News

Today’s coronavirus news

Published

4 years ago

June 27, 2020

The latest coronavirus news from Canada and around the world Saturday. This file will be updated throughout the day. Web links to longer stories if available.

6:15 p.m.: U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence called off campaign events in Florida and Arizona for this coming week as the states experience a surge in coronavirus cases. Pence still plans to travel to Texas, another state with a rising rate of infection, for a church-run Celebrate Freedom Rally in Dallas on Sunday before meeting with Gov. Greg Abbott.

5 p.m.: Ontario’s regional public health units are reporting a total of 36,468 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 as of 5 p.m. Saturday, including 2,701 deaths, up by a total of 163 new cases since Friday evening.

As has been the case in recent days, the growth was concentrated in a handful of health units; only Toronto (62 cases), Peel Region (59) and Windsor-Essex (20) reported new infections in the double digits.

Meanwhile, Toronto was responsible for all nine fatal cases reported Saturday. The daily rate of deaths has fallen sharply in the province since peaking in early May, when the health units reported as many as 94 in a single day.

Earlier Saturday, the province reported that 252 patients are now hospitalized with COVID-19, including 54 in intensive care of whom 35 are on a ventilator. All three totals are near the lowest the province has reported in data that goes back to early April.

The province says its data is accurate to 4 p.m. the previous day. The province also cautions its latest count of total deaths — 2,652 — may be incomplete or out of date due to delays in the reporting system, saying that in the event of a discrepancy, “data reported by (the health units) should be considered the most up to date.”

The Star’s count includes some patients reported as “probable” COVID-19 cases, meaning they have symptoms and contacts or travel history that indicate they very likely have the disease, but have not yet received a positive lab test.

4:30 p.m.: Vancouver Coastal Health says anyone who visited Brandi’s Exotic Show Lounge from June 21 to 24 may have been exposed to the coronavirus. Health officials say a number of people who tested positive attended the strip club between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m. on those dates.

4:01 p.m.: Canada contributed $300 million on Saturday towards the international fight against COVID-19, as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined fellow leaders, activists and philanthropists in calling for a vaccine to be distributed to the world’s neediest people.

Trudeau announced the new funds in another virtual international fundraiser — this one sponsored by an organization, Global Citizen, that raised almost $9.5 billion in pledges.

“COVID-19 has changed the lives of people everywhere, and it has highlighted inequalities around the world,” Trudeau said. “None of us have been spared from the effects of COVID-19 and none of us can beat it alone.”

Canada’s contribution includes $180 million to address the immediate humanitarian and development impacts of the pandemic and $120 million towards a new initiative called the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator.

The ACT Accelerator was created in April by the World Health Organization, the French government, the European Commission and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to ensure equitable access to medical treatments. It supports organizations, health professionals and businesses in their efforts to develop a vaccine, as well as drug therapies and diagnostic tools to battle the pandemic.

3:03 p.m.: Some Arizona hospitals have begun activating surge plans to increase their capacity to treat coronavirus patients as confirmed cases rise and more people seek treatment.

The Arizona Department of Health Services on Saturday reported 3,591 additional confirmed cases, increasing the state’s total to 70,051. There have been 1,579 known deaths, including 44 reported Saturday.

Saturday’s increase in confirmed COVID-19 cases tied a record set Tuesday and was the sixth day over nine days in which the reported increase topped 3,000.

2:42 p.m.: The Brazilian government announced an agreement with Oxford University and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca to produce a promising coronavirus vaccine that is undergoing tests.

Brazilian Health Ministry authorities said in a press conference that the country will pay $127 million and receive material to produce 30.4 million doses in two batches in December and January, which would allow it to quickly start inoculation efforts if the vaccine is certified to be safe and effective.

1:30 p.m.: Canada’s smallest province, which once branded itself the “gentle island,” is seeing some not-so-gentle attitudes emerging toward people perceived to be from other provinces — a phenomenon Prince Edward Island Premier Dennis King says is likely driven by COVID-19 fears.

