The United States on Wednesday widened its network for administering COVID-19 vaccines to doctors and nurses on the frontlines of a pandemic that has killed more than 307,000 people in the country, even as a major storm threatened to slow progress on the East Coast.
While medical professionals at a growing number of hospitals rolled up their sleeves, lawmakers on Capitol Hill said they were nearing a long-elusive bipartisan deal on $900 billion US in economic relief to pandemic-hit U.S. workers and businesses.
The aid package, to be attached to a massive spending bill that must pass by Friday to avert a federal shutdown, was not expected to include COVID-relief funds for state and local governments, as Democrats wanted, or protections for companies from pandemic-related lawsuits, as sought by Republicans.
Rollout of the first tranche of 2.9 million doses of a newly authorized vaccine from Pfizer Inc. and German partner BioNTech SE was in its third full day, with shipments headed to 66 more U.S. distribution hubs nationwide.
Miguel Reider walks near a traffic jam caused by vehicles stuck on a hill during a snowstorm on Wednesday in Towson, Md. Reider and friend Tim Winter, who lives down the street, walked up to help push motorists up the incline. (Julio Cortez/The Associated Press)
Express delivery companies FedEx and United Parcel Service, sharing a leading role in vaccine shipments, said they were monitoring potential impacts of heavy ice and snow that began to disrupt transport along the Eastern Seaboard.
U.S. Army Gen. Gustave Perna, overseeing the government’s Operation Warp Speed campaign, said FedEx and UPS have developed contingency plans to keep any delayed vaccine shipments secure until they can be “delivered the next day.”
“We are on track with all the deliveries we said we were doing,” Perna told reporters at a briefing. He cited a minor glitch involving four trays of vaccine — two sent to California and two to Alabama — that arrived at temperatures lower than prescribed. The trays in question were shipped back to Pfizer and later replaced, Perna said.
Some 570 other vaccine distribution centres received the bulk of the initial batch of shipments on Monday and Tuesday, and an even larger wave was due for delivery to 886 additional locations on Friday, Perna said.
From each distribution site, vaccine doses were divided up among area hospitals and administered to health-care workers, designated as first in line to be immunized. Some were also going to residents and staff of long-term care facilities. Later vaccine rounds will go to other essential workers, senior citizens and people with chronic health conditions.
U.S. president-elect Joe Biden, who has said he would get the vaccine publicly to help instill confidence in its safety, is expected to receive his first injection as soon as next week, according to his transition team. Biden, 78, is in a high-risk category for the coronavirus due to his age.
‘It’s not over yet’
Political leaders and medical authorities in the meantime have launched a media blitz assuring Americans that the vaccines are safe while urging them to avoid growing weary of social distancing and mask-wearing while the pandemic rages on.
“It is not over yet,” Dr Anthony Fauci, a member of the White House coronavirus task force, told CBS News. “Public health measures are the bridge to get to the vaccine, which is going to get us out of this.”
With hospitalizations setting a record for the 19th day in a row — nearly 113,000 patients under treatment on Wednesday — health experts warn that fatalities will rise higher still in the weeks ahead, even as the vaccine campaign steadily expands.
Canadian officials have had a similar message, urging people to follow all local public health rules and keep up mask wearing, social distancing and hand hygiene as the vaccine effort gets underway.
What’s happening across Canada
WATCH | ‘An act of love:’ Reflections on getting COVID-19 vaccine:
Rabbi Ronnie Cahana was among the residents of Montreal’s Maimonides Geriatric Centre to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. He and his daughter, Kitra, reflected on the moment after several difficult months in a long-term care home hit hard by the virus. 1:55
As of 10:45 a.m ET on Thursday, Canada’s COVID-19 case count stood at 484,062, with 76,285 of those cases considered active. A CBC News tally of deaths based on provincial reports, regional health information and CBC’s reporting stood at 13,822.
Ontario reported a new daily high of 2,432 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday and 23 additional deaths.
Hospitalizations stood at 919, with 263 COVID-19 patients in the province’s intensive care units.
The update from health officials comes after hospitals in the province called for new and stricter lockdowns in hard-hit regions to halt the rapid spread of COVID-19.
Ontario is reporting 2,432 cases of <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/COVID19?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#COVID19</a> and nearly 58,200 tests completed. Locally, there are 737 new cases in Toronto, 434 in Peel, 209 in York Region, 190 in Windsor-Essex County and 142 in Hamilton. There are 2,009 more resolved cases.
