The latest:
Alberta’s top doctor is urging people to follow both the “detail and the spirit” of public health measures as the province deals with community spread of a variant of concern first reported in the U.K.
A tracking site maintained by federal officials showed that as of Wednesday evening, Alberta had 1,078 reported cases of the B117 variant — trailing only Ontario, which had 1,134 reported cases of the variant.
“The B117 variant is spreading in many different contexts and many different settings,” Dr. Deena Hinshaw said at a briefing on Wednesday. “And we’re seeing higher attack rates than we typically do in settings where people are exposed.”
Hinshaw said that so far, the cases the province has seen of the P1 variant (linked to Brazil) and the B1351 variant (first reported in South Africa) have been few in number and linked to travel.
The B117 variant, however, has been established in the community.
“While we are continuing to work hard to slow its spread, it is spreading in all zones of our province.”
We have ID’d 50 new cases of the variant of concern, which make up about 11% of our active COVID-19 cases. Looking to schools, there are active alerts or outbreaks in 283 schools, about 12% of schools in AB w/ 1,199 cases since Jan. 11. (2/10)
—@CMOH_Alberta
Hinshaw said that while vaccination efforts are ramping up, the province is not yet at a point where the vaccination coverage is sufficient to “prevent severe outcomes.”
“For the next couple of months, including spring break, we need to just hold on and protect our communities with our choices.”
Hinshaw highlighted some progress around vaccinations, pointing to the province’s plan to offer first doses to all adults who want one by the end of June.
Alberta is not the only province concerned about the spread of variants of concern. As of Wednesday evening, the Public Health Agency of Canada had reported more than 4,200 cases of the variants, including:
- 3,946 of the B117 variant.
- 240 of the B1351 variant.
- 71 of the P1 variant.
Ontario has seen the highest total number of cases of variants of concern of any province, with 1,134 cases of the B117 variant, 47 of the B1351 variant and 34 of the P1 variant.
In Saskatchewan, there’s growing worry about variants of concern in Regina, which has seen more than 80 per cent of the province’s variant cases.
Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam said on Twitter that with the increase of variant cases, “maintaining public health measures and individual precautions is crucial to reducing infection rates and avoiding a rapid reacceleration of the epidemic and its severe outcomes.”
-From CBC News and The Canadian Press, last updated at 9:15 a.m. ET
What’s happening across Canada
WATCH | Inside the race to get COVID-19 vaccines to Canadians:
CBC’s David Cochrane goes inside the processes of vaccine delivery and distribution as well as the challenges to deliver on the promise of at least one shot for every Canadian who wants it by July 1. 4:08
As of 10:05 a.m. ET on Thursday, Canada had reported 920,797 cases of COVID-19, with 31,902 cases considered active. A CBC News tally of deaths stood at 22,569.
Ontario on Thursday reported 1,553 new cases of COVID-19 and 15 additional deaths. According to the province, there were 730 COVID-19 patients in hospital, including 304 in intensive care.
Premier Doug Ford is expected to provide an update on the province’s vaccine plan later in the day.
The top doctors in Ontario’s two main COVID-19 hot spots, meanwhile, have been preparing for warmer weather. Dr. Eileen de Villa and Dr. Lawrence Loh have said they’re seeking to ease some of the restrictions on outdoor activities in Toronto and Peel.
Both medical officers want to keep their communities in the strictest “grey-lockdown” category of Ontario’s colour-coded pandemic framework, but with adjustments that would allow for outdoor dining and fitness.
In Atlantic Canada, there were three cases of COVID-19 reported on Wednesday — two in Nova Scotia and one in New Brunswick. There were no new cases reported in Prince Edward Island or Newfoundland and Labrador.
In Quebec, health officials reported 703 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday and 13 more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus. Health officials also reported a rise in the number intensive care patients, up 16 compared with the prior day, for a total of 107. Total hospitalizations dropped by one, to 532.
In the Prairie provinces, Manitoba reported 96 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday and no additional deaths.
The Manitoba government also moved to reduce the minimum age for COVID-19 vaccines by two years — to 53 and up for First Nations people, and 73 and up for others. Those numbers do not include younger age groups with underlying health conditions that are already eligible for vaccination.
In Saskatchewan, health officials reported 87 new cases and one additional death on Wednesday. The Saskatchewan Health Authority urged people to be vigilant in the face of variant of concern cases, particularly in the Regina area.
Across the North, Nunavut will now count 12 additional cases of COVID-19, including three deaths, in the territory’s total case count. The new numbers come from Nunavut residents who caught COVID-19 or died from the virus while in Manitoba.
Nunavut Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Michael Patterson said it’s been unclear since the start of the pandemic which jurisdiction these numbers would fall under. The cases and deaths occurred between December 2020 and January 2021. Patterson said attribution of cases of COVID-19 acquired outside the territory will continue to occur on a case-by-case basis.
There were no new cases reported in Yukon or the Northwest Territories on Wednesday.
