OTTAWA —
As Canadian passengers aboard the Grand Princess cruise ship wait for a chartered plane to take them back to Canada from Oakland, Calif., Canadian health officials are warning Canadians to avoid travelling on all cruise ships in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
In a press conference Monday, Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam said, while she had previously “asked Canadians to think twice about going on cruise ships,” now the message is unequivocal.
“Today the Public Health Agency of Canada is recommending that Canadians avoid all cruise ship travel due to COVID-19.”
The update comes as Canada prepares to repatriate 237 Canadians aboard a cruise ship set to dock in California on Monday.
Tam pointed out that six of Canada’s confirmed cases are connected to individuals from the first leg of the Grand Princess’ voyage, which occurred between Feb. 11 and Feb 21.
“The virus can spread quickly onboard cruise ships, due to the close contact between passengers,” she said.
Since the novel coronavirus started spreading in late December, Canada has had 72 confirmed and presumptive cases: 34 in Ontario, 27 in British Columbia, four in Quebec, and seven in Alberta.
“Most of Canada’s cases include travellers from an affected area, or their close contacts,” Tam said. B.C. is investigating several cases that have spread in the community among individuals with no known contact to travellers.
The federal government announced Sunday that it would be chartering a plane to transport Canadians from the Grand Princess after it docks. There are approximately 3,500 people on board the vessel. The ship had previously been forbidden from docking in San Francisco due to evidence that it was linked to existing cases.
On Friday, the U.S. government confirmed that 21 people on the ship had tested positive for the virus, including 19 crew members.
“We have been working in close collaboration with our American partners to ensure the return of our Canadians as quickly and as safely as possible,” said Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne.
He said that after the Grand Princess docks, Canadians will be examined prior to boarding the plane.
“If they exhibit symptoms, they will not be allowed to board,” he said.
Health Minister Patty Hajdu added that Canadians who cannot get on the plane “will be cared for by the U.S. healthcare system, and our consular services will remain in close contact throughout the duration of their illness.”
The plane will transport the rest of the Canadian passengers to the Canadian Forces Base in Trenton, Ont., where they will be in a 14-day quarantine, “out of an abundance of caution.”
The cruise line will be assuming the cost of the plane charter, Champagne said.
Speaking to CNN on Sunday, Keane Li said that his parents, who are on the cruise ship, have described it to him as a “plush prison.”
Michael Zrobin, a Canadian aboard the ship, told CTV News Channel on Sunday that, although they’ve been receiving updates on the situation from the ship’s captain, they haven’t been told the nationalities of the two passengers who tested positive for the virus.
Another passenger, Urbain Vanier, told CTV News Channel he had been monitoring his temperature “ever since we’ve been on this cruise.”
As the cruise ship passengers prepare to come home, federal health officials say they are also asking premiers to notify them of any shortages in supplies or issues they are facing in tackling COVID-19 in their own provinces, ahead of Friday’s upcoming first ministers meeting in Ottawa.
Hajdu said that “some provinces are indicating that they have deficits,” though she did not provide specifics.
“We have said all along that we will be there as the federal government to support them with the resources they need,” she added, “whether those are financial resources, or practical resources … kits, personal protective equipment.”
The most recent new cases announced in Ontario on Monday are all travel-related, health officials said. One patient, a man in his 50s, recently travelled to Germany and the other two cases are a man in his 80s and a woman in her 70s who were recently in Iran. All are in self-isolation.
When asked why no sterner warnings regarding travel on cruise lines had been delivered before Monday, Tam said that officials are “constantly learning” as the virus spreads.
“The global situation changed quite rapidly, even from the time of the Diamond Princess cruise ship to now,” she explained.
The Diamond Princess is a cruise ship that became an early breeding ground for the virus. It was put under quarantine by Japanese officials for two weeks in February while it was docked outside of Yokohama, Japan. More than 700 people on the ship contracted the virus.
American passengers on board the Grand Princess will be taken to quarantine facilities in California after they get off of the ship, but it was not immediately clear what would happen to international passengers who are not Canadian.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers placed All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey on injured reserve because of his lingering calf and Achilles tendon injuries.
The move made Saturday means McCaffrey will miss at least four more games after already sitting out the season opener. He is eligible to return for a Thursday night game in Seattle on Oct. 10.
McCaffrey got hurt early in training camp and missed four weeks of practice before returning to the field on a limited basis last week. He was a late scratch for the opener on Monday night against the Jets and now is sidelined again after experiencing pain following practice on Thursday.
