Ontario schools report 121 new coronavirus cases but transmission may be on decline as fourth wave recedes - CP24 Toronto's Breaking News | Canada News Media
Ontario’s publicly funded school boards are reporting 121 new cases of COVID-19 today but the increase in lab-confirmed infections that accompanied the resumption of classes last month appears to be slowing.
The Ministry of Education says that there were another 106 student cases and 15 staff cases reported in a 24-hour period ending Wednesday afternoon.
However, that number is down from the 158 school-related cases reported over the same time period last week.
The rolling seven-day average of new cases associated with the school system has declined by about 10 per cent week over week and now stands at 116.7.
The number of active cases involving school-aged children and staff also appears to have plateaued for now after rising rapidly though much of September.
As of today there are 1,412 active cases associated with the school system, accounting for nearly one-third of Ontario’s overall active caseload.
At this time last week there were 1,444 active cases.
Ontario is still seeing a higher number of lab-confirmed infections associated with the school system than it was at this time last year when there were just 541 active cases.
But officials have said that they believe transmission within schools has been “minimal” and that as case counts decrease in the wider community they will among students and education workers well.
Meanwhile, Ontario is preparing to roll out a rapid testing program in select schools at the highest risk of closure due to COVID-19 spread as soon as next week.
Local public health units will be able to deploy the rapid antigen test kits to schools deemed “high-risk” due to the ongoing detection of cases, an outbreak, the prevalence of COVID-19 in the surrounding community, or a combination of all three.
“We are in conversation with other health units, our school board partners and our provincial partners to determine how and when these tests might be best implemented,” Peel Region’s Medical Officer of Health Dr. Lawrence Loh told reporters during a briefing on Thursday morning.
“Under certain circumstances rapid antigen testing can complement other preventative interventions already in place, such as screening, masking, cohorting and dismissals. However, we want to ensure that tests are deployed in the most optimal fashion possible.”
According to the latest data there are eight schools across Ontario that have been closed due to COVID-19 outbreaks, however hundreds of individual classroom cohorts are self-isolating as a precaution.
A total of 780 Ontario schools currently have at least one active COVID-19 case, down from 819 at this time last week.
“I ask all parents to continue to help us by remaining vigilant,” Loh said. “Please don’t send your children to school if they are sick and please ensure they are tested and stay home if they have any symptoms. Also, if your child is 12 to 17 years old and eligible to receive a vaccine make sure they receive two doses. Your diligence will help to keep our students in school and in person.”
CALGARY – TC Energy Corp. has lowered the estimated cost of its Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico.
It says it now expects the project to cost between US$3.9 billion and US$4.1 billion compared with its original estimate of US$4.5 billion.
The change came as the company reported a third-quarter profit attributable to common shareholders of C$1.46 billion or $1.40 per share compared with a loss of C$197 million or 19 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 totalled C$4.08 billion, up from C$3.94 billion in the third quarter of 2023.
TC Energy says its comparable earnings for its latest quarter amounted to C$1.03 per share compared with C$1.00 per share a year earlier.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
BCE Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter as it recorded $2.11 billion in asset impairment charges, mainly related to Bell Media’s TV and radio properties.
The company says its net loss attributable to common shareholders amounted to $1.24 billion or $1.36 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $640 million or 70 cents per share a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, BCE says it earned 75 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 81 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
“Bell’s results for the third quarter demonstrate that we are disciplined in our pursuit of profitable growth in an intensely competitive environment,” BCE chief executive Mirko Bibic said in a statement.
“Our focus this quarter, and throughout 2024, has been to attract higher-margin subscribers and reduce costs to help offset short-term revenue impacts from sustained competitive pricing pressures, slow economic growth and a media advertising market that is in transition.”
Operating revenue for the quarter totalled $5.97 billion, down from $6.08 billion in its third quarter of 2023.
BCE also said it now expects its revenue for 2024 to fall about 1.5 per cent compared with earlier guidance for an increase of zero to four per cent.
The company says the change comes as it faces lower-than-anticipated wireless product revenue and sustained pressure on wireless prices.
BCE added 33,111 net postpaid mobile phone subscribers, down 76.8 per cent from the same period last year, which was the company’s second-best performance on the metric since 2010.
It says the drop was driven by higher customer churn — a measure of subscribers who cancelled their service — amid greater competitive activity and promotional offer intensity. BCE’s monthly churn rate for the category was 1.28 per cent, up from 1.1 per cent during its previous third quarter.
The company also saw 11.6 per cent fewer gross subscriber activations “due to more targeted promotional offers and mobile device discounting compared to last year.”
Bell’s wireless mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.26, down 3.4 per cent from $60.28 in the third quarter of the prior year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. trimmed its financial guidance as it reported its second-quarter revenue fell compared with a year ago.
The luxury clothing company says revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 29 totalled $267.8 million, down from $281.1 million in the same quarter last year.
Net income attributable to shareholders amounted to $5.4 million or six cents per diluted share, up from $3.9 million or four cents per diluted share a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, Canada Goose says it earned five cents per diluted share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 16 cents per diluted share a year earlier.
In its outlook, Canada Goose says it now expects total revenue for its full financial year to show a low-single-digit percentage decrease to low-single-digit percentage increase compared with earlier guidance for a low-single-digit increase.
It also says it now expects its adjusted net income per diluted share to show a mid-single-digit percentage increase compared with earlier guidance for a percentage increase in the mid-teens.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
