The World Health Organization says the number of coronavirus cases ticked up worldwide last week even as the weekly count of COVID-19 deaths dropped to the lowest level since October.
The UN health agency, in its latest weekly epidemiological report on the pandemic, also said on Wednesday that its 53-country European region reported a “sharp increase” — 30 per cent — in infection incidence, while Africa registered a 23 per cent rise in mortality from COVID-19 during the period.
All WHO regions except the Americas — one of the hardest-hit regions — and Southeast Asia posted an increase in deaths over the last week, the agency said in a statement.
More than 2.6 million new COVID-19 cases were reported between June 28 and July 4, a slight increase on the previous week, while the tally of deaths registered over the week declined seven per cent to 54,000, WHO said. That was the lowest such weekly figure since October.
WHO said most new cases were reported in Brazil and India — though weekly case counts in those two countries were declining — as well as Colombia, followed by Indonesia and Britain, which each tallied a weekly increase in cases.
When asked at a briefing about reopening efforts around the world, WHO official Dr. Mike Ryan urged governments to open up “very carefully” to avoid losing the gains made in slowing the spread of COVID-19.
The virus is changing, Ryan said, and “we need to be very, very careful at this moment.”
-From The Associated Press and CBC News, last updated at 11:10 a.m. ET
What’s happening across Canada
WATCH | COVID-19 vaccine booster being considered for the most vulnerable:
As more Canadians get vaccinated against COVID-19, now the discussion is turning toward a possible third dose. A booster shot, not necessarily for everyone, could potentially help control the spread of variants of concern, including delta. 2:01
As of 12:25 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Canada had reported 1,418,388 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 5,463 considered active. National deaths stood at 26,382. More than 40.3 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered so far across the country, according to CBC’s vaccine tracker.
Across the North on Wednesday, there were no new cases of COVID-19 reported in Nunavut. Health officials in the Northwest Territories and Yukon had not provided any updated information for the day.
In Quebec, health officials on Wednesday reported one additional death and 103 new cases of COVID-19.
Ontario on Wednesday reported 194 new cases of COVID-19 and no additional deaths. The update came a day after the province’s top doctor called for all eligible young people to be vaccinated against COVID-19 ahead of school’s return in September. Dr. Kieran Moore said Tuesday that classes in Ontario schools are due to pick up in less than two months with the goal of holding more in-person classes.
In Manitoba, which had not yet announced updated figures on Wednesday, the government said new COVID-19 public health orders will come next week. The announcement comes after Manitoba surpassed vaccination targets, including 50 per cent of people aged 12 and up having both doses of a vaccine.
Premier Brian Pallister also announced a plan for widespread walk-in vaccine clinics next week.
In Atlantic Canada, there were eight new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, with seven in Nova Scotia and one in Prince Edward Island. There were no new cases reported in Newfoundland and Labrador or New Brunswick.
Saskatchewan reported one death Tuesday and 14 additional cases of COVID-19.
In Alberta, health officials reported two additional deaths and 33 new cases of COVID-19.
In British Columbia, there were no new deaths reported on Tuesday. Health officials said there were 46 new cases of the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
-From CBC News and The Canadian Press, last updated at 12:25 p.m. ET
What’s happening around the world
People study in the Rose Main Reading Room of the New York Public Library on Tuesday in New York City. The New York Public Library reopened for in-person visitors for the first time since the pandemic shut down its branches in March 2020. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
As of early Wednesday morning, more than 184.6 million COVID-19 cases had been reported worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University’s tracking tool. The reported global death toll stood at more than 3.9 million.
In the Americas, President Joe Biden said the rise of a more transmissible COVID-19 variant in the U.S. “should cause everybody to think twice.” Speaking Tuesday at the White House as he outlined his administration’s summer plans to boost vaccinations, Biden said the delta variant first identified in India is now responsible for a majority of new virus cases in much of the country.
“It seems to me it should cause everybody to think twice, and it should cause reconsideration especially among young people,” he said, referencing the demographic least at risk of negative outcomes from the virus.
The people who helped get New York City through the coronavirus pandemic will be honoured with a parade. City officials say the event Wednesday will honour a range of people, including workers in health care, transportation, education and infrastructure. The parade is kicking off at Battery Park and will travel up Broadway in lower Manhattan, the iconic stretch known as the Canyon of Heroes.
Mexican health authorities, meanwhile, reported on Tuesday the biggest jump in new daily coronavirus infections since late February.
In Africa, Zimbabwe has returned to strict lockdown measures to combat a resurgence of COVID-19 amid vaccine shortages. Infections have dramatically increased in recent weeks despite a night curfew, reduced business hours, localized lockdowns in hot spot areas and bans on inter-city travel.
