Canada is facing a variant-fuelled new wave of COVID-19 cases as the country is beginning to ramp up inoculation efforts following a slow start.
Meanwhile, countries such as the United Kingdom, Israel and the United States have far surpassed Canada’s vaccine rollout. And as the third wave is hitting many parts of the world, these countries are starting to see a huge drop in coronavirus-related cases and deaths since the start of their aggressive inoculation campaigns.
United Kingdom
How many people vaccinated?
With a population of 66.65 million, more than 50 per cent of people in the U.K. have received at least one vaccine shot.
Around 30.4 million people in the country have received their first COVID-19 shots in the fastest vaccine rollout in Europe, with the aim of offering shots to all adults by the end of July. More than 3.6 million people have had both doses of a vaccine, according to the U.K.’s health database.
The BBC reported that the number of first doses administered each day now averages around 350,000 — a drop from an average of about 500,000 a week ago as the schedule of second doses started to kick in.
On March 20, the country had the highest number of vaccinations given in a single day — more than 844,000.
U.K. health officials said the country is on track to offer the first dose to everyone aged 50 and over by the end of April, and to all adults by the end of July.
2:52 U.K. study examines safety of mixing COVID-19 vaccines
U.K. study examines safety of mixing COVID-19 vaccines
How many COVID-19 vaccine types?
The U.K. is currently receiving doses of two approved vaccines. The Pfizer-BioNTech is imported from Belgium. The second vaccine, from Oxford University and AstraZeneca, is made in Britain.
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Supplies of a third vaccine to be approved, made by U.S. company Moderna, is expected in the next few weeks, according to the BBC.
COVID-19 infection and death rates?
The daily release of COVID-19 data in the United Kingdom showed that 56 new deaths were recorded on Tuesday. This is substantially lower than the peak of the second-wave in January, which recorded more than 1,000 deaths per day.
But new infection numbers are also substantially down, with 4,040 cases reported Tuesday and a seven-day total of 35,460, down by 7.9 per cent from the previous seven days.
Since the start of the pandemic, a total of 149,168 people have died in the U.K, the highest official death toll in Europe and the fifth-highest in the world. There have been more than 4.3 million confirmed cases as well.
Israel
How many people vaccinated?
With a population of 9.053 million people, well over half of Israel’s population have received the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
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Israel is one of the top nations leading the world in vaccination rollouts, which began Dec. 19, 2020 — just 10 days after the first Pfizer doses arrived in the country.
2:52 The benefits and challenges of a vaccine certificate system
The benefits and challenges of a vaccine certificate system – Feb 28, 2021
The country was well ahead of most countries in signing a purchase agreement for Moderna’s vaccine in June 2020. Later in 2020, it made another deal with Pfizer.
As of Wednesday, more than 5.23 million people have been given the first dose of a coronavirus vaccine, according to an Israel health database. And more than 4.76 million people have received a second dose.
Israel has approved two COVID-19 vaccines: Pfizer, imported from Belgium, and Moderna, imported from the U.S.
COVID-19 infection and death rates?
On Jan. 27, 2021, during the height of the second wave, the nation recorded 11,934 new cases of the virus, according to Our World in Data. On Jan. 20, the country recorded its highest COVID-19 related death number at 101 cases.
These numbers have plummeted since the country’s aggressive vaccine rollout. On March 29, Israel recorded 201 new cases and 12 recorded deaths.
United States
How many people vaccinated?
With a population of 328.2 million people, 28.9 per cent of the U.S. population has received at least one vaccine shot.
As of Tuesday, around 96 million people in the United States have been given a first vaccine shot, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). More than 53 million Americans have been given a second dose, which is 15.8 per cent of the population.
Seventy-three per cent of the population over the age of 65 have been given at least one dose of the vaccine.
1:39 Biden doubles U.S. COVID-19 inoculation target
Biden doubles U.S. COVID-19 inoculation target
How many COVID-19 vaccine types?
The U.S. has approved three vaccines: Pfizer, imported from Belgium, Moderna, made in the U.S., and Johnson & Johnson, which is also made on national soil.
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COVID-19 infection and death rates?
