Dr. Anthony Fauci says he believes the new strain of the COVID-19 virus that is circulating widely in the U.K. is probably already in both Canada and the United States.
“I would not be surprised that it already is at low levels in other countries that have not yet detected it, including Canada, including the United States,” he said.
The top infectious diseases doctor in the U.S., who has been part of the White House’s advisory panel on COVID-19, told CBC’s The National that given the strain is so dominant already in parts of southeast England, it would not surprise him if it is soon detected on this side of the Atlantic Ocean.
“Can’t say for sure, but I would not be surprised if, as surveillance picked it up, someone came out and said, you know, we do have it in a certain part of a country — whether it’s in Canada or the United States.”
The variant is not the first new mutation of the pandemic virus to emerge, but is said to be up to 70 per cent more transmissible than the previously dominant strain in the United Kingdom.
Still, doctors, including Fauci, are stressing that it does not appear to cause more severe illness and that it is unlikely to be resistant to the COVID-19 vaccines.
“It does not appear to increase the virulence of the virus,” Fauci told The National, “namely making it a more serious, deadly virus. And it doesn’t appear at all to interfere with the protective effect of the vaccine.”
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top infectious diseases doctor in the U.S., says it would not surprise him if the new variant of COVID-19 that is circulating widely in the U.K. were to be found in the U.S. or Canada. 0:43
BioNTech is testing the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine it developed with Pfizer against the new strain of the virus as it prepares to send 12.5 million doses to EU countries by the end of year.
BioNTech Chief Executive Ugur Sahin said the company is testing whether the vaccine is effective against the variant strain and expects results in the next two weeks.
“There is no reason to be concerned or worried until we get the data,” he said.
Britain is witnessing an alarming rise in infections, with a record 36,800 new cases reported on Tuesday.
Countries across the globe — including Canada —shut their borders to the country due to fears about transmission of the new strain, causing travel chaos and raising the prospect of food shortages days before Britain is set to leave the European Union.
British Airways agreed to allow only passengers who test negative for the coronavirus to fly to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.
COVID-19 is blamed for 1.7 million deaths worldwide, including more than 68,000 in Britain, the second-highest death toll in Europe, behind Italy’s 69,000.
Over the weekend, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson imposed strict lockdown measures on London and neighbouring areas amid mounting concerns over the new strain. He scrapped a planned relaxation of rules over Christmas for millions of people and banned indoor mixing of households and is permitting only essential travel.
KITCHENER, Ont. – Prosecutors are arguing a man who stabbed a professor and two students in a University of Waterloo gender studies class last year should face a lengthy sentence because of the attack’s lasting impact on campus safety and security.
Federal prosecutor Althea Francis says a sentence in the upper range is appropriate not only because Geovanny Villalba-Aleman wanted to send a message about his views but also because he sought to make those with different beliefs feel unsafe.
The Crown has said it is seeking a sentence of 16 years for Villalba-Aleman, who pleaded guilty to four charges in the June 2023 campus attack.
The sentencing hearing for Villalba-Aleman began Monday and is expected to continue all week.
Federal prosecutors argued Tuesday that Villalba-Aleman’s statement to police, and a manifesto that was found on his phone, show his actions were motivated by ideology and meant to intimidate a segment of the population.
Villalba-Aleman pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated assault, one count of assault with a weapon and one count of assault causing bodily harm.
A video of his statement to police was shown in court earlier in the sentencing hearing.
In the video, Villalba-Aleman told police he felt colleges and universities were imposing ideology and restricting academic freedom, and he wanted the attack to serve as a “wake-up call.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.
OTTAWA – The Bank of Canada cut its key policy interest rate by 50 basis points on Wednesday to bring it to 3.75 per cent. Here’s what people are saying about the decision:
“High inflation and interest rates have been a heavy burden for Canadians. With inflation now back to target and interest rates continuing to come down, families, businesses and communities should feel some relief.” — Tiff Macklem, Bank of Canada governor.
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“Activity in Canada’s housing market has been sluggish in many regions due to higher borrowing costs, but today’s more aggressive cut to lending rates could cause the tide to turn quickly. For those with variable rate mortgages – who will benefit from the rate drop immediately – or those with fast-approaching loan renewals, today’s announcement is welcome news indeed.” — Phil Soper, president and CEO of Royal LePage.
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“This won’t be the end of rate cuts. Even with the succession of policy cuts since June, rates are still way too high given the state of the economy. To bring rates into better balance, we have another 150 bps in cuts pencilled in through 2025. So while the pace of cuts going forward is now highly uncertain, the direction for rates is firmly downwards.” — James Orlando, director and senior economist at TD Bank.
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“The size of the December rate cut will depend on upcoming job and inflation data, but a 25 basis point cut remains our baseline.” — Tu Nguyen, economist with assurance, tax and consultancy firm RSM Canada.
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“Today’s outsized rate cut is mostly a response to the heavy-duty decline in headline inflation in the past few months. However, the underlying forecast and the Bank’s mild tone suggest that the future default moves will be 25 bp steps, unless growth and/or inflation surprise again to the downside.” — Douglas Porter, chief economist at Bank of Montreal.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.