The Ontario Hospital Association’s board of directors is making the request to the province after holding an emergency meeting to discuss hospital capacity issues amid surging infections. It is asking the government to implement a four-week lockdown in every public health unit with an infection rate of 40 per 100,000 population or higher.
The province remains “firmly caught in the grasp of a major second wave of COVID-19,” the statement released early Thursday said, adding that health-care workers are being asked to carry “a very heavy burden.”
WATCH | Ontario hospitals prepare for emergency surge capacity during pandemic:
Ontario hospitals have had to ready their COVID-19 emergency plans and prepare to make space in ICUs. For Ontarians already waiting for medical procedures, the threat of delays is rising along with hospitalization figures. 2:02
In Quebec, schools are closed and most office workers will be working from home from Thursday until at least Jan. 11 as new public health restrictions kick in.
Health officials in the province reported 1,897 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday and 43 additional deaths, bringing the provincial death toll to 7,613. Hospitalizations in Quebec increased to 975, with 128 people in intensive care units.
COVID-19 vaccination efforts got underway Wednesday in all the Atlantic provinces except for New Brunswick, which is set to begin its campaign on the weekend.
Health officials in Manitoba reported 292 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday and 15 additional deaths, bringing the death toll in the province to 523.
Manitoba got its vaccination effort underway Wednesday and plans to give 900 health-care workers the Pfizer-BioNTech shot this week.
A new restriction stating that people in the province can no longer have guests in their homes goes into effect Thursday, along with several other public-health rules, and will remain in force until at least Jan. 15.
There will be some exceptions to the new household visit rule — for example, those who live alone can socialize with people in another household that has no more than five occupants.
WATCH | Saskatchewan hospitals overloaded even as COVID-19 cases decline:
Daily COVID-19 cases in Saskatchewan are declining, but hospitals and ICUs in the province are overloaded. All the while, many residents are growing frustrated with what they call mixed messages and contradictory restrictions. 2:02
Alberta reported 1,270 new cases of COVID-19 — one of the province’s lowest daily infection counts in weeks — and 16 additional deaths on Wednesday. Hospitalizations stood at 749, with 139 COVID-19 patients in the province’s intensive care units, according to the province.
The province’s top doctor said an Edmonton arena is being set up as an alternate hospital with help from the Canadian Red Cross. Chief medical health officer Dr. Deena Hinshaw says Alberta Health Services and the national charity are putting 100 patient beds in the Butterdome arena at the University of Alberta. It will take a few weeks to set up the site, but there is no plan to staff it unless the beds are needed, Hinshaw said
In British Columbia, health officials reported 640 new cases of COVID-19 and 16 additional deaths. There have now been 692 deaths in the province since the pandemic began.
A joint statement from provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix says 409 doses of the COVID vaccine were administered on Tuesday and the province expects to see weekly vaccine deliveries starting next week.
Across the North, there were no new cases of COVID-19 reported in Yukon, the Northwest Territories or Nunavut.
What’s happening around the world
From The Associated Press and Reuters, last updated at 10:40 a.m. ET
As of late Thursday morning, more than 74.4 million cases of COVID-19 had been reported worldwide with more than 42.1 million of those cases considered recovered or resolved, according to a COVID-19 tracking tool maintained by Johns Hopkins University. The global death toll stood at more than 1.6 million.
In the Asia-Pacific region, South Korea reported a record number of coronavirus deaths on Thursday as the country’s biggest wave of infections since the start of the pandemic strained hospital resources and sparked panic-buying in anticipation of a harsh new lockdown.
A medical worker prepares to conduct a COVID-19 test at a coronavirus testing site, temporarily set up near a subway station in Seoul on Thursday. (Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters)
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on Thursday said the COVID-19 death toll was now at 634 after 22 patients died in the past 24 hours, the deadliest day since the emergence of the pandemic. Among 12,209 active patients, 242 are in serious or critical condition.
The Japanese capital, Tokyo, faced with acute strains on its medical system from the pandemic, raised its alert level to the highest of four stages on Thursday as the number of new COVID-19 cases spiked to a record daily high of 822.
In Africa, Nigeria expects to receive its first doses of a vaccine in January.
In the Middle East, Saudi Arabia has kicked off its COVID-19 inoculation campaign, with the health minister receiving the first dose a week after authorities approved the Pfizer vaccine.
