Manitoba bans visitors to homes, in-store sales of non-essential items
Manitoba, dealing with the highest per capita daily COVID-19 case numbers among Canadian provinces, is enacting new orders effective Friday to limit the spread of the virus.
The public health orders will forbid people from having anyone inside their home who doesn’t live there, with limited exceptions, and prohibit businesses from selling non-essential items in stores. In addition, large retailers are to restrict capacity at a given time to 25 per cent of their normal limit or a maximum of 250 people, whichever is lower.
Chief Provincial Public Health Officer Dr. Brent Roussin said previous, less strict measures clearly hadn’t proven effective, and he pleaded with Manitobans to stay home in the near future and only go out for essential items.
There were 475 new cases of COVID-19 and eight more deaths in the province on Thursday, with a significant five-day test positivity rate at 14 per cent.
A record 263 patients are in hospital, up 14 from the previous day, and 43 people are in intensive care as a result of COVID-19, also a new high.
Click below to watch more from The National
An infectious disease expert and epidemiologist answer questions about navigating the holiday season during the COVID-19 pandemic, including what lessons may have been learned from Thanksgiving. 5:51
Ontario reaching ICU threshold, which could leave surgical patients waiting again
There are now 150 patients in Ontario intensive care units being treated for COVID-19, according to a report Thursday morning to critical care stakeholders, which means the province has hit a key threshold that makes it harder for hospitals to support other patients and procedures.
The metric comes from a Critical Care Services Ontario report, obtained by CBC News, which is based on an end-of-day Wednesday tally of adults in ICUs with COVID-19-related critical illness.
Provincial modelling, released in September by the Ministry of Health, noted that with fewer than 150 COVID-19 patients in ICUs, Ontario would be able to maintain non-COVID capacity and all scheduled surgeries.
Dr. Brooks Fallis, medical director and critical care physician at a hospital in Peel region, warns the prospect of more surgery cancellations is a real concern with COVID-19 cases spiking.
“Inevitably, resources have to be diverted to COVID,” Fallis tells CBC’s Lauren Pelley. “And that will inevitably mean that other things can’t get done, such as elective surgeries.”
Toronto resident Rochelle Roberts finally had surgery to remove non-cancerous tumours on Wednesday after a delay of months for a procedure date, but other patients may have to wait.
Read more about what’s happening in the province
Sask. doctors question decision to leave bars, nightclubs open
Doctors in Saskatchewan say the provincial government’s refusal to temporarily close bars and other high-risk venues will cause COVID-19 to spread unnecessarily.
“If we can only have a few people at home, and there’s a good reason for that, I’m not sure why we would gather in much larger groups in other settings, especially without masks,” Saskatoon trauma specialist Dr. Brent Thomas said in an interview with CBC News this week.
Currently, there is a 10 p.m. curfew for restaurant and bar alcohol sales. But patrons of bars, nightclubs and restaurants don’t have to wear a mask when seated.
Last week, more than 400 doctors signed a letter saying the COVID-19 restrictions announced by the province to that point needed to be stricter. The doctors called for a 28-day closure of bars, bingo halls, gyms and places of worship.
There was mixed news Thursday in the daily provincial report: There were 34 more virus recoveries than new cases, but seven additional COVID-19 hospitalizations pushed the current total to 83.
Nunavut outbreak highlights longstanding health inequities in Canada’s North
Nunavut has entered a two-week lockdown in an effort to get a handle on its first serious outbreak — which stands at 74 cases on Thursday — and to avoid overwhelming Nunavut’s small, isolated health-care centres.
None of the Nunavut communities with COVID-19 infections has a hospital. The only hospital in the territory, in Iqaluit, is more than 1,000 kilometres east of Arviat — the community with the most infections — and doesn’t have an intensive care unit.
“The thing that everyone is worried about is the fact that medical infrastructure to care for people who are severely ill is really quite limited in some places,” says Barry Pakes, a University of Toronto professor who was previously Nunavut’s medical health officer.
Hospitalizations have yet to occur, but sending seriously ill patients to Manitoba in the south may not be an option as that province is also dealing with limited capacity.
So far, Nunavut has not asked for help from the federal government. But Nunavut Health Minister Lorne Kusugak says the territory is in constant communication with Ottawa, and the federal government is able to send the military as a last resort.
Read more about what’s happening in Nunavut
Stay informed with the latest COVID-19 data.
AstraZeneca vaccine shows promise in elderly patients
AstraZeneca and Oxford University’s potential COVID-19 vaccine produced a strong immune response in older adults, data published on Thursday in the Lancet medical journal showed, with researchers expecting to release late-stage trial results by Christmas.
The data thus far suggests that those aged over 70, who are at higher risk of serious illness and death from COVID-19, could build robust immunity. Late-stage, or Phase 3, trials are ongoing to confirm the findings, researchers say.
The first two sets of interim data from vaccine trials from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna have previously been released, with promising results so far but several issues still unknown.
Unlike the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna shots, both of which use new technology known as messenger RNA (mRNA), AstraZeneca’s is a viral vector vaccine made from a weakened version of a common cold virus found in chimpanzees.
Canada has struck deals to access the vaccines of Pfizer, Moderna and Astra Zeneca, among others, should they gain regulatory approval.
Fisher River Cree Nation students get free laptops and internet access for online learning
Manitoba high schooler Koby Wilson says school has been stressful at times this fall, a sentiment no doubt shared by students across the country amid the pandemic.
But now Wilson is one of 470 students who attend the two schools in Fisher River Cree Nation to receive a laptop to keep and a connection device from the local school authority, which made the change after a positive coronavirus test and inefficiencies with sending out and receiving bulky homework packages.
“It’s a great thing … because not every family actually has the money to afford a laptop,” the Grade 12 student says.
