Americans awoke on Thursday to celebrate a Thanksgiving Day transformed by the pandemic, with the Macy’s parade limited to a television-only event and many families resigned to meeting on video for turkey dinner.
The parade in New York has been scaled back significantly. The route is a block long, rather than more than four kilometres; balloon handlers have been replaced by specially rigged vehicles; and spectators will not be allowed to line the streets as before.
U.S. hospitalizations for COVID-19 reached a record 88,000 on Wednesday, and experts warn that Thanksgiving could significantly boost a death toll that has exceeded 260,000 nationwide.
With case numbers rising, health officials in the U.S. have urged people to avoid large gatherings over the holiday.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said he knows it’s difficult to skip or change traditions.
“A sacrifice now could save lives and illness, and make the future much brighter as we get through this,” he said on Good Morning America on Wednesday.
He urged people to keep indoor gatherings small and stick with public health measures like wearing masks, physical distancing and avoiding crowds.
“That’s my final plea before the holiday.”
What’s happening across Canada
As of 10:30 a.m. ET on Thursday, Canada’s COVID-19 case count stood at 348,944, with 58,617 of those considered active cases. A CBC News tally of deaths based on provincial reports, regional health information and CBC’s reporting stood at 11,731.
British Columbia reported 13 additional deaths and 738 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday as hospitalizations in the province hit a new high. Health officials said 294 people were hospitalized, with 61 in critical care.
Health officials also noted that the record high case number reported earlier this week of 941 new cases was the result of a data collection error in the Fraser Health region. The correct number was actually far lower, at 695.
During Wednesday’s COVID-19 update, Dr. Bonnie Henry announced a data correction on the number of new cases released in recent weeks. Our <a href=”https://twitter.com/j_mcelroy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@j_mcelroy</a> tells us what it means for the total cases reported over the last few days. <a href=”https://t.co/Z3Fx66M7wz”>pic.twitter.com/Z3Fx66M7wz</a>
Alberta‘s death toll from COVID-19 has risen to 500 as case numbers in the province continue to climb, with 1,265 new cases reported on Wednesday.
“This is a tragic milestone,” Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw said of the deaths on Twitter. “My sympathies go out to the loved ones and friends who are mourning these lives lost during what is a very difficult time to grieve.”
The province — which had 13,719 active cases on Wednesday — also reported 355 COVID-19 hospitalizations, with 71 in intensive care.
Saskatchewan made changes to its COVID-19 restrictions on Wednesday, including restricting capacity for places like casinos and movie theatres and changing rules for restaurants.
Premier Scott Moe, who spoke from self-isolation after a possible COVID-19 exposure, has previously said he’s not in favour of a complete lockdown.
Saskatchewan reported 164 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing the number of active cases in the province to 3,012.
Despite a push from doctors in the province, Saskatchewan’s new rules to fight the COVID-19 pandemic appear to be more of a tweak than a tightening. 2:01
In Manitoba, a small hospital is temporarily closing so staff can be redeployed to help fight a COVID-19 outbreak at another facility. Staff from the Grandview Hospital will be sent to Grandview Personal Care Home “to assist in providing care and support for the residents and their families,” a statement from the local health authority said.
Health officials in Manitoba reported 349 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday and said hospitalizations had reached a new high of 303, with 50 in intensive care.
Ontario‘s premier is urging people to limit indoor holiday celebrations to their own household, saying “traditions will have to be adjusted” this year as the province battles the ongoing pandemic.
Doug Ford’s comments came on the heels of a report from Ontario’s auditor general that sharply criticized the province’s COVID-19 response.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford appealed to Ontarians to avoid large gatherings over the holidays to try to limit the spread of the coronavirus. 1:07
Ontario reported 1,478 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, with 572 in Peel Region and 356 in Toronto. The province reported 21 new deaths, bringing the provincial death toll to 3,575. Hospitalizations stood at 556, with 151 in intensive care, according to a provincial dashboard.
In Quebec, health officials on Wednesday reported 1,100 new COVID-19 cases and 28 more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus. Health authorities said the number of hospitalizations remained stable at 655 and 93 people were in intensive care, a drop of three.
Across the North, Nunavut reported 11 new cases, while Yukon reported one new case. There were no new cases reported in the Northwest Territories.
What’s happening around the world
From The Associated Press and Reuters, last updated at 8:45 a.m. ET
Participants gather ahead of the 94th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which is closed to spectators due to the spread of the coronavirus in New York City. (Andrew Kelley/Reuters)
As of early Thursday morning, there were nearly 60.5 million reported cases of COVID-19 worldwide with more than 38.8 million of those considered recovered or resolved, according to a Johns Hopkins University tracking tool. The global death toll stood at more than 1.4 million.
In Europe, Germany has passed the grim milestone of more than 15,000 deaths from the coronavirus. The Robert Koch Institute, the country’s disease control centre, said Thursday that another 389 deaths were recorded overnight, bringing the total since the start of the pandemic to 15,160.
Germany has seen 983,588 total cases of the coronavirus after adding 22,368 overnight, the agency said.