Saudi Arabia has kicked off its COVID-19 vaccination program. (Fayez Nureldine/AFP/Getty Images)
The Gaza Strip has recorded more than 1,000 coronavirus cases in one day for the first time since an outbreak began there, threatening to further overwhelm the territory’s decrepit health system.
In the Americas, health officials in Alaska have reported that a second health-care worker had an adverse reaction to a COVID-19 vaccine.
Bartlett Regional Hospital in Juneau said the two workers showed adverse reactions about 10 minutes after receiving the vaccine and were treated. One received the vaccine Tuesday and will remain in the hospital another night under observation while the other, vaccinated Wednesday, has fully recovered.
U.S. health authorities warned doctors to be on the lookout for rare allergic reactions when they rolled out the first vaccine, made by Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech. Britain had reported a few similar allergic reactions a week earlier.
The Inter-American Development Bank said it would mobilize $1 billion US to help countries in Latin America and the Caribbean acquire and distribute COVID-19 vaccines, adding to some $1.2 billion already committed in 2020.
Pfizer has not yet applied for emergency use of its COVID-19 vaccine in Brazil, health regulator Anvisa said on Thursday, adding that the company has not yet provided enough data for the vaccine to be used locally.
In Europe, Denmark is shutting down nationwide, with shopping malls and department stores ordered to close as of Wednesday and small shops — except for food stores and pharmacies — told to shut as of Dec. 25.
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the restrictions will apply until Jan. 3. Hairdressers and beauty shops will close as of Dec. 21.
Frederiksen said she was “deeply concerned about how it will go in the coming winter months,” adding that Denmark’s “health-care system is under pressure.”
An empty mall is pictured in Aarhus, Denmark, on Thursday. The country’s prime minister said that an ‘epidemic that is running out of control will have major consequences, and greater consequences than shutting down now.’ (Mikkel Berg Pedersen/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP/Getty Images)
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said people should exercise extreme caution but he refused to outlaw festive family gatherings as cases soared across swathes of Britain.
Bulgaria’s government is extending a nationwide lockdown until the end of January, as the number of new coronavirus infections and fatalities remain high and is putting pressure on the overloaded health-care system.
The number of infections in the Netherlands, meanwhile, jumped by more than 11,000 in 24 hours, hitting a new record.
TORONTO – Will Taylor Swift bring chaos or do we all need to calm down?
It’s a question many Torontonians are asking this week as the city braces for the arrival of Swifties, the massive fan base of one of the world’s biggest pop stars.
Hundreds of thousands are expected to descend on the downtown core for the singer’s six concerts which kick off Thursday at the Rogers Centre and run until Nov. 23.
And while their arrival will be a boon to tourism dollars — the city estimates more than $282 million in economic impact — some worry it could worsen Toronto’s gridlock by clogging streets that already come to a standstill during rush hour.
Swift’s shows are set to collide with sports events at the nearby Scotiabank Arena, including a Raptors game on Friday and a Leafs game on Saturday.
Some residents and local businesses have already adjusted their plans to avoid the area and its planned road closures.
Aahil Dayani says he and some friends intended to throw a birthday bash for one of their pals until they realized it would overlap with the concerts.
“Something as simple as getting together and having dinner is now thrown out the window,” he said.
Dayani says the group rescheduled the gathering for after Swift leaves town. In the meantime, he plans to hunker down at his Toronto residence.
“Her coming into town has kind of changed up my social life,” he added.
“We’re pretty much just not doing anything.”
Max Sinclair, chief executive and founder of A.I. technology firm Ecomtent, suggested his employees avoid the company’s downtown offices on concert days, saying he doesn’t see the point in forcing people to endure potential traffic jams.
“It’s going to be less productive for us, and it’s going to be just a pain for everyone, so it’s easier to avoid it,” Sinclair said.
“We’re a hybrid company, so we can be flexible. It just makes sense.”
Swift’s concerts are the latest pop culture moment to draw attention to Toronto’s notoriously disastrous daily commute.
In June, One Direction singer Niall Horan uploaded a social media video of himself walking through traffic to reach the venue for his concert.
“Traffic’s too bad in Toronto, so we’re walking to the venue,” he wrote in the post.
Toronto Transit Commission spokesperson Stuart Green says the public agency has been working for more than a year on plans to ease the pressure of so many Swifties in one confined area.
“We are preparing for something that would be akin to maybe the Beatles coming in the ‘60s,” he said.