The country’s information minister announced the virus has spread to rural areas, which have sparse health facilities. Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa announced after a cabinet meeting that most people must stay at home, similar to restrictions on movement adopted in March last year when towns and cities became almost deserted.
Zimbabwe is one of more than 14 African countries where the delta variant is quickly spreading.
In the Asia-Pacific region, 12 Indian government ministers resigned Wednesday, hours ahead of an expected reshuffle of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet aimed at refurbishing its image after widespread criticism of its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
India has recorded 400,000 coronavirus deaths since the pandemic began — the third most of any country. New cases are on the decline after exceeding 400,000 a day in May, but authorities are preparing for another possible wave and are trying to ramp up vaccinations.
A two-week-old pandemic lockdown in Australia’s biggest city is being extended for another week due to the vulnerability of a population largely unvaccinated against the coronavirus.
New South Wales state Premier Gladys Berejiklian said Wednesday that health experts recommended pushing the lockdown in Sydney on to midnight July 16. Only nine per cent of Australian adults are fully vaccinated, heightening fears that the delta variant of the coronavirus could quickly spread beyond control.
People wait in a queue outside a COVID-19 vaccination centre in a suburb of Sydney on Wednesday as the city extends a coronavirus lockdown for at least another week. (Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images)
Authorities in China’s southwestern province of Yunnan reported 15 new confirmed locally transmitted coronavirus cases for July 6, with all cases in the city of Ruili, bordering Myanmar.
South Korea reported its second-highest number of daily new COVID-19 cases ever on Wednesday, just days after it began easing physical distancing restrictions in some parts of the country.
In the Middle East, health officials in Kuwait on Tuesday reported 1,993 new cases of COVID-19 and 20 additional deaths — including 19 deaths in people who were unvaccinated, local media reported.
In Europe, fully vaccinated travellers arriving from countries on Britain’s “amber list” are set to avoid quarantine from as early as July 19, British media reported.
-From Reuters, The Associated Press and CBC News, last updated at 9 a.m. ET
OTTAWA – Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says the government is making some changes to mortgage rules to help more Canadians to purchase their first home.
She says the changes will come into force in December and better reflect the housing market.
The price cap for insured mortgages will be boosted for the first time since 2012, moving to $1.5 million from $1 million, to allow more people to qualify for a mortgage with less than a 20 per cent down payment.
The government will also expand its 30-year mortgage amortization to include first-time homebuyers buying any type of home, as well as anybody buying a newly built home.
On Aug. 1 eligibility for the 30-year amortization was changed to include first-time buyers purchasing a newly-built home.
Justice Minister Arif Virani is also releasing drafts for a bill of rights for renters as well as one for homebuyers, both of which the government promised five months ago.
Virani says the government intends to work with provinces to prevent practices like renovictions, where landowners evict tenants and make minimal renovations and then seek higher rents.
The government touts today’s announced measures as the “boldest mortgage reforms in decades,” and it comes after a year of criticism over high housing costs.
The Liberals have been slumping in the polls for months, including among younger adults who say not being able to afford a house is one of their key concerns.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
OTTAWA – The head of a federal inquiry into foreign interference says she will not be publicly identifying parliamentarians suspected by a spy watchdog of meddling in Canadian affairs.
The National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians raised eyebrows earlier this year with a public version of a secret report that said some parliamentarians were “semi-witting or witting” participants in the efforts of foreign states to meddle in Canadian politics.
Although the report didn’t name individuals, the blunt findings prompted a flurry of concern that members knowingly involved in interference might still be active in politics.
As inquiry hearings resume today, commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue cautions that the allegations are based on classified information, which means the inquiry can neither make them public, nor even disclose them to the people in question.
As a result, she says, the commission of inquiry won’t be able to provide the individuals with a meaningful opportunity to defend themselves.
However, Hogue adds, the commission plans to address the allegations in the classified version of its final report and make recommendations.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
OTTAWA – The judge overseeing the sexual assault trial of former vice-admiral Haydn Edmundson is reading his decision in an Ottawa court this morning.
Edmundson was the head of the military’s personnel in 2021 when he was accused of sexually assaulting a woman while they were deployed together back in 1991.
The trial was held in February, but the verdict has been delayed twice.
The complainant, Stephanie Viau, testified at trial that she was in the navy’s lowest rank at the time of the alleged assault and Edmundson was an officer.
Edmundson pleaded not guilty, and testified that he never had sexual contact with Viau.
He was one of several high-ranking military leaders accused of sexual misconduct in 2021, a scandal that led to an external report calling for sweeping changes to reform the culture of the Armed Forces.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024