Germany embarked on a so-called “wave-breaker” shutdown on Nov. 2, closing restaurants, bars, sports and leisure facilities but leaving schools, shops and hair salons open.
It was initially slated to last four weeks, but Chancellor Angela Merkel and the country’s 16 state governors agreed late Wednesday to extend it through Dec. 20 with a goal of pushing the number of new coronavirus cases in each region below 50 per 100,000 inhabitants per week. It’s currently at 140 per 100,000.
Greece will extend its nationwide lockdown until Dec. 7 as COVID-19 cases continued to surge across the country, government spokesman Stelios Petsas said on Thursday.
A health-care worker disinfects a monitoring window in a COVID-19 intensive care unit at a hospital in an Athens suburb last week. (Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty Images)
Africa‘s top public health official says vaccinations against COVID-19 on the continent might not start until the second quarter of next year. And he says it will be “extremely dangerous” if more developed parts of the world vaccinate themselves and then restrict travel to people with proof of vaccination.
The director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, John Nkengasong, told reporters that, “I have seen how Africa is neglected when drugs are available” in the past. He warned that “it’s clear the second wave [of infections] is here on the continent” of 1.3 billion people.
Africa last week surpassed two million confirmed coronavirus infections. The Africa CDC has been discussing vaccine options with Russia, China and others. Nkengasong said that “the worst thing we want for the continent is for COVID to become an endemic disease” in Africa.
Two women walk past a COVID-19 graffiti in Soweto’s Orlando West township near Johannesburg earlier this month. South Africa has the most recorded cases of COVID-19 of any country in Africa. (Jerome Delay/The Associated Press)
In one hopeful development, authorities have begun distributing 2.7 million antigen tests throughout the continent, which Nkengasong said is “perhaps a game-changer” that allows for faster and easier testing. So far, some 21 million tests have been conducted across Africa’s 54 countries.
In the Americas, Mexico City has launched a test-and-trace approach to containing the coronavirus, after a rise in hospitalizations that has raised fears of a new economic lockdown.
In the Asia-Pacific region, South Korea reported 583 new cases, the highest since March, as it grapples with a third wave of infections that appears to be worsening despite tough new measures.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga says that the next three weeks are going to be key for the country to stop further escalation of the surge in coronavirus infections that experts warn are putting medical systems on the verge of collapse.
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike on Wednesday issued a request for an early closing time for places serving alcohol from Saturday to Dec. 17 and urged residents to avoid non-essential outings. On Thursday, she said the measures are needed “before the situation becomes even more serious.”
Japan survived the first wave in the spring without hard lockdowns.
India’s capital New Delhi is considering a nighttime curfew amid the latest coronavirus surge that has battered the city’s health-care system and overwhelmed its hospitals.
The New Delhi government on Thursday told this to a court that had questioned the administration on the measures being taken to control the spike in daily cases.
A worker sanitizes a Delhi Transport Corporation bus before it starts service in New Delhi, India on Wednesday. (Manish Swarup/The Associated Press)
The court was hearing a plea seeking to ramp up COVID-19 testing facilities in the capital, which has recorded the most number of cases from any state in India for the last three weeks and more than 100 fatalities on average every day for two consecutive weeks.
India’s new overall infections have declined steadily after peaking in mid-September, but the situation in the capital remains worrying.
India has recorded 9.26 million cases of coronavirus, second behind the U.S. More than 135,00 Indians have died because of the virus so far.
In the Middle East, Iran on Wednesday registered a daily record high of 13,843 new cases, the health ministry said, pushing the national tally to 894,385 in the Middle East’s worst-hit country.
OTTAWA, W.Va. – U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s promise launch a mass deportation of millions of undocumented immigrants has the Canadian government looking at its own border.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said Friday the issue is one of two “points of focus” for a recently revived cabinet committee on Canada-U.S. relations.
Freeland said she has also been speaking to premiers about the issue this week.
“I do want Canadians to know it is one of our two central points of focus. Ministers are working hard on it, and we absolutely believe that it’s an issue that Canadians are concerned about, Canadians are right to be concerned about it,” Freeland said, after the committee met for the first time since Trump left office in 2021.
She did not provide any details of the plan ministers are working on.
Public Safety Minister Dominic Leblanc, whose portfolio includes responsibility for the Canada Border Services Agency, co-chairs the committee. Freeland said that highlights the importance of border security to Canada-U.S. relations.
There was a significant increase in the number of irregular border crossings between 2016 and 2023, which the RCMP attributed in part to the policies of the first Trump administration.
The national police service said it has been working through multiple scenarios in case there is a change in irregular migration after Trump takes office once again, and any response to a “sudden increase in irregular migration” will be co-ordinated with border security and immigration officials.
However, Syed Hussan with the Migrant Rights Network said he does not anticipate a massive influx of people coming into Canada, chalking the current discussion up to anti-migrant panic.
“I’m not saying there won’t be some exceptions, that people will continue to cross. But here’s the thing, if you look at the people crossing currently into the U.S. from the Mexico border, these are mostly people who are recrossing post-deportation. The reason for that is, is that people have families and communities and jobs. So it seems very unlikely that people are going to move here,” he said.
