Travellers returning to Canada from abroad are facing a new order requiring them to self-isolate, the latest measure from a government trying to deal with both a rise in COVID-19 cases and growing economic fallout.
The measure, which makes some exceptions for health-care workers and truckers, allows for fines and even jail times for people who ignore the order to stay home.
Canada Border Services Agency said on Twitter that people coming into Canada at ports of entry will be asked to make a declaration:
<a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/COVID19?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#COVID19</a>: Under the new Order for MANDATORY <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/SelfIsolation?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#SelfIsolation</a> that will be fully implemented by <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/CBSA?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#CBSA</a> at ports of entry by midnight tonight, anyone entering Canada by air, land or marine must declare to a CBSA border services officer: <a href=”https://t.co/TSO9HvGdWB”>pic.twitter.com/TSO9HvGdWB</a>
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said Wednesday that travellers “should be doing this already” but called the move a “serious further step.”
There have been questions about whether the government’s measures at the border to date have been strict enough, and further concern that some returning travellers weren’t complying with the self-isolation period. Premiers, including Ontario’s Doug Ford and Alberta’s Jason Kenney, addressed the concern earlier this week, prior to the mandatory measure from Ottawa.
At a news conference on Monday, Ford said: “If you’re coming from the airport, do not — I repeat, do not — stop at a store. Go directly home and self-isolate for 14 days.”
Kenney, speaking earlier this week, called the quarantine period for returning travellers an “absolute public health imperative” and calling on people to go “directly and immediately to your home without stopping.”
WATCH | Alberta says it will enforce public health orders, authorizes fines:
Premier Jason Kenney on Wednesday announced stringent new enforcement measures designed to make sure Albertans comply with public health orders. 3:21
Meanwhile, Ottawa announced a temporary program Wednesday designed to get money into the hands of people who are losing income because of the pandemic. The Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) collapses two previously announced programs into one in a bid to streamline the process of applying for the funding, which will provide eligible workers $2,000 a month for four months.
According to a Johns Hopkins University coronavirus tracker, there are more than 472,000 known cases of the novel coronavirus worldwide, with more than 21,300 deaths. The dashboard, which draws data from a range of sources including the World Health Organization and national health departments, lists the number of cases that are recovered or resolved at almost 115,000.
Spain’s death toll has risen above 3,400, eclipsing that of China, where the virus was first detected in December, and is now second only to that of Italy, which has 7,500. Lidia Perera, a nurse at Madrid’s 1,000-bed Hospital de la Paz, said more workers were desperately needed. “We are collapsing,” Perera said.
The novel coronavirus, which has been labelled SARS-CoV-2, was first reported in China in late 2019. The virus causes an illness called COVID-19.
The virus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. There are no proven treatments or vaccines, but researchers around the world are looking for both.
Read on for a look at what’s happening in Canada and the United States.
Here’s what’s happening in the provinces and territories
As of 6 a.m. ET Thursday, there were more than 3,400 confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 in Canada, with 36 deaths and 197 cases listed as recovered or resolved. (Not all provinces are listing details about people who have recovered.) A Canadian has also died abroad, in Japan. Dr. Theresa Tam said the COVID-19 related death was an individual who had been a passenger on the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which was an early hot spot for the virus.
British Columbia’s top doctor, Bonnie Henry, says 55 long-term care health workers have tested positive for COVID-19. Hospitals are preparing for an increase in cases, and Henry said the province is monitoring the supply of personal protective equipment because “the burn rate is much higher than we expected.” Read more about what’s happening in B.C.
Alberta, which has granted power to law enforcement agencies to enforce public-health orders, reported cases in two residents and a worker at a group home for adults with disabilities. Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the province’s chief medical officer of health, said: “Over the past two days, despite the aggressive measures already in place, it’s become clear that additional measures are needed.” Read more about what’s happening in Alberta.
