The latest:
A group representing teachers is expressing frustration at the patchwork approach to the rollout of COVID-19 vaccinations across Canada.
Shelley Morse, head of the Canadian Teachers’ Federation, says the federal and provincial governments need to work together to draw up a national list of who should get priority.
She says the federation’s 300,000 members who work in classrooms across the country are at risk and should all be included in the second phase of vaccination. Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and the Northwest Territories are including teachers in that phase, but not other jurisdictions.
Ian Culbert, executive director of the Canadian Public Health Association, says the current system has created an uneven approach across the country. He says it’s unlikely a federal-provincial agreement can be worked out, but that concerns will lessen once more vaccines become available.
The National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) has recommended several immediate priority groups, including long-term care home residents and staffers, front-line health-care workers, seniors, and Indigenous people in rural or remote communities.
But health care is a provincial responsibility, and vaccination phases vary from province to province.
Meanwhile, the federal government says it’s accepting more hotels to accommodate returning travellers as they await results of a mandatory COVID-19 test taken after they land at major airports in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal.
There are now 47 hotels serving as government-authorized accommodations, but the Public Health Agency of Canada is adding more to the list.
Since the introduction of the new quarantine policy last month, travellers have reported problems with the booking system. Many have complained of being unable to get through on the phone to the booking service, or of reaching an agent only to learn that no rooms are available.
What’s happening across Canada
As of 1:45 p.m. ET on Sunday, Canada had reported 908,676 cases of COVID-19, with 31,639 cases considered active. A CBC News tally of deaths stood at 22,455.
Manitoba announced 44 new COVID-19 cases and an additional death on Sunday.
Ontario registered 1,747 new cases — the most since Feb. 7 — and 15 more deaths. However, Health Minister Christine Elliott said today’s number was inflated due to a data error in the provincial system.
The province’s vaccine booking system and support desk are set to go live on Monday. People who are aged 80 and older will be eligible to book appointments.
WATCH | Northern Ontario hit with surge in COVID-19 cases:
Sudbury and Thunder Bay in northern Ontario were relatively unscathed earlier in the pandemic, but a spike in cases has put them into lockdown, closing schools and businesses. 2:02
Quebec confirmed 674 new cases five more deaths. Starting next week, those 70 and older will be able to book vaccine appointments in more than 350 pharmacies in the province..
New Brunswick reported five new cases. Residents 85 and older are now eligible to book appointments with pharmacies to get vaccinated.
Nova Scotia added one new infection.
Newfoundland and Labrador has no new cases for the second consecutive day, closing out a quiet weekend that saw the province settle into lower alert levels and eased restrictions.
What’s happening around the world
As of Sunday, more than 119.5 million people around the world had been reported to having COVID-19, according to a tracking tool maintained by the U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University. Of those, more than 67.7 million were listed as recovered. The global death toll stood at more than 2.6 million.
In Africa, the United Nations says more than 14 million vaccine doses have been delivered to the continent in the past three weeks through COVAX, a UN-backed initiative aimed at ensuring equal access to vaccines.
In Asia, Pakistani health and administrative authorities have imposed a partial lockdown in the country’s largest province, Punjab, and the northern part of the country amid a third wave.
In Europe, officials say the Paris region may be headed toward a new lockdown as new variants of the virus fill up intensive care units and limited vaccine supplies drag down inoculation efforts in the French capital.
In the Americas, hospitalizations in Los Angeles County have slipped below 1,000 for the first in four months as cases continue to decline. Much California, the largest state in the U.S., is preparing for some restrictions to be lifted in the coming days.
