Daily COVID-19 infections have hit record highs in the United States and swaths of Europe and Australia as the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus races out of control, keeping workers at home and overwhelming testing centres.
Almost two years after China first reported a cluster of “viral pneumonia” cases in the city of Wuhan, the regularly mutating coronavirus is wreaking havoc in many parts of the world, forcing governments to rethink quarantine and test rules.
Although some studies have suggested the Omicron variant is less deadly than some of its predecessors, the huge numbers of people testing positive mean that hospitals in some countries might soon be overwhelmed, while businesses might struggle to carry on operating because of workers having to quarantine.
“Delta and Omicron are now twin threats driving up cases to record numbers, leading to spikes in hospitalization and deaths,” WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Tedros told a news briefing on Wednesday.
“I am highly concerned that Omicron, being highly transmissible and spreading at the same time as Delta, is leading to a tsunami of cases.”
Record high cases
Global COVID-19 infections hit a record high over the past seven-day period, Reuters data showed on Wednesday, as the Omicron variant raced out of control and governments wrestled with how to contain its spread without paralyzing fragile economies.
Almost 900,000 cases were detected on average each day around the world between Dec. 22 and 28, with myriad countries posting new all-time highs in the previous 24 hours, including the United States, Australia, many in Europe and Bolivia.
Health officials in Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, P.E.I., Manitoba, British Columbia, Quebec and Ontario all confirmed single-day highs on Wednesday. Nunavut saw 37 new cases — a single-day high for the territory, which has just one hospital.
New daily infections in Australia spiked to nearly 18,300 on Wednesday, eclipsing the previous pandemic high of about 11,300 hit a day earlier.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said his country needs “a gear change” to manage overburdened laboratories, with long walk-in and drive-in queues reported in a number of areas.
French Health Minister Olivier Veran told lawmakers Wednesday that the country was seeing a “dizzying” rise in cases, with 208,000 reported in the space of 24 hours — a national and European record.
Britain reported 183,037 COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, a new record and over 50,000 more than the previous-highest figure registered just a day earlier, government statistics showed. Ireland, too, reported record cases on Wednesday, with more than 16,000 new infections.
A number of governments were also increasingly worried about the huge numbers of people being forced into self-isolation because they had been in contact with a coronavirus sufferer.
People line up in cars for COVID-19 tests at a clinic in Sydney on Wednesday. Coronavirus cases are surging across Australia as an outbreak of the Omicron variant spreads. (Mick Tsikas/AAP Image/The Associated Press)
“We just can’t have everybody just being taken out of circulation because they just happen to be at a particular place at a particular time,” Australia’s Morrison told reporters.
Italy on Wednesday scrapped self-isolation rules for those coming into contact with someone testing positive for coronavirus providing they have had a booster shot, have recently recovered or been vaccinated.
However, China showed no let-up in its policy of zero tolerance to outbreaks, keeping 13 million people in the city of Xi’an under rigid lockdown for a seventh day as new COVID-19 infections persisted, with 151 cases reported on Tuesday.
–From Reuters and CBC News, last updated at 5:30 p.m. ET
What’s happening across Canada
WATCH | Nunavut seeks federal help as coronavirus cases climb:
Nunavut seeks federal help as coronavirus cases surge
7 hours ago
Duration 1:01
Nunavut Premier P.J. Akeeagok says the territory’s health-care capacity is reaching a ‘breaking point’ and he’s looking to Ottawa for help as COVID-19 spreads rapidly. (Emma Tranter/The Canadian Press) 1:01
For more details on the situation in your province and territory — including the latest on hospitalizations and ICU capacity, as well as local testing issues — click through to the local coverage below.
In the North, Nunavut on Wednesday reported 37 new cases, a new single-day high for the territory. The premier said the territory, which is currently living under tough restrictions, has active cases in eight communities.
Nunavut Premier P.J. Akeeagok on Wednesday said the territory is approaching a “breaking point” in terms of health-care capacity. He said he is working with staff to request additional workers and supplies from the federal government, noting that the territory also has an urgent need for more housing to allow people to safely isolate at home.
In Central Canada, Quebec on Wednesday reported 13,149 new cases of COVID-19, yet another single-day high. The province also reported 10 additional deaths.
The update came a day after Health Minister Christian Dubé announced measures that would allow certain health-care workers to stay on the job despite testing positive for the virus. The province had little choice but to change its isolation protocols, he said, due to the meteoric spread of the Omicron variant, which has created staff shortages.
“We have no choice,” Dubé said at a briefing, calling the government’s plan the “best alternative” compared to not providing care.
Ontario on Wednesday saw a single-day high of 10,436 new cases of COVID-19, as well as three additional deaths.
In Atlantic Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador health officials reported 312 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, though they noted there are still no COVID-19 patients in hospital.
Provincial officials said that when students return to school on Jan. 4, it will be to virtual learning, with the situation to be reassessed weekly.
“Now is the time for precaution, not for panic,” Premier Andrew Furey said at a briefing on Wednesday.