The province has been closed to all non-essential travellers since April 17 and only began allowing seasonal residents to come from within Canada on June 1.

These travel restrictions have been lauded as being key to keeping the virus contained to only 27 cases in total since the pandemic began — now all recovered — with no hospitalizations, no deaths and no community spread of the disease.

But with cottage owners now arriving on the Island, several people with out-of-province license plates have had their cars vandalized or have had nasty notes left for them in incidents known locally as “plate shaming.”

1:03 p.m.: An Ethiopian Orthodox monk whose family says he is 114 years old has survived the coronavirus.

Tilahun Woldemichael was discharged from a hospital on Thursday after almost three weeks. He received oxygen and dexamethasone, a cheap and widely available steroid that researchers in England have said reduced deaths by up to one third in severely ill hospitalized patients.

Ethiopia’s health minister has said the ministry recommends the emergency use of the drug for COVID-19 patients who require ventilation or oxygen.

12:50 p.m.: Florida has marked another one-day record in new COVID-19 cases Saturday as the state looks to curb the spread of the virus. The Florida Department of Health reported a total of 132,545 cases of the novel coronavirus, marking a jump of 9,585 in new infections.

In response, the state has suspended alcohol consumption at bars, and Miami-Dade announced that beaches would be closed and most parades and parties cancelled on the fourth of July. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, however, has refused to make masks mandatory statewide.

12:20 p.m.: The latest numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Canada as of 11:25 a.m. ET on June 27, 2020:

There are 102,954 confirmed cases in Canada.

Quebec: 55,079 confirmed (including 5,448 deaths, 23,786 resolved)

Ontario: 34,476 confirmed (including 2,652 deaths, 29,754 resolved)

Alberta: 7,888 confirmed (including 154 deaths, 7,225 resolved)

British Columbia: 2,878 confirmed (including 174 deaths, 2,545 resolved)

Nova Scotia: 1,061 confirmed (including 63 deaths, 998 resolved)

Saskatchewan: 772 confirmed (including 13 deaths, 654 resolved)

Manitoba: 307 confirmed (including 7 deaths, 300 resolved), 11 presumptive

Newfoundland and Labrador: 261 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 258 resolved)

New Brunswick: 165 confirmed (including 2 deaths, 150 resolved)

Prince Edward Island: 27 confirmed (including 27 resolved)

Repatriated Canadians: 13 confirmed (including 13 resolved)

Yukon: 11 confirmed (including 11 resolved)

Northwest Territories: 5 confirmed (including 5 resolved)

Nunavut: No confirmed cases

Total: 102,954 (11 presumptive, 102,943 confirmed including 8,516 deaths, 65,726 resolved)

12:15 p.m.: Ontario reported 160 new cases of COVID-19 and eight more deaths related to the virus on Saturday.

The total number of cases now stands at 34,476, which includes 2,652 deaths and 29,932 cases marked as resolved.

The number of people in intensive care and on a ventilator in hospital continued to drop, reaching its lowest level since the province started reporting the figure in April.

The Ministry of Health says it was able to complete more than 33,000 tests for the novel coronavirus the previous day.

The new cases come as the Ontario government extended its emergency orders for the COVID-19 pandemic until July 10.

Premier Doug Ford said the province has made good progress in reducing the spread of COVID-19, but Ontarians need to remain vigilant.

The province also said it will loosen some restrictions around indoor sports and fitness to enable amateur and professional athletes to train.

The announcement comes days after the government extended its state of emergency until July 15.

Ford has said he hopes this will be the last time Ontario has to extend its state of emergency.

The province will no longer be able to issue new emergency orders after a state of emergency ends, but it will be able to extend existing orders.

9:35 a.m.: The Ontario government says it is extending its emergency orders for the COVID-19 pandemic until July 10.

Premier Doug Ford said the province has made good progress in reducing the spread of the coronavirus but Ontarians need to remain vigilant.

The province also said it will loosen some restrictions around indoor sports and fitness to enable amateur and professional athletes to train.

The announcement comes days after the government extended its state of emergency until July 15.