Manitoba’s top public health officer says more restrictions could be coming as the province tries to tackle COVID-19. Dr. Brent Roussin said the lab is working “around the clock” to try and increase testing capacity, but added that social distancing is “vitally important” right now. Read more about what’s happening in Manitoba.
Ontario saw its largest single-day case number jump on Wednesday, with 100 new cases announced. The association representing registered nurses in the province, meanwhile, issued a call for more protective equipment, including masks, saying: “We are in a war and the enemy is the COVID-19 virus.” Read more about what’s happening in Ontario.
In Quebec,the province’s director of public health urged people to be honest about travel history and who they have been in contact with. “By hiding that information, you’re preventing doctors and our guardian angels from being able to protect themselves. By not collaborating, you are preventing us from doing an investigation that allows us to help people,” said Dr. Horacio Arruda. Read more about what’s happening in Quebec.
New Brunswick is increasing testing, but still lags behind neighbouring Nova Scotia because of problems earlier in the outbreak. “I want to assure the public New Brunswick is testing more people more widely as the situation evolves,” said Dr. Jennifer Russell, the province’s chief medical officer of health. Read more about what’s happening in New Brunswick, where a high school that sits empty during class cancellation is being used to help the homeless.
WATCH | Fredericton high school housing homeless during outbreak:
To make way for social distancing, the city’s out of the cold shelter has been moved to the Fredericton High School. 1:08
Prince Edward Island, which has five reported cases of COVID-19, has closed a transition facility for people with addictions as part of its fight against the coronavirus. Read more about what’s happening on P.E.I.
In Newfoundland and Labrador, the medical officer of health said the province will move ahead with testing for asymptomatic people who have been in contact with people who have COVID-19. “This is to make sure that we find as many positive people as we can and putting in the appropriate measures to reduce spread,” Dr. Janice Fitzgerald said.
From The Associated Press, updated at 6:30 a.m. ET
U.S. deaths from the coronavirus pandemic topped 1,000 in another grim milestone for a global outbreak that is taking lives and wreaking havoc on economies and the established routines of ordinary life.
In a recognition of the scale of the threat, the U.S. Senate late Wednesday passed an unparalleled $2.2 trillion economic rescue package steering aid to businesses, workers and health-care systems.
The unanimous vote came despite misgivings on both sides about whether it goes too far or not far enough and capped days of difficult negotiations as Washington confronted a national challenge unlike it has ever faced. The 880-page measure is the largest economic relief bill in U.S. history.
New York is the epicentre of the domestic outbreak in the U.S., accounting for more than 30,000 cases and close to 300 deaths, most of them in New York City.
Public health officials in the city hunted down beds and medical equipment and called for more doctors and nurses for fear the number of sick patients will overwhelm hospitals, as has happened in Italy and Spain.
A makeshift morgue was set up outside Bellevue Hospital, and the city’s police, their ranks dwindling as more fall ill, were told to patrol nearly empty streets to enforce social distancing.
Workers construct what is believed to be a makeshift morgue behind a hospital during the outbreak of COVID-19 in Manhattan on Wednesday. (Carlo Allegri/Reuters)
In Washington, President Donald Trump has called for Americans to dedicate themselves to social distancing for 15 days, including staying home from work and closing bars and restaurants to help try to stall the spread of the disease.
Yet, he has also grumbled that “our country wasn’t built to be shut down” and vowed not to allow “the cure be worse than the problem” — apparently concerned that the outbreak’s devastating effects on financial markets and employment will harm his chances for re-election later this year.
“The LameStream Media is the dominant force in trying to get me to keep our Country closed as long as possible in the hope that it will be detrimental to my election success,” Trump tweeted Wednesday.
WATCH | New York expecting the worst as epicentre of U.S. coronavirus outbreak:
A third of the COVID-19 cases in the U.S. are in New York and officials say they are already struggling with medical supplies and hospital beds. 2:05
Democrats say that Trump was prioritizing the economy over the health and safety of Americans.