Education minister now, next week classes will start on Jan 4 but online.<br>”Our priority remains getting students back in person…as soon as it’s safe to do so”<br>There will be an update every Thursday (starting Jan 6) <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/covid19nfld?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#covid19nfld</a>
Saskatchewan reported 293 new cases and four deaths on Wednesday.
Alberta, meanwhile, reported 8,250 total cases over the same period, bringing the number of active cases in the province to more than 15,000.
“This is spreading so fast and so far that individual case management will not substantially halt the spread,” said Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the province’s chief medical officer of health.
In British Columbia, health officials reported 2,944 new cases on Wednesday, a new daily record, along with five deaths since Dec. 24. Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said she is recommending a phased return to school for students in K-12, with some children of essential workers or with special needs going back as planned on Jan. 3 or 4, with a full return for all students by Jan. 10.
“This will give us time to add additional protocols to reduce crowding, and stagger times for recesses,” she said, “those things that we did early on that we know can reduce the potential for transmission within the settings.”
Education Minister Jennifer Whiteside said there will also be enhanced safety plans for schools.
-From CBC News and The Canadian Press, last updated at 6:15 p.m. ET
What’s happening around the world
Customers look at COVID-19 test sets sold in a supermarket in Saint-Herblain, France. (Loic Venance/AFP/Getty Images)
As of late Wednesday afternoon, roughly 284.1 million cases of COVID-19 had been reported worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University’s COVID-19 tracker. The reported global death toll stood at more than 5.4 million.
In Europe, Italy surged to a record 98,030 new cases of COVID-19 infections Wednesday, an increase of 25 per cent in one day.
In the Americas, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Rochelle Walensky said Wednesday that average coronavirus cases in the country this week have increased 60 per cent over the previous week — a reflection, she said, “of the exceptionally transmissible Omicron variant.”
“This virus has proven its ability to adapt quickly and we must adapt with it,” Walensky said during the Biden administration’s COVID-19 task force briefing.
She pointed in particular to the CDC’s decision to reduce quarantine time for asymptomatic individuals who test positive for COVID-19 to five days from 10. After five days, the risk of transmission “substantially decreases,” she said, and the reduced quarantine period reflects an effort to “provide updated recommendations using science to ease the burden of lengthy isolation and quarantine recommendations.”
In Africa, South Africa on Tuesday reported 7,216 new cases of COVID-19 and 25 additional deaths.
As of today the cumulative number of <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/COVID19?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#COVID19</a> cases identified in SA is 3 424 534 with 7 216 new cases reported. Today 25 deaths have been reported bringing the total to 90 854 deaths. The cumulative number of recoveries now stand at 3 134 314 with a recovery rate of 91,5% <a href=”https://t.co/bFvS9hVfT3″>pic.twitter.com/bFvS9hVfT3</a>
In the Middle East, Saudi Arabia on Tuesday reported 602 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with one additional death.
Daily infections in the United Arab Emirates, the Gulf region’s tourism and commercial hub, rose above 2,000 for the first time since June.
In the Asia-Pacific region, Thai authorities warned that residents should brace for a potential jump in coronavirus cases after classifying the country’s first cluster of the Omicron variant as a “super-spreader” incident.
-From Reuters, The Associated Press and CBC News, last updated at 5:45 p.m. ET
MONCTON, N.B. – New Brunswick RCMP say two youths have been arrested after an emergency alert was issued Monday evening about someone carrying a gun in the province’s southeast.
Caledonia Region Mounties say they were first called out to Main Street in the community of Salisbury around 7 p.m. on reports of a shooting.
A 48-year-old man was found at the scene suffering from gunshot wounds and he was rushed to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Police say in the interest of public safety, they issued an Alert Ready message at 8:15 p.m. for someone driving a silver Ford F-150 pickup truck and reportedly carrying a firearm with dangerous intent in the Salisbury and Moncton area.
Two youths were arrested without incident later in the evening in Salisbury, and the alert was cancelled just after midnight Tuesday.
Police are still looking for the silver pickup truck, covered in mud, with possible Nova Scotia licence plate HDC 958. They now confirm the truck was stolen from Central Blissville.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
MISSISSAUGA, Ont. – Golf Canada has set an impressive stretch goal of having 30 professional golfers at the highest levels of the sport by 2032.
The World Junior Girls Golf Championship is a huge part of that target.
Credit Valley Golf and Country Club will host the international tournament from Sept. 30 to Oct. 5, with 24 teams representing 23 nations — Canada gets two squads — competing. Lindsay McGrath, a 17-year-old golfer from Oakville, Ont., said she’s excited to be representing Canada and continue to develop her game.
“I’m really grateful to be here,” said McGrath on Monday after a news conference in Credit Valley’s clubhouse in Mississauga, Ont. “It’s just such an awesome feeling being here and representing our country, wearing all the logos and being on Team Canada.
“I’ve always wanted to play in this tournament, so it’s really special to me.”
McGrath will be joined by Nobelle Park of Oakville, Ont., and Eileen Park of Red Deer, Alta., on Team Canada 2. All three earned their places through a qualifying tournament last month.