Dozens of buses and streetcars have been added to transit routes around the stadium, and the TTC has consulted the city on potential emergency scenarios.
Green will be part of a command centre operated by the City of Toronto and staffed by Toronto police leaders, emergency services and others who have handled massive gatherings including the Raptors’ NBA championship parade in 2019.
“There may be some who will say we’re over-preparing, and that’s fair,” Green said.
“But we know based on what’s happened in other places, better to be over-prepared than under-prepared.”
Metrolinx, the agency for Ontario’s GO Transit system, has also added extra trips and extended hours in some regions to accommodate fans looking to travel home.
A day before Swift’s first performance, the city began clearing out tents belonging to homeless people near the venue. The city said two people were offered space in a shelter.
“As the area around Rogers Centre is expected to receive a high volume of foot traffic in the coming days, this area has been prioritized for outreach work to ensure the safety of individuals in encampments, other residents, businesses and visitors — as is standard for large-scale events,” city spokesperson Russell Baker said in a statement.
Homeless advocate Diana Chan McNally questioned whether money and optics were behind the measure.
“People (in the area) are already in close proximity to concerts, sports games, and other events that generate massive amounts of traffic — that’s nothing new,” she said in a statement.
“If people were offered and willingly accepted a shelter space, free of coercion, I support that fully — that’s how it should happen.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Hundreds of Taylor Swift fans lined up outside the gates of Toronto’s Rogers Centre Wednesday, with hopes of snagging some of the pop star’s merchandise on the eve of the first of her six sold-out shows in the city.
Swift is slated to perform at the venue from Thursday to Saturday, and the following week from Nov. 21 to Nov. 23, with concert merchandise available for sale on some non-show days.
Swifties were all smiles as they left the merch shop, their arms full of sweaters and posters bearing pictures of the star and her Eras Tour logo.
Among them was Zoe Haronitis, 22, who said she waited in line for about two hours to get $300 worth of merchandise, including some apparel for her friends.
Haronitis endured the autumn cold and the hefty price tag even though she hasn’t secured a concert ticket. She said she’s hunting down a resale ticket and plans to spend up to $600.
“I haven’t really budgeted anything,” Haronitis said. “I don’t care how much money I spent. That was kind of my mindset.”
The megastar’s merchandise costs up to $115 for a sweater, and $30 for tote bags and other accessories.
Rachel Renwick, 28, also waited a couple of hours in line for merchandise, but only spent about $70 after learning that a coveted blue sweater and a crewneck had been snatched up by other eager fans before she got to the shop. She had been prepared to spend much more, she said.
“The two prized items sold out. I think a lot more damage would have been done,” Renwick said, adding she’s still determined to buy a sweater at a later date.
Renwick estimated she’s spent about $500 in total on “all-things Eras Tour,” including her concert outfit and merchandise.
The long queue for Swift merch is just a snapshot of what the city will see in the coming days. It’s estimated that up to 500,000 visitors from outside Toronto will be in town during the concert period.
Tens of thousands more are also expected to attend Taylgate’24, an unofficial Swiftie fan event scheduled to be held at the nearby Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
Meanwhile, Destination Toronto has said it anticipates the economic impact of the Eras Tour could grow to $282 million as the money continues to circulate.
But for fans like Haronitis, the experience in Toronto comes down to the Swiftie community. Knowing that Swift is going to be in the city for six shows and seeing hundreds gather just for merchandise is “awesome,” she said.
Even though Haronitis hasn’t officially bought her ticket yet, she said she’s excited to see the megastar.
“It’s literally incredible.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13, 2024.
OTTAWA – Via Rail is asking for a judicial review on the reasons why Canadian National Railway Co. has imposed speed restrictions on its new passenger trains.
The Crown corporation says it is seeking the review from the Federal Court after many attempts at dialogue with the company did not yield valid reasoning for the change.
It says the restrictions imposed last month are causing daily delays on Via Rail’s Québec City-Windsor corridor, affecting thousands of passengers and damaging Via Rail’s reputation with travellers.
CN says in a statement that it imposed the restrictions at rail crossings given the industry’s experience and known risks associated with similar trains.
The company says Via has asked the courts to weigh in even though Via has agreed to buy the equipment needed to permanently fix the issues.
Via said in October that no incidents at level crossings have been reported in the two years since it put 16 Siemens Venture trains into operation.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13, 2024.