“I’d like to say, let’s get back to work next Friday,” said Joe Biden, the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination. “That’d be wonderful. But it can’t be arbitrary.” Biden said the congressional aid package addressing the outbreak “goes a long way,” but that “meticulous oversight” is required.
“We’re going to need to make sure the money gets out quickly into peoples’ pockets and to keep a close watch on how corporations are using the taxpayers funds that they receive, to make sure it goes to help workers, not rich CEOs or shareholders,” the former vice-president said.
Here’s what’s happening in Italy, Spain and some other areas of Europe struggling with COVID-19
From The Associated Press, Reuters and CBC News, upated at 8 a.m. ET
In Spain, the coronavirus death toll rose to 4,089 on Thursday, up from 3,434 on Wednesday. Spain’s coronavirus lockdown was extended on Thursday to last until at least April 12 as the country struggled to tackle a fast increase in the death toll. In Madrid, Spain’s worst-affected region, hearses continued to arrive at the city’s ice rink, which was converted into a makeshift morgue after authorities said existing facilities lacked resources.
“It is not easy to extend the state of emergency,” Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in parliament. “I am convinced the only efficient option against the virus is social isolation.”
In Italy, COVID-19 related deaths topped 7,000 — but officials pointed to a sign of progress as the number of new cases reported went down for a fourth day. Premier Giuseppe Conte said 500 nurses and doctors are being sent to help in the hardest-hit areas of the country. According to a report in the Italian news outlet ANSA, a federation representing some medical professionals says 33 doctors and dentists have died. The same report cites a union that says 5,000 health workers have been infected.
Health-care workers dealing with the new coronavirus crisis applaud in return as they are cheered on by people outside the Burgos general hospital in Spain on Wednesday. (Cesar Manso/AFP/Getty Images)
France has begun evacuating its citizens infected with the coronavirus from the Alsace epicentre on board a special medicalized high-speed train. France’s health minister said that the TGV train-turned-hospital is a “first in Europe.”
Around 20 patients are being evacuated from Strasbourg to hospitals in the Pays-de-la-Loire and other regions Thursday morning, thanks to the medical locomotive. It consists of five cars, each one kitted out with medical material and attended by an anesthesiologist-resuscitator, an intern, a nurse anesthetist and three nurses. The train has been employed to relieve the French region worst hit by the coronavirus that has already claimed over 1,300 lives in France — almost half of whom have died in the Grand Est region’s hospitals.
Sweden saw a surge in the number of deaths that could change the Scandinavian country’s rather lax approach to keeping primary and elementary schools, restaurants and bars open and even encouraging people to go out and enjoy the spring sun. Health officials have within the past 24 hours seen an increase of 18 deaths since Wednesday, bringing the total to 62 deaths in the country of 10 million. Some 2,510 people have tested positive, of which 176 are in intensive care.
The head of Stockholm’s health service, Bjorn Eriksson, said “the storm is over us,” hours after Anders Tegnell of the Public Health Agency of Sweden told a news conference that the situation was “stable.”
In neighbouring Denmark, the government allegedly was planning to further tighten the law so that smaller groups — less than 10 — can be banned. And in Finland, the government said it will in an exceptional move block the movement of citizens into and out of a key southern region that includes the Nordic nation’s capital, Helsinki, to prevent the spreading of coronavirus to other areas. The Uusimaa region includes Helsinki and the move affects the daily lives of some 1.7 million people, nearly a third of Finland’s population.
WATCH | Canadians stuck in India as country goes into lockdown:
The thousands of Canadians stuck in India amid a COVID-19 lockdown are starting to lose hope, with no repatriation flights planned to get them out. 1:56
Montreal Alouettes wide receiver Tyson Philpot has announced he will be out for the rest of the CFL season.
The Delta, B.C., native posted the news on his Instagram page Thursday.
“To Be Continued. Shoutout my team, the fans of the CFL and the whole city of Montreal! I can’t wait to be back healthy and write this next chapter in 2025,” the statement read.
Philpot, 24, injured his foot in a 33-23 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Aug. 10 and was placed on the six-game injured list the next week.