According to Kelly Selkirk, the Fisher River post-secondary co-ordinator, the online education that students are receiving is “leaps and bounds above the pen and paper homework that they were getting.”
While the Grades 5-12 students in Fisher River have received laptops, those up to Grade 4 will soon be receiving their own iPad to connect with their teachers and fellow students.
Read more about the initiative here
Find out more about COVID-19
Still looking for more information on the pandemic? Read more about COVID-19’s impact on life in Canada, or reach out to us at covid@cbc.ca if you have any questions.
If you have symptoms of the illness caused by the coronavirus, here’s what to do in your part of the country.
For full coverage of how your province or territory is responding to COVID-19, visit your local CBC News site.
To get this newsletter daily as an email, subscribe here.
PORT ALBERNI, B.C. – RCMP say the body of a second person has been found inside their vehicle after a road washed away amid pouring rain on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
Police say two vehicles went into the Sarita River when Bamfield Road washed out on Saturday as an atmospheric river hammered southern B.C.
The body of the other driver was found Sunday.
More coming.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
The B.C. Greens say Sonia Furstenau will be staying on as party leader, despite losing her seat in the legislature in Saturday’s provincial election.
The party says in a statement that its two newly elected MLAs, Jeremy Valeriote and Rob Botterell, support Furstenau’s leadership as they “navigate the prospect of having the balance of power in the legislature.”
Neither the NDP led by Premier David Eby nor the B.C. Conservatives led by John Rustad secured a majority in the election, with two recounts set to take place from Oct. 26 to 28.
Eby says in a news conference that while the election outcome is uncertain, it’s “very likely” that the NDP would need the support of others to pass legislation.
He says he reached out to Furstenau on election night to congratulate her on the Greens’ showing.
But he says the Green party has told the NDP they are “not ready yet” for a conversation about a minority government deal.
The Conservatives went from taking less than two per cent of the vote in 2020 to being elected or leading in 45 ridings, two short of a majority and only one behind the NDP.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Toronto FC captain Jonathan Osorio is making a difference, 4,175 kilometres away from home.
The 32-year-old Canadian international midfielder, whose parents hail from Colombia, has been working with the Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization, a charity whose goal is to help disadvantaged youth in the South American country.
Osorio has worked behind the scenes, with no fanfare.
Until now, with his benevolence resulting in becoming Toronto FC’s nominee for the Audi Goals Drive Progress Impact Award, which honours an MLS player “who showed outstanding dedication to charitable efforts and serving the community” during the 2024 season.”
Other nominees include Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Sebastian Berhalter and CF Montreal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois.
The winner will be announced in late November.
The Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization (CCCO) is run entirely by volunteers like Monica Figueredo and Claudia Soler. Founded in 1991, it received charitable status in 2005.
The charity currently has four projects on the go: two in Medellin and one each in Armenia and Barranquilla.
They include a school, a home for young girls whose parents are addicted to drugs, after-school and weekend programs for children in a disadvantaged neighbourhood, and nutrition and education help for underprivileged youth.
The organization heard about Osorio and was put in contact with him via an intermediary, which led to a lunch meeting. Osorio did his due diligence and soon got back to the charity with his decision.
“It was something that I wanted to be a part of right away,” said Osorio, whose lone regret is that he didn’t get involved sooner.
“I’m fortunate now that to help more now that I could have back then,” he added. “The timing actually worked out for everybody. For the last three years I have donated to their cause and we’ve built a couple of (football) fields in different cities over there in the schools.”
His father visited one of the sites in Armenia close to his hometown.
“He said it was amazing, the kids, how grateful they are to be able to play on any pitch, really,” said Osorio. “But to be playing on a new pitch, they’re just so grateful and so humble.
“It really makes it worth it being part of this organization.”
The collaboration has also made Osorio take stock.
“We’re very fortunate here in Canada, I think, for the most part. Kids get to go to school and have a roof over their head and things like that. In Colombia, it’s not really the same case. My father and his family grew up in tough conditions, so giving back is like giving back to my father.”
Osorio’s help has been a godsend to the charity.
“We were so surprised with how willing he was,” said Soler.
The TFC skipper has helped pay for a football field in Armenia as well as an ambitious sports complex under construction in Barranquilla.
“It’s been great for them,” Figueredo said of the pitch in Armenia. “Because when they go to school, now they have a proper place to train.”
Osorio has also sent videos encouraging the kids to stay active — as well as shipping soccer balls and signed jerseys their way.
“They know more about Jonathan than the other players in Colombia,” Figueredo said. “That’s the funny part. Even though he’s far away, they’ve connected with him.”
“They feel that they have a future, that they can do more,” she added. “Seeing that was really, really great.”
The kids also followed Osorio through the 2022 World Cup and this summer’s Copa America.
Back home, Osorio has also attended the charity’s annual golf tournament, helping raise funds.
A Toronto native, he has long donated four tickets for every TFC home game to the Hospital for Sick Children.
Vancouver’s Berhalter was nominated for his involvement in the Whitecaps’ partnership with B.C. Children’s Hospital while Montreal’s Sirois was chosen for his work with the Montreal Impact Foundation.
—
Follow @NeilMDavidson on X platform, formerly known as Twitter
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
A look at Susan Holt, Liberal premier-designate of New Brunswick
Sentencing hearing continues for University of Waterloo gender studies class stabber
Here is the latest on the New Brunswick election
New Brunswick Liberals win majority, Susan Holt first woman to lead province
Toronto FC captain Jonathan Osorio making a difference off the pitch as well as on it
Inequality has broad impacts on the health of Montreal children, report finds
Two dead, one missing in B.C. after mudslide, road washout triggered by heavy rain
Premier-designate of New Brunswick, Susan Holt, is first woman to lead the province