Ford has said he hopes this will be the last time Ontario has to extend their state of emergency.

The province will no longer be able to issue new emergency orders after a state of emergency ends, but it will be able to extend existing orders.

7:47 a.m.: India’s confirmed coronavirus cases crossed half a million on Saturday with another record 24-hour jump of 18,552 infections.

The Health Ministry also reported 384 new deaths, raising the total to 15,685.

The surge prompted authorities in the northeastern state of Assam to impose a two-week lockdown in the state capital of Gauhati. About 700 new cases were reported there in just four days.

Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the rest of Assam will be placed under a night curfew and weekend lockdowns.

He urged people to store essential goods and signalled a tighter lockdown where even grocery stores would be closed.

7:46 a.m.: Police in the English city of Liverpool have been given more powers to break up crowds after celebrations to mark Liverpool Football Club’s first league title in 30 years led to disorder.

The local move to stop gatherings of more than two people came after the sheer joy of victory, together with warm weather, prompted people to cast off worries about the COVID-19 pandemic and to gather in huge crowds.

Amid the wild celebrations, part of the Liver Building — a local landmark — caught fire. Images circulating on social media appear to show a firework sailing from the crowd and striking the building’s balcony before exploding. Four fire engines were dispatched and the blaze was put out, but the extent of the damage is unclear.

7:46 a.m.: European Union envoys are close to finalizing a list of countries whose citizens will be allowed to enter Europe again, possibly from late next week, EU diplomats confirmed Saturday. Americans are almost certain to be excluded in the short term due to the number of U.S. coronavirus cases.

The envoys were expected to have narrowed down later Saturday the exact criteria for countries to make the list, which include the way the spread of the virus is being managed. Another key condition is whether the country has a ban on citizens from European nations.

The number of cases in the United States has surged over the past week, with an all-time high of 45,300 confirmed new daily infections just reached. President Donald Trump also suspended the entry of all people from Europe’s ID check-free travel zone in a decree in March.

The EU diplomats confirmed that an official agreement on the criteria — likely to include a limit on the infection rate per 100,000 citizens — is expected late on Monday or early Tuesday. The diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity because the procedure is ongoing and politically very sensitive.

4 a.m.: The latest numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Canada as of 4 a.m. ET on June 27, 2020:

There are 102,794 confirmed cases in Canada.

Quebec: 55,079 confirmed (including 5,448 deaths, 23,786 resolved)

Ontario: 34,316 confirmed (including 2,644 deaths, 29,754 resolved)

Alberta: 7,888 confirmed (including 154 deaths, 7,225 resolved)

British Columbia: 2,878 confirmed (including 174 deaths, 2,545 resolved)

Nova Scotia: 1,061 confirmed (including 63 deaths, 998 resolved)

Saskatchewan: 772 confirmed (including 13 deaths, 654 resolved)

Manitoba: 307 confirmed (including 7 deaths, 300 resolved), 11 presumptive

Newfoundland and Labrador: 261 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 258 resolved)

New Brunswick: 165 confirmed (including 2 deaths, 150 resolved)

Prince Edward Island: 27 confirmed (including 27 resolved)

Repatriated Canadians: 13 confirmed (including 13 resolved)

Yukon: 11 confirmed (including 11 resolved)

Northwest Territories: 5 confirmed (including 5 resolved)

Nunavut: No confirmed cases

Total: 102,794 (11 presumptive, 102,783 confirmed including 8,508 deaths, 65,726 resolved)

Friday 6 p.m. Ontario’s public health units reported their fewest new COVID-19 infections in more than three months as the rate of new cases fell sharply Friday, according to the Star’s latest count.

The health units have reported a total of 36,305 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19, including 2,692 deaths, up a total of just 114 new cases since Thursday evening, down 64 from the day before.

The case totals reported Friday were low across the province: just 40 new cases in Toronto, another 40 in the rest of the GTA, and just 34 in Ontario outside the GTA, all among the lowest totals in months.

The last time the health units reported fewer than 120 cases in a day was March 23, well before the worst of the province’s epidemic at a time when just six people had died.