On Jan. 8, during the height of the second wave, the U.S. recorded 315,119 new cases. On Jan. 12, the U.S. recorded its highest day of COVID-related deaths with 4,447 cases.
The cases and death count have gone down substantially since January. On March 29, the U.S. recorded 47,464 new COVID-19 cases and 560 deaths, according to the CDC.
Canada
How many people vaccinated?
Canada has a population of about 37.7 million people, approximately 31.5 million of whom are over the age of 16 and eligible for COVID-19 vaccines.
So far, more than 5.5 million vaccine doses have been administered in Canada; that number includes both first and second doses. On March 25, deputy chief public health officer Dr. Howard Njoo said that more than 10 per cent of Canadians had received at least one vaccine jab.
Around 59 per cent of adults aged 80 and older have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
2:40 Millions of more doses could accelerate Canada’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout
Millions of more doses could accelerate Canada’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout
Over the past few weeks, Canada has administered more than 100,000 doses per day. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau previously said the government plans to have most Canadian adults vaccinated by September.
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Although the country has ramped up its vaccination efforts, Colin Furness, an infection control epidemiologist at the University of Toronto, previously told Global News, “it’s not even remotely fast enough.”
Furness said at the rate of vaccinating 100,000 Canadians per day, it could take Canada 10 months to achieve herd immunity levels.
Based on those numbers, if the federal government expects to achieve its vaccine targets by September, Furness said it would need to administer around 400,000 shots per day.
How many COVID-19 vaccine types?
Canada has approved four vaccines: Pfizer, imported from Belgium, Moderna, imported from the U.S., Johnson & Johnson, imported from the U.S. (though doses are not expected to arrive until late April), and AstraZeneca, imported from the U.K.
COVID-19 infection and death rates?
Daily case counts have dropped since a peak of 8,883 new COVID-19 cases on Jan. 9. Although numbers started falling in February, in recent weeks COVID-19 cases have again been on the rise with public health officials warning that Canada is losing the fight against variants and that more restrictions could be in our future.
On Tuesday, the country recorded 26 deaths and 4,879 new cases of the virus.
While Canada has seen a dramatic decline in COVID-19 among seniors, more transmissible — and possibly more deadly — variants are dramatically increasing infections among younger people.
New national public health modelling, released last week, acknowledges the progress Canada has made in getting older, more vulnerable populations vaccinated, but yet again emphasizes the threat virus variants, like the B.1.1.7 variant, bring to Canadians who aren’t yet up for vaccination.
In British Columbia and Saskatchewan, public health officials have warned that variants appear to be impacting young people and that otherwise healthy young people are ending up in hospital.
The changing patterns come up against a slowly burning vaccination effort — so far only focused on the elderly or, in some cases, those between 60 and 65.
3:47 Ontario’s hospitals buckling as Canada’s third wave grows dire
Ontario’s hospitals buckling as Canada’s third wave grows dire
But Canada is banking on a large influx of vaccines in the coming months.
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On Tuesday, federal officials announced that Canada’s total tally of vaccines should reach 44 million doses by the end of June, and that the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine is set to begin arriving in late April, adding to that number.
— with files from Global News’ Emerald Bensadoun, Rachael D’Amore and Reuters
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese technology group SoftBank swung back to profitability in the July-September quarter, boosted by positive results in its Vision Fund investments.
Tokyo-based SoftBank Group Corp. reported Tuesday a fiscal second quarter profit of nearly 1.18 trillion yen ($7.7 billion), compared with a 931 billion yen loss in the year-earlier period.
Quarterly sales edged up about 6% to nearly 1.77 trillion yen ($11.5 billion).
SoftBank credited income from royalties and licensing related to its holdings in Arm, a computer chip-designing company, whose business spans smartphones, data centers, networking equipment, automotive, consumer electronic devices, and AI applications.
The results were also helped by the absence of losses related to SoftBank’s investment in office-space sharing venture WeWork, which hit the previous fiscal year.
WeWork, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2023, emerged from Chapter 11 in June.
SoftBank has benefitted in recent months from rising share prices in some investment, such as U.S.-based e-commerce company Coupang, Chinese mobility provider DiDi Global and Bytedance, the Chinese developer of TikTok.
