Ontario reported more than 2,100 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, as vaccination efforts got underway in Manitoba and several Atlantic provinces.
Health officials in Ontario reported 2,139 new cases of COVID-19 and 43 additional deaths on Wednesday, bringing the provincial death toll to 4,035. Hospitalizations climbed to 932, with 256 people in intensive care units.
With case numbers and hospitalizations on the rise, officials have instructed hospitals in the province to get ready for a surge in COVID-19 patients. Ontario Health CEO Matthew Anderson said in a memo to hospitals that the province has entered “a more critical phase of the pandemic where we are seeing widespread community transmission.”
Quebec, meanwhile, reported 1,897 new cases of COVID-19 and 43 additional deaths on Wednesday.
Hospitalizations in the province also increased, rising to 975, with 128 in intensive care units, according to a provincial tracking site.
Premier François Legault announced new restrictions on Tuesday, saying offices will be closed as of Thursday, with non-essential businesses closing for a period after Dec. 25.
The updates in Ontario and Quebec come as more provinces begin to roll out their vaccination efforts.
Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia offered their first doses on Tuesday. Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island are giving their first doses on Wednesday after receiving initial supplies of the Pfizer-BioNTech product, the first — and so far only — COVID-19 vaccine to be approved in Canada.
Manitoba gives out 1st dose of COVID-19 vaccine this morning <a href=”https://t.co/wGV7c77SNM”>https://t.co/wGV7c77SNM</a>
Speaking ahead of the first vaccinations in the province, Premier Brian Pallister asked Manitobans to be patient and not let their guard down as the province readies a large, complex vaccination effort.
“This is a monumental challenge, a historic challenge,” he said Tuesday.
“It’s a little overwhelming this morning, but feels good, and I was honoured to be asked to be the first person to get the vaccine this morning,” said Sheaves, who works at the COVID-19 unit at the Halifax Infirmary.
Halifax nurse Danielle Sheaves receives the first COVID-19 vaccination given in Nova Scotia. (Robert Short/CBC)
As provinces dealt with the Pfizer-BioNTech rollout, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday said that Canada has an agreement in place to get up to 168,000 doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine by the end of December, ahead of schedule. The Moderna vaccine has not yet been approved by Health Canada, but Trudeau said deliveries could begin within 48 hours of getting the green light.
“Doses of this vaccine will be directed to the North, as well as to remote and Indigenous communities,” Trudeau said Tuesday.
What’s happening across Canada
WATCH | Infection control specialist warns of pressure on Ontario hospitals:
Ontario needs to really curb the spread of the coronavirus, says infectious disease specialist Dr. Michael Gardam. ‘We can’t keep getting more COVID patients’ in hospital, he said. 0:51
As of 11:10 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Canada’s COVID-19 case count stood at 479,250, with 76,214 of those cases considered active. A CBC News tally of deaths based on provincial reports, regional health information and CBC’s reporting stood at 13,744.
“In that plane represents hope for 2021,” Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey said as the first doses arrived in the province on Tuesday.
P.E.I. Premier Dennis King said Tuesday that if all goes well, the province will have more people vaccinated Wednesday than have tested positive for COVID-19 on the island, which has seen just 89 positive cases since the pandemic began.
The first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine have arrived in New Brunswick, but that province’s vaccination effort is not set to begin until the weekend.
In British Columbia, the Interior Health Authority said Tuesday that a cluster of cases has been linked to the Big White resort near Kelowna.
B.C. reported 522 new cases of COVID-19 and 21 additional deaths on Tuesday, bringing the provincial death toll to 668. Hospitalizations stood at 361, health officials said, with 93 in intensive care.
Health officials in Alberta reported 1,341 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday and 11 additional deaths, bringing the provincial death toll to 744. Hospitalizations stood at 742, with 137 COVID-19 patients in intensive care units, according to a provincial tally.
Saskatchewan has administered its first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to health-care workers in Regina. Nurses at the Regina General Hospital gave the province’s first shots to a critical care doctor and an emergency room nurse yesterday.
Health officials in Saskatchewan reported 194 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday and seven additional deaths, bringing the provincial death toll to 98.
The COVID-19 death toll in Manitoba passed the 500 mark on Tuesday as the province announced 272 new cases of COVID-19 and nine additional deaths. The province gave out its first vaccinations early Wednesday, beginning with select health-care workers.