The three fatal cases reported Friday are below recent trends and well down for the province’s peak in early May, when the health units reported as many as 90 deaths in a single day.

Earlier Friday, the province reported that 256 patients are now hospitalized with COVID-19, including 61 in intensive care, of whom 41 are on a ventilator. All three totals are near the lowest the province has reported in data that goes back to early April.

The province says its data is accurate to 4 p.m. the previous day. The province also cautions its latest count of total deaths, 2,644, may be incomplete or out of date due to delays in the reporting system, saying that in the event of a discrepancy, “data reported by (the health units) should be considered the most up to date.”

The Star’s count includes some patients reported as “probable” COVID-19 cases. This means they have symptoms and contacts or travel history that indicate they very likely have the disease, but have not yet received a positive lab test.

Source:: – Toronto Star

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Justin Trudeau’s Announcing Cuts to Immigration Could Facilitate a Trump Win

Published

3 hours ago

November 5, 2024

Nick Kossovan

Outside of sports and a “Cold front coming down from Canada,” American news media only report on Canadian events that they believe are, or will be, influential to the US. Therefore, when Justin Trudeau’s announcement, having finally read the room, that Canada will be reducing the number of permanent residents admitted by more than 20 percent and temporary residents like skilled workers and college students will be cut by more than half made news south of the border, I knew the American media felt Trudeau’s about-face on immigration was newsworthy because many Americans would relate to Trudeau realizing Canada was accepting more immigrants than it could manage and are hoping their next POTUS will follow Trudeau’s playbook.

Canada, with lots of space and lacking convenient geographical ways for illegal immigrants to enter the country, though still many do, has a global reputation for being incredibly accepting of immigrants. On the surface, Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver appear to be multicultural havens. However, as the saying goes, “Too much of a good thing is never good,” resulting in a sharp rise in anti-immigrant sentiment, which you can almost taste in the air. A growing number of Canadians, regardless of their political affiliation, are blaming recent immigrants for causing the housing affordability crises, inflation, rise in crime and unemployment/stagnant wages.

Throughout history, populations have engulfed themselves in a tribal frenzy, a psychological state where people identify strongly with their own group, often leading to a ‘us versus them’ mentality. This has led to quick shifts from complacency to panic and finger-pointing at groups outside their tribe, a phenomenon that is not unique to any particular culture or time period.

My take on why the American news media found Trudeau’s blatantly obvious attempt to save his political career, balancing appeasement between the pitchfork crowd, who want a halt to immigration until Canada gets its house in order, and immigrant voters, who traditionally vote Liberal, newsworthy; the American news media, as do I, believe immigration fatigue is why Kamala Harris is going to lose on November 5^th.

Because they frequently get the outcome wrong, I don’t take polls seriously. According to polls in 2014, Tim Hudak’s Progressive Conservatives and Kathleen Wynne’s Liberals were in a dead heat in Ontario, yet Wynne won with more than twice as many seats. In the 2018 Quebec election, most polls had the Coalition Avenir Québec with a 1-to-5-point lead over the governing Liberals. The result: The Coalition Avenir Québec enjoyed a landslide victory, winning 74 of 125 seats. Then there’s how the 2016 US election polls showing Donald Trump didn’t have a chance of winning against Hillary Clinton were ridiculously way off, highlighting the importance of the election day poll and, applicable in this election as it was in 2016, not to discount ‘shy Trump supporters;’ voters who support Trump but are hesitant to express their views publicly due to social or political pressure.

My distrust in polls aside, polls indicate Harris is leading by a few points. One would think that Trump’s many over-the-top shenanigans, which would be entertaining were he not the POTUS or again seeking the Oval Office, would have him far down in the polls. Trump is toe-to-toe with Harris in the polls because his approach to the economy—middle-class Americans are nostalgic for the relatively strong economic performance during Trump’s first three years in office—and immigration, which Americans are hyper-focused on right now, appeals to many Americans. In his quest to win votes, Trump is doing what anyone seeking political office needs to do: telling the people what they want to hear, strategically using populism—populism that serves your best interests is good populism—to evoke emotional responses. Harris isn’t doing herself any favours, nor moving voters, by going the “But, but… the orange man is bad!” route, while Trump cultivates support from “weird” marginal voting groups.

