on a call meant to delve into Shopify’s latest earnings, which sent shares soaring 27 per cent to $158.63 shortly after Tuesday’s market open.
The Ottawa-based company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, reported US$828 million in net income for its third quarter, up from US$718 million in the same quarter last year, as its revenue rose 26 per cent.
Revenue for the period ended Sept. 30 totalled US$2.16 billion, up from US$1.71 billion a year earlier.
Subscription solutions revenue reached US$610 million, up from US$486 million in the same quarter last year.
Merchant solutions revenue amounted to US$1.55 billion, up from US$1.23 billion.
Shopify’s net income excluding the impact of equity investments totalled US$344 million for the quarter, up from US$173 million in the same quarter last year.
Daniel Chan, a TD Cowen analyst, said the results show Shopify has a leadership position in the e-commerce world and “a continued ability to gain market share.”
In its outlook for its fourth quarter of 2024, the company said it expects revenue to grow at a mid-to-high-twenties percentage rate on a year-over-year basis.
“Q4 guidance suggests Shopify will finish the year strong, with better-than-expected revenue growth and operating margin,” Chan pointed out in a note to investors.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
TORONTO – RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust says it has cut almost 10 per cent of its staff as it deals with a slowdown in the condo market and overall pushes for greater efficiency.
The company says the cuts, which amount to around 60 employees based on its last annual filing, will mean about $9 million in restructuring charges and should translate to about $8 million in annualized cash savings.
The job cuts come as RioCan and others scale back condo development plans as the market softens, but chief executive Jonathan Gitlin says the reductions were from a companywide efficiency effort.
RioCan says it doesn’t plan to start any new construction of mixed-use properties this year and well into 2025 as it adjusts to the shifting market demand.
The company reported a net income of $96.9 million in the third quarter, up from a loss of $73.5 million last year, as it saw a $159 million boost from a favourable change in the fair value of investment properties.
RioCan reported what it says is a record-breaking 97.8 per cent occupancy rate in the quarter including retail committed occupancy of 98.6 per cent.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