In British Columbia, health officials reported 498 new cases of COVID-19 and four additional deaths. A joint statement from Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix said no data about variant cases was available Wednesday due to a lab sequencing issue.
-From The Canadian Press and CBC News, last updated at 10:05 a.m. ET
What’s happening around the world
As of early Thursday morning, more than 121.2 million cases of COVID-19 had been reported worldwide, according to a tracking tool maintained by Johns Hopkins University. The global death toll stood at more than 2.6 million.
In Africa, the head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the suspension of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in some European Union nations hurts efforts to build public confidence and trust in vaccines on the continent of 1.3 billion people.
John Nkengasong said in a briefing Thursday that despite “unfortunate events” in Europe, African nations should continue rolling out the AstraZeneca vaccine, the only shot currently available in many countries that have accessed batches of it through the COVAX initiative.
Nkengasong said a recent meeting convened by his group concluded that vaccine-related decisions in Africa should not be “based on anything that is subjective.” He said instead there should be continuous monitoring and reporting of any adverse events following inoculations.
At least 22 of Africa’s 54 nations have received more than 14 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine as of March 13, according to the World Health Organization.
The European Medicines Agency, which is expected to update its findings later Thursday, has said there is “no indication” the AstraZeneca shot is responsible for dangerous blood clots in a few recipients. The World Health Organization has also said the benefits of the vaccine outweigh any risks and recommends its continued use. Other European nations are proceeding with vaccinations despite safety worries in countries such as Germany.
In Europe, Italy inaugurated a living monument to its COVID-19 dead Thursday as it marked the anniversary of one of the most haunting moments of the pandemic: when Bergamo’s death toll reached such heights that an army convoy had to transport coffins out because its cemeteries and crematoriums were full.
Premier Mario Draghi visited the northern city on Thursday to commemorate a national day of mourning for Italy’s coronavirus victims. Flags flew at half-mast around the country and public authorities observed a minute of silence.
Draghi laid a wreath at Bergamo’s cemetery and inaugurated a forest named in honour of the more than 100,000 victims in Italy, the first country in the West to be hit by the outbreak.
“This wood doesn’t only contain only the memory of the many victims,” Draghi said. “This place is a symbol of the pain of an entire nation.”
The anniversary came as much of Italy including Bergamo is under new lockdown, with schools and restaurants shuttered, amid a new surge of infections. And it comes as Italy’s halting vaccination campaign has slowed down further because of the suspension of AstraZeneca shots pending review.
France is set to announce new coronavirus restrictions on Thursday, including a potential lockdown in the Paris region and in the north of the country, as the number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care units spikes.
“We will make the decisions we need to make,” French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday while visiting the hospital of Poissy and Saint-Germain-en-Laye, west of Paris. He said measures will be “pragmatic, proportionated and targeted.”
Prime Minister Jean Castex is scheduled to detail new restrictions on Thursday. The virus is rapidly spreading in the Paris region, where the rate of infection has reached over 420 per 100,000 inhabitants and ICUs are closed to saturation. France’s nationwide infection rate is about 250 per 100,000.
In the Asia-Pacific region, India and Pakistan reported a big jump in new coronavirus infections on Thursday, driven by a resurgence in cases in their richest states.
In efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19, Punjab state in India extended a night curfew across nine districts and the New Delhi city government announced an increase of vaccinations to 125,000 doses per day from around 40,000 at present, officials said.
Local authorities in the Indian state of Odisha sought additional vaccine doses, and in Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state, authorities ordered schools and colleges to be shut across eight administrative divisions until April 10. Officials in India have blamed the surge in infections mainly on crowding and a reluctance to wear masks. Pakistan says the coronavirus variant first found in Britain may also be a factor.
Maharashtra state, home to India’s commercial capital Mumbai, reported 23,179 of the country’s 35,871 new cases in the past 24 hours, and the rapid spread in industrial areas raised risks of companies’ production being disrupted.
India’s total cases stood at 11.47 million, the highest after the United States and Brazil. Deaths rose by 172 to 159,216, according to health ministry data on Thursday.
India’s first wave peaked in September at nearly 100,000 cases a day, with daily infections dropping to just over 9,000 early last month.
In Pakistan, 3,495 people tested positive in the past 24 hours, the most daily infections since early December. Total cases passed 615,000. Deaths rose by 61 to 13,717. Most of the new cases came from Pakistan’s largest and richest province, Punjab.
Pakistani minister Asad Umar said hospital beds were filling fast, and warned of stricter curbs if rules were not followed.
“The new strain (first found in Britain) spreads faster and is more deadly,” he said on Twitter.
In the Americas, Paraguayan opposition lawmakers lost a bid to impeach President Mario Abdo over the government’s handling of the pandemic.
The United States is investing $12.25 billion on ramping up COVID-19 testing to help schools reopen safely and promote testing equity among high-risk and under-served populations.
-From The Associated Press and Reuters, last updated at 9:10 a.m. ET