Across the North, Nunavut reported two new cases of COVID-19 and there was one new case reported in the Northwest Territories. There were no reports of new cases in Yukon.
What’s happening around the world
From The Associated Press and Reuters, last updated at 7:30 a.m. ET
As of early Wednesday morning, more than 73.5 million cases of COVID-19 had been reported worldwide, with more than 41.7 million cases considered recovered or resolved, according to a case-tracking tool maintained by Johns Hopkins University. The global death toll stood at more than 1.6 million.
In Europe, Germany hit a new record level of coronavirus deaths as it entered a harder lockdown Wednesday, closing shops and schools to try to bring down stubbornly high new cases.
Nearly 140,000 people in the United Kingdom have received their first COVID-19 shots in the first week of rollout of the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, the minister in charge of the program said on Wednesday.
The vaccine was approved for emergency use two weeks ago, with rollout commencing on Dec. 8, making Britain the first country to deploy the shot outside of clinical trials.
“A really good start to the vaccination program. It’s been seven days and we have done: England: 108,000, Wales: 7,897, Northern Ireland: 4,000, Scotland: 18,000. U.K total 137,897,” Nadhim Zahawi said in a tweet.
Britain’s easing of restrictions for family gatherings over Christmas looks like it’s still on despite a sharp spike in new coronavirus infections that’s raised fears of another wave of cases and deaths in the new year.
WATCH | New COVID-19 restrictions across Europe as U.K. allows small Christmas gatherings:
New COVID-19 restrictions have been introduced across Europe to combat the rise in cases, but the U.K. has also loosened rules around Christmas gatherings, leaving many people confused and health officials warning about the consequences. 1:58
Britain’s communities secretary, Robert Jenrick, said U.K. leaders will have further discussions Wednesday about the planned relaxation. However, he gave no indication that a change would be announced, beyond urging people to think harder about their holiday plans.
“It could be counterproductive to produce overly restrictive rules rather than providing very clear and sober guidance and ask people to think carefully and come to their informed judgment,” he told BBC radio.
In the Americas, Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine appeared set for regulatory authorization this week after U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) staff endorsed it as safe and effective.
California is distributing 5,000 body bags mostly to the hard-hit Los Angeles and San Diego areas and has 60 refrigerated trailers standing by as makeshift morgues in anticipation of a surge of coronavirus deaths. The precautions come from hospitalizations that now are double the summertime peak and threaten to soon overwhelm the hospital system.
Director of inpatient pharmacy David Cheng, centre, places trays of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine into a freezer at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center in Los Angeles on Monday. (Jae C. Hong/The Associated Press)
Gov. Gavin Newsom said Tuesday that the number of average daily deaths has quadrupled from a month ago.
In Kansas, a mayor announced Tuesday that she is resigning, effective immediately, because of threats she has received after she publicly supported a mask mandate. Dodge City Mayor Joyce Warshaw said she was concerned about her safety after being met with aggression, including threats via phone and email, after she was quoted in a USA Today article on Friday supporting the mandate, The Dodge City Globe reported.
Costa Rican authorities and Panama authorized the use of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech.
In the Middle East, Oman’s Health Ministry has issued a licence to import the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
Lebanon is expected to sign a deal this week for supplies of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and is set to receive the first batch eight weeks after that.
In the Asia-Pacific region, Indonesia will provide free vaccines to its citizens when it starts its inoculation program, President Joko Widodo said, adding that he would get the first shot to reassure people on safety.
Workers spray disinfectant in a catering shop as a preventive measure against the spread of COVID-19 in Karachi on Monday. (Asif Hassan/AFP/Getty Images)
The number of daily COVID-19 deaths in Pakistan crossed 100 for the first time in months with the virus spreading quickly in the financial capital of Karachi.
Tokyo has reported 678 new cases of the coronavirus, a high for the Japanese capital, as Japan now struggles with another surge in the virus.
South Africa remained the hardest-hit country in Africa, with more than 873,000 cases and 23,600 deaths.
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.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic is moving on to the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open.
The Mississauga, Ont., native defeated the tournament top seed, Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) in the round of 16 on Thursday.
Stakusic faced a 0-4 deficit in the third and final set before marching back into the match.
The 19-year-old won five of the next six games to even it up before exchanging games to force a tiebreaker, where Stakusic took complete control to win the match.
Stakusic had five aces with 17 double faults in the three-hour, four-minute match.
However, she converted eight of her 18 break-point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 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.”