The six-foot-one, 195-pound receiver had 58 receptions, 779 yards and five touchdowns in nine games for the league-leading Alouettes in his third season.
Philpot scored the game-winning touchdown in Montreal’s Grey Cup win last season to punctuate a six-reception, 63-yard performance.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa sustained a concussion for the third time in his NFL career, leaving his team’s game Thursday night against Buffalo after running into defensive back Damar Hamlin and hitting the back of his head against the turf.
Tagovailoa remained down for about two minutes before getting to his feet and walking to the sideline after the play in the third quarter. He made his way to the tunnel not long afterward, looking into the stands before smiling and departing toward the locker room.
The Dolphins needed almost no time before announcing it was a concussion. The team said he had two during the 2022 season, and Tagovailoa was diagnosed with another concussion when he was a college player at Alabama.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Tagovailoa would get “proper procedural evaluation” and “appropriate care” on Friday.
“The furthest thing from my mind is, ‘What is the timeline?’ We just need to evaluate and just worry about my teammate, like the rest of the guys are,” McDaniel said. “We’ll get more information tomorrow and take it day by day from here.”
Some players saw Tagovailoa in the locker room after the game and said they were encouraged. Tagovailoa spoke with some players and then went home after the game, McDaniel said.
“I have a lot of love for Tua, built a great relationship with him,” said quarterback Skylar Thompson, who replaced Tagovailoa after the injury. “You care about the person more than the player and everybody in the organization would say the same thing. Just really praying for Tua and hopefully everything will come out all right.”
Tagovailoa signed a four-year, $212 million extension before this season — a deal that makes him one of the highest-paid players in the NFL — and was the NFL’s leading passer in Week 1 this season. Tagovailoa left with the Dolphins trailing 31-10, and that was the final score.
“If you know Tua outside of football, you can’t help but feel for him,” Bills quarterback Josh Allen said on Amazon following the game. “He’s a great football player but he’s an even greater human being. He’s one of the best humans on the planet. I’ve got a lot of love for him and I’m just praying for him and his family, hoping everything’s OK. But it’s tough, man. This game of football that we play, it’s got its highs and it’s got its lows — and this is one of the lows.”
Tagovailoa’s college years and first three NFL seasons were marred by injury, though he positioned himself for a big pay bump with an injury-free and productive 2023 as he led the Dolphins into the playoffs. He threw for 29 touchdowns and a league-best 4,624 yards last year.
When, or if, he can come back this season is anyone’s guess. Tagovailoa said in April 2023 that the concussions he had in the 2022 season left him contemplating his playing future. “I think I considered it for a time,” he said then, when asked if he considered stepping away from the game to protect himself.
McDaniel said it’s not his place to say if Tagovailoa should return to football. “He’ll be evaluated and we’ll have conversations and progress as appropriate,” McDaniel said.
Tagovailoa was hurt Thursday on a fourth-down keeper with about 4:30 left in the third. He went straight ahead into Hamlin and did not slide, leading with his right shoulder instead.
Hamlin was the player who suffered a cardiac arrest after making a tackle during a Monday night game in January 2023 at Cincinnati, causing the NFL to suspend a pivotal game that quickly lost significance in the aftermath of a scary scene that unfolded in front of a national television audience.
Tagovailoa wound up on his back, both his hands in the air and Bills players immediately pointed at him as if to suggest there was an injury. Dolphins center Aaron Brewer quickly did the same, waving to the sideline.
Tagovailoa appeared to be making a fist with his right hand as he lay on the ground. It was movement consistent with something that is referred to as the “fencing response,” which can be common after a traumatic brain injury.
Tagovailoa eventually got to his feet. McDaniel grabbed the side of his quarterback’s head and gave him a kiss on the cheek as Tagovailoa departed. Thompson came into the game to take Tagovailoa’s spot.
“I love Tua on and off the football field,” Bills edge Von Miller said. “I’m a huge fan of him. I can empathize and sympathize with him because I’ve been there. I wish him the best.”