Since the Safe Third Country Agreement was modified last year, far fewer people are making refugee claims in Canada through irregular border crossings.
The agreement between Canada and the U.S. acknowledges that both countries are safe places for refugees, and stipulates that asylum seekers must make a refugee claim in the country where they first arrive.
The number of people claiming asylum in Canada after coming through an irregular border crossing from the U.S. peaked at 14,000 between January and March 2023.
At that time, the rule was changed to only allow for refugee claims at regular ports of entry, with some specific exemptions.
This closed a loophole that had seen tens of thousands of people enter Canada at Roxham Road in Quebec between 2017 and 2023.
In the first six months of 2024, fewer than 700 people made refugee claims at irregular crossings.
There are 34,000 people waiting to have their refugee claims processed in Canada, according to government data.
In the first 10 months of this year, U.S. border officials recorded nearly 200,000 encounters with people making irregular crossings from Canada. Around 27,000 encounters took place at the border during the first 10 months of 2021.
Hussan said the change to the Safe Third Country Agreement made it less likely people will risk potentially dangerous crossings into Canada.
“Trying to make a life in Canada, it’s actually really difficult. It’s more difficult to be an undocumented person in Canada than the U.S. There’s actually more services in the U.S. currently, more access to jobs,” Hussan said.
Toronto-based immigration lawyer Robert Blanshay said he is receiving “tons and tons” of emails from Americans looking at possibly relocating to Canada since Trump won the election early Wednesday.
He estimates that about half are coming from members of the LGBTQ+ community.
“I spoke to a guy yesterday, he and his partner from Kansas City. And he said to me, ‘You know, things weren’t so hunky-dory here in Kansas City being gay to begin with. The entire political climate is just too scary for us,'” Blanshay said.
Blanshay said he advised the man he would likely not be eligible for express entry into Canada because he is at retirement age.
He also said many Americans contacted him to inquire about moving north of the border after Trump’s first electoral victory, but like last time, he does not anticipate many will actually follow through.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024
VANCOUVER – The British Columbia New Democrats have a majority government of 47 seats after a recount in the riding of Surrey-Guildford gave the party’s candidate 22 more votes than the provincial Conservatives.
Confirmation of victory for Premier David Eby’s party comes nearly three weeks after election night when no majority could be declared.
Garry Begg of the NDP had officially gone into the recount yesterday with a 27-vote lead, although British Columbia’s chief electoral officer had said on Tuesday there were 28 unreported votes and these had reduced the margin to 21.
There are ongoing recounts in Kelowna Centre and Prince George-Mackenzie, but these races are led by John Rustad’s B.C. Conservatives and the outcomes will not change the majority status for the New Democrats.
The Election Act says the deadline to appeal results after a judicial recount must be filed with the court within two days after they are declared, but Andrew Watson with Elections BC says that due to Remembrance Day on Monday, that period ends at 4 p.m. Tuesday.
Eby has said his new cabinet will be announced on Nov. 18, with the 44 members of the Opposition caucus and two members from the B.C. Greens to be sworn in Nov. 12 and the New Democrat members of the legislature to be sworn in the next day.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
MONTREAL – The employers association at the Port of Montreal has issued the dockworkers’ union a “final, comprehensive offer,” threatening to lock out workers at 9 p.m. Sunday if a deal isn’t reached.
The Maritime Employers Association says its new offer includes a three per cent salary increase per year for four years and a 3.5 per cent increase for the two subsequent years. It says the offer would bring the total average compensation package of a longshore worker at the Port of Montreal to more than $200,000 per year at the end of the contract.
“The MEA agrees to this significant compensation increase in view of the availability required from its employees,” it wrote Thursday evening in a news release.
The association added that it is asking longshore workers to provide at least one hour’s notice when they will be absent from a shift — instead of one minute — to help reduce management issues “which have a major effect on daily operations.”
Syndicat des débardeurs du port de Montréal, which represents nearly 1,200 longshore workers, launched a partial unlimited strike on Oct. 31, which has paralyzed two terminals that represent 40 per cent of the port’s total container handling capacity.
A complete strike on overtime, affecting the whole port, began on Oct. 10.
The union has said it will accept the same increases that were granted to its counterparts in Halifax or Vancouver — 20 per cent over four years. It is also concerned with scheduling and work-life balance. Workers have been without a collective agreement since Dec. 31, 2023.
Only essential services and activities unrelated to longshoring will continue at the port after 9 p.m. Sunday in the event of a lockout, the employer said.
The ongoing dispute has had major impacts at Canada’s second-biggest port, which moves some $400 million in goods every day.
On Thursday, Montreal port authority CEO Julie Gascon reiterated her call for federal intervention to end the dispute, which has left all container handling capacity at international terminals at “a standstill.”
“I believe that the best agreements are negotiated at the table,” she said in a news release. “But let’s face it, there are no negotiations, and the government must act by offering both sides a path to true industrial peace.”
Federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon issued a statement Thursday, prior to the lockout notice, in which he criticized the slow pace of talks at the ports in Montreal and British Columbia, where more than 700 unionized port workers have been locked out since Nov. 4.
“Both sets of talks are progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved,” he wrote on the X social media platform.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