“I love my teammates so much,” said McGrath. “I know Nobelle and Eileen very well. I’m just so excited to be with them. We have such a great relationship.”
Shauna Liu of Maple, Ont., Calgary’s Aphrodite Deng and Clairey Lin make up Team Canada 2. Liu earned her exemption following her win at the 2024 Canadian Junior Girls Championship while Deng earned her exemption as being the low eligible Canadian on the world amateur golf ranking as of Aug. 7.
Deng was No. 175 at the time, she has since improved to No. 171 and is Canada’s lowest-ranked player.
“I think it’s a really great opportunity,” said Liu. “We don’t really get that many opportunities to play with people from across the world, so it’s really great to meet new people and play with them.
“It’s great to see maybe how they play and take parts from their game that we might also implement our own games.”
Golf Canada founded the World Junior Girls Golf Championship in 2014 to fill a void in women’s international competition and help grow its own homegrown talent. The hosts won for the first time last year when Vancouver’s Anna Huang, Toronto’s Vanessa Borovilos and Vancouver’s Vanessa Zhang won team gold and Huang earned individual silver.
Medallists who have gone on to win on the LPGA Tour include Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., who was fourth in the individual competition at the inaugural tournament. She was on Canada’s bronze-medal team in 2014 with Selena Costabile of Thornhill, Ont., and Calgary’s Jaclyn Lee.
Other notable competitors who went on to become LPGA Tour winners include Angel Yin and Megan Khang of the United States, as well as Yuka Saso of the Philippines, Sweden’s Linn Grant and Atthaya Thitikul of Thailand.
“It’s not if, it’s when they’re going to be on the LPGA Tour,” said Garrett Ball, Golf Canada’s chief operating officer, of how Canada’s golfers in the World Junior Girls Championship can be part of the organization’s goal to have 30 pros in the LPGA and PGA Tours by 2032.
“Events like this, like the She Plays Golf festival that we launched two years ago, and then the CPKC Women’s Open exemptions that we utilize to bring in our national team athletes and get the experience has been important in that pathway.”
The individual winner of the World Junior Girls Golf Championship will earn a berth in next year’s CPKC Women’s Open at nearby Mississaugua Golf and Country Club.
Both clubs, as well as former RBC Canadian Open host site Glen Abbey Golf Club, were devastated by heavy rains through June and July as the Greater Toronto Area had its wettest summer in recorded history.
Jason Hanna, the chief operating officer of Credit Valley Golf and Country Club, said that he has seen the Credit River flood so badly that it affected the course’s playability a handful of times over his nearly two decades with the club.
Staff and members alike came together to clean up the course after the flooding was over, with hundreds of people coming together to make the club playable again.
“You had to show up, bring your own rake, bring your own shovel, bring your own gloves, and then we’d take them down to the golf course, assign them to areas where they would work, and then we would do a big barbecue down at the halfway house,” said Hanna. “We got guys, like, 80 years old, putting in eight-hour days down there, working away.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
NEW YORK (AP) — Fenway Park has the Ted Williams seat. And now Citi Field has the Grimace seat.
The kid-friendly McDonald’s character made another appearance at the ballpark Monday, when the New York Mets unveiled a commemorative purple seat in section 302 to honor “his special connection to Mets fans.”
Wearing his pear-shaped purple costume and a baseball glove on backwards, Grimace threw out a funny-looking first pitch — as best he could with those furry fingers and short arms — before New York beat the Miami Marlins at Citi Field on June 12.
That victory began a seven-game winning streak, and Grimace the Mets’ good-luck charm soon went viral, taking on a life of its own online.
New York is 53-31 since June 12, the best record in the majors during that span. The Mets were tied with rival Atlanta for the last National League playoff spot as they opened their final homestand of the season Monday night against Washington.
The new Grimace seat in the second deck in right field — located in row 6, seat 12 to signify 6/12 on the calendar — was brought into the Shannon Forde press conference room Monday afternoon. The character posed next to the chair and with fans who strolled into the room.
The seat is available for purchase for each of the Mets’ remaining home games.
“It’s been great to see how our fanbase created the Grimace phenomenon following his first pitch in June and in the months since,” Mets senior vice president of partnerships Brenden Mallette said in a news release. “As we explored how to further capture the magic of this moment and celebrate our new celebrity fan, installing a commemorative seat ahead of fan appreciation weekend felt like the perfect way to give something back to the fans in a fun and unique way.”
Up in Boston, the famous Ted Williams seat is painted bright red among rows of green chairs deep in the right-field stands at Fenway Park to mark where a reported 502-foot homer hit by the Hall of Fame slugger landed in June 1946.
So, does this catapult Grimace into Splendid Splinter territory?
“I don’t know if we put him on the same level,” Mets executive vice president and chief marketing officer Andy Goldberg said with a grin.
“It’s just been a fun year, and at the same time, we’ve been playing great ball. Ever since the end of May, we have been crushing it,” he explained. “So I think that added to the mystique.”