Tagovailoa’s history with concussions — and how he has since worked to avoid them — is a huge part of the story of his career, and now comes to the forefront once again.
He had at least two concussions during the 2022 season. He was hurt in a Week 3 game against Buffalo and cleared concussion protocol, though he appeared disoriented on that play but returned to the game.
The NFL later changed its concussion protocol to mandate that if a player shows possible concussion symptoms — including a lack of balance or stability — he must sit out the rest of the game.
Less than a week later, in a Thursday night game at Cincinnati, Tagovailoa was concussed on a scary hit that briefly knocked him unconscious and led to him being taken off the field on a stretcher.
His second known concussion of that season came in a December game against Green Bay, and he didn’t play for the rest of the 2022 season. After that, Tagovailoa began studying ways where he may be able to fall more safely and protect himself against further injury — including studying jiu-jitsu.
“I’m not worried about anything that’s out of my hands,” McDaniel said. “I’m just worried about the human being.”
NEW YORK (AP) — When her husband turns on the television to hear news about the upcoming presidential election, that’s often a signal for Lori Johnson Malveaux to leave the room.
It can get to be too much. Often, she’ll go to a TV in another room to watch a movie on the Hallmark Channel or BET. She craves something comforting and entertaining. And in that, she has company.
While about half of Americans say they are following political news “extremely” or “very” closely, about 6 in 10 say they need to limit how much information they consume about the government and politics to avoid feeling overloaded or fatigued, according to a new survey from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and USAFacts.
Make no mistake: Malveaux plans to vote. She always does. “I just get to the point where I don’t want to hear the rhetoric,” she said.
The 54-year-old Democrat said she’s most bothered when she hears people on the news telling her that something she saw with her own eyes — like the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol — didn’t really happen.
“I feel like I’m being gaslit. That’s the way to put it,” she said.
Sometimes it feels like ‘a bombardment’
Caleb Pack, 23, a Republican from Ardmore, Oklahoma, who works in IT, tries to keep informed through the news feeds on his phone, which is stocked with a variety of sources, including CNN, Fox News, The Wall Street Journal and The Associated Press.
Yet sometimes, Pack says, it seems like a bombardment.
“It’s good to know what’s going on, but both sides are pulling a little bit extreme,” he said. “It just feels like it’s a conversation piece everywhere, and it’s hard to escape it.”
Media fatigue isn’t a new phenomenon. A Pew Research Center survey conducted in late 2019 found roughly two in three Americans felt worn out by the amount of news there is, about the same as in a poll taken in early 2018. During the 2016 presidential campaign, about 6 in 10 people felt overloaded by campaign news.
But it can be particularly acute with news related to politics. The AP-NORC/USAFacts poll found that half of Americans feel a need to limit their consumption of information related to crime or overseas conflicts, while only about 4 in 10 are limiting news about the economy and jobs.
It’s easy to understand, with television outlets like CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC full of political talk and a wide array of political news online, sometimes complicated by disinformation.
“There’s a glut of information,” said Richard Coffin, director of research and advocacy for USAFacts, “and people are having a hard time figuring out what is true or not.”
Women are more likely to feel they need to limit media
In the AP-NORC poll, about 6 in 10 men said they follow news about elections and politics at least “very” closely, compared to about half of women. For all types of news, not just politics, women are more likely than men to report the need to limit their media consumption, the survey found.
White adults are also more likely than Black or Hispanic adults to say they need to limit media consumption on politics, the poll found.
Kaleb Aravzo, 19, a Democrat, gets a baseline of news by listening to National Public Radio in the morning at home in Logan, Utah. Too much politics, particularly when he’s on social media sites like TikTok and Instagram, can trigger anxiety and depression.
“If it pops up on my page when I’m on social media,” he said, “I’ll just scroll past it.”
___
Sanders reported from Washington. David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder.
The AP poll of 1,019 adults was conducted July 29-August 8, 2024, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.0 percentage points.