McCaffrey led the NFL last season with 2,023 yards from scrimmage and was tied for the league lead with 21 touchdowns, winning AP Offensive Player of the Year.
The Niners made up for McCaffrey’s absence thanks to a strong performance from backup Jordan Mason, who had 28 carries for 147 yards and a touchdown in San Francisco’s 32-19 victory over the New York Jets. Mason is set to start again Sunday at Minnesota.
After missing 23 games because of injuries in his final two full seasons with Carolina, McCaffrey had been healthy the past two seasons.
He missed only one game combined in 2022-23 — a meaningless Week 18 game last season for San Francisco when he had a sore calf. His 798 combined touches from scrimmage in the regular season and playoffs were the third most for any player in a two-year span in the past 10 years.
Now San Francisco will likely rely heavily on Mason, a former undrafted free agent out of Georgia Tech who had 83 carries his first two seasons. He had at least 10 touches just twice before the season opener, when his 28 carries were the most by a 49ers player in a regular-season game since Frank Gore had 31 against Seattle on Oct. 30, 2011.
The Niners also have fourth-round rookie Isaac Guerendo and Patrick Taylor Jr. on the active roster. Guerendo played three offensive snaps with no touches in the opener. Taylor had 65 carries for Green Bay from 2021-23.
San Francisco also elevated safety Tracy Walker III from the practice squad for Sunday’s game against Minnesota.
BRUSSELS – Canada walked away with some hardware at the Diamond League track and field competition Saturday.
Alysha Newman finished third in women’s pole vault, while Marco Arop did the same in the men’s 800-metre race.
Newman won a bronze medal in her event at the recent Paris Olympics. Arop grabbed silver at the same distance in France last month.
Australia’s Nina Kennedy, who captured gold at the Summer Games, again finished atop the podium. Sandi Morris of the United States was second.
Newman set a national record when she secured Canada’s first-ever pole vault medal with a bronze at the Olympics with a height of 4.85 metres. The 30-year-old from London, Ont., cleared 4.80 metres in her second attempt Saturday, but was unable conquer 4.88 metres on three attempts.
Arop, a 25-year-old from Edmonton, finished the men’s 800 metres with a time of one minute 43.25 seconds. Olympic gold medallist Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya was first with a time of 1:42.70.
Djamel Sedjati, edged out by Arop for silver in Paris last month, was second 1:42.87
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.
MILAN (AP) — Bologna’s preparations for its Champions League debut are not going well though it managed to spoil Como’s first Serie A home match in 21 years on Saturday.
Bologna came from two goals down to salvage a 2-2 draw to gather three points from its opening four matches.
Bologna hosts Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday. Its only other appearance in Europe’s top competition was in 1964 in the preliminary round of the old European Cup.
AC Milan is also winless as it prepares for a Tuesday Champions League match against Liverpool. The Rossoneri hosted promoted Venezia later. Juventus drew at Empoli 0-0.
Como made a great start in the fifth minute when Patrick Cutrone attempted to roll the ball across the six-yard box but it took a huge deflection off Bologna defender Nicolò Casale for an own goal.
Bologna thought it was gifted a way back into the match on the stroke of halftime when referee Marco Piccinini signalled for a penalty following an Alberto Moreno handball, but he revoked his decision and instead gave a free kick because the handball was just outside the area.
Bologna improved after the break but found itself further behind when Cutrone raced onto a through ball and cut inside past a defender and fired into the far bottom corner.
Tommaso Pobega hit the post for Bologna, which finally pulled one back in the 76th through substitute Santiago Castro.
Another substitute helped the visitors snatch a point when Samuel Iling-Junior curled a fine strike into the top left corner in stoppage time.
Unbeaten sides
Juventus, and more surprisingly Empoli, are among six unbeaten sides.
Empoli held Monza and Bologna to draws either side of a shock 2-1 win at Roma. Juventus’ perfect start to the season was ruined by Roma in a goalless draw before the international break.
On Saturday, there were few clearcut chances in Empoli although home goalkeeper Devis Vásquez made spectacular saves to fingertip out a Federico Gatti header and deny Dusan Vlahovic in a one on one with the Juventus forward.
Empoli had a good opportunity in the 73rd minute following an Alberto Grassi one-two with Pietro Pellegri but the finish was straight at Mattia Perin.
The host could have won it right at the death but Gatti flew in with a great sliding block to keep out Emanuel Gyasi’s close-range effort.
Juventus hosts PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Tuesday.