SoftBank’s financial results tend to swing wildly, partly because of its sprawling investment portfolio that includes search engine Yahoo, Chinese retailer Alibaba, and artificial intelligence company Nvidia.
SoftBank makes investments in a variety of companies that it groups together in a series of Vision Funds.
The company’s founder, Masayoshi Son, is a pioneer in technology investment in Japan. SoftBank Group does not give earnings forecasts.
Shopify Inc. executives brushed off concerns that incoming U.S. President Donald Trump will be a major detriment to many of the company’s merchants.
“There’s nothing in what we’ve heard from Trump, nor would there have been anything from (Democratic candidate) Kamala (Harris), which we think impacts the overall state of new business formation and entrepreneurship,” Shopify’s chief financial officer Jeff Hoffmeister told analysts on a call Tuesday.
“We still feel really good about all the merchants out there, all the entrepreneurs that want to start new businesses and that’s obviously not going to change with the administration.”
Hoffmeister’s comments come a week after Trump, a Republican businessman, trounced Harris in an election that will soon return him to the Oval Office.
On the campaign trail, he threatened to impose tariffs of 60 per cent on imports from China and roughly 10 per cent to 20 per cent on goods from all other countries.
If the president-elect makes good on the promise, many worry the cost of operating will soar for companies, including customers of Shopify, which sells e-commerce software to small businesses but also brands as big as Kylie Cosmetics and Victoria’s Secret.
These merchants may feel they have no choice but to pass on the increases to customers, perhaps sparking more inflation.
If Trump’s tariffs do come to fruition, Shopify’s president Harley Finkelstein pointed out China is “not a huge area” for Shopify.
However, “we can’t anticipate what every presidential administration is going to do,” he cautioned.
He likened the uncertainty facing the business community to the COVID-19 pandemic where Shopify had to help companies migrate online.
“Our job is no matter what comes the way of our merchants, we provide them with tools and service and support for them to navigate it really well,” he said.
Finkelstein was questioned about the forthcoming U.S. leadership change on a call meant to delve into Shopify’s latest earnings, which sent shares soaring 27 per cent to $158.63 shortly after Tuesday’s market open.
The Ottawa-based company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, reported US$828 million in net income for its third quarter, up from US$718 million in the same quarter last year, as its revenue rose 26 per cent.
Revenue for the period ended Sept. 30 totalled US$2.16 billion, up from US$1.71 billion a year earlier.
Subscription solutions revenue reached US$610 million, up from US$486 million in the same quarter last year.
Merchant solutions revenue amounted to US$1.55 billion, up from US$1.23 billion.
Shopify’s net income excluding the impact of equity investments totalled US$344 million for the quarter, up from US$173 million in the same quarter last year.
Daniel Chan, a TD Cowen analyst, said the results show Shopify has a leadership position in the e-commerce world and “a continued ability to gain market share.”
In its outlook for its fourth quarter of 2024, the company said it expects revenue to grow at a mid-to-high-twenties percentage rate on a year-over-year basis.
“Q4 guidance suggests Shopify will finish the year strong, with better-than-expected revenue growth and operating margin,” Chan pointed out in a note to investors.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
TORONTO – RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust says it has cut almost 10 per cent of its staff as it deals with a slowdown in the condo market and overall pushes for greater efficiency.
The company says the cuts, which amount to around 60 employees based on its last annual filing, will mean about $9 million in restructuring charges and should translate to about $8 million in annualized cash savings.
The job cuts come as RioCan and others scale back condo development plans as the market softens, but chief executive Jonathan Gitlin says the reductions were from a companywide efficiency effort.
RioCan says it doesn’t plan to start any new construction of mixed-use properties this year and well into 2025 as it adjusts to the shifting market demand.
The company reported a net income of $96.9 million in the third quarter, up from a loss of $73.5 million last year, as it saw a $159 million boost from a favourable change in the fair value of investment properties.
RioCan reported what it says is a record-breaking 97.8 per cent occupancy rate in the quarter including retail committed occupancy of 98.6 per cent.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