To Harris’s credit, things could have fallen apart when Biden abruptly stepped aside. Instead, Harris quickly clinched the nomination and had a strong first few weeks, erasing the deficit Biden had given her. The Democratic convention was a success, as was her acceptance speech. Her performance at the September 10th debate with Donald Trump was first-rate.

Harris’ Achilles heel is she’s now making promises she could have made and implemented while VP, making immigration and the economy Harris’ liabilities, especially since she’s been sitting next to Biden, watching the US turn into the circus it has become. These liabilities, basically her only liabilities, negate her stance on abortion, democracy, healthcare, a long-winning issue for Democrats, and Trump’s character. All Harris has offered voters is “feel-good vibes” over substance. In contrast, Trump offers the tangible political tornado (read: steamroll the problems Americans are facing) many Americans seek. With Trump, there’s no doubt that change, admittedly in a messy fashion, will happen. If enough Americans believe the changes he’ll implement will benefit them and their country…

The case against Harris on immigration, at a time when there’s a huge global backlash to immigration, even as the American news media are pointing out, in famously immigrant-friendly Canada, is relatively straightforward: During the first three years of the Biden-Harris administration, illegal Southern border crossings increased significantly.

The words illegal immigration, to put it mildly, irks most Americans. On the legal immigration front, according to Forbes, most billion-dollar startups were founded by immigrants. Google, Microsoft, and Oracle, to name three, have immigrants as CEOs. Immigrants, with tech skills and an entrepreneurial thirst, have kept America leading the world. I like to think that Americans and Canadians understand the best immigration policy is to strategically let enough of these immigrants in who’ll increase GDP and tax base and not rely on social programs. In other words, Americans and Canadians, and arguably citizens of European countries, expect their governments to be more strategic about immigration.

The days of the words on a bronze plaque mounted inside the Statue of Liberty pedestal’s lower level, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…” are no longer tolerated. Americans only want immigrants who’ll benefit America.

Does Trump demagogue the immigration issue with xenophobic and racist tropes, many of which are outright lies, such as claiming Haitian immigrants in Ohio are abducting and eating pets? Absolutely. However, such unhinged talk signals to Americans who are worried about the steady influx of illegal immigrants into their country that Trump can handle immigration so that it’s beneficial to the country as opposed to being an issue of economic stress.

In many ways, if polls are to be believed, Harris is paying the price for Biden and her lax policies early in their term. Yes, stimulus spending quickly rebuilt the job market, but at the cost of higher inflation. Loosen border policies at a time when anti-immigrant sentiment was increasing was a gross miscalculation, much like Trudeau’s immigration quota increase, and Biden indulging himself in running for re-election should never have happened.

If Trump wins, Democrats will proclaim that everyone is sexist, racist and misogynous, not to mention a likely White Supremacist, and for good measure, they’ll beat the “voter suppression” button. If Harris wins, Trump supporters will repeat voter fraud—since July, Elon Musk has tweeted on Twitter at least 22 times about voters being “imported” from abroad—being widespread.

Regardless of who wins tomorrow, Americans need to cool down; and give the divisive rhetoric a long overdue break. The right to an opinion belongs to everyone. Someone whose opinion differs from yours is not by default sexist, racist, a fascist or anything else; they simply disagree with you. Americans adopting the respectful mindset to agree to disagree would be the best thing they could do for the United States of America.

______________________________________________________________

Nick Kossovan, a self-described connoisseur of human psychology, writes about what’s

on his mind from Toronto. You can follow Nick on Twitter and Instagram @NKossovan.

News

Former athletes lean on each other to lead Canada’s luge, bobsled teams

Published

4 hours ago

November 5, 2024

Anne Joseph

CALGARY – Sam Edney and Jesse Lumsden sat on a bench on Parliament Hill during an athlete celebration after the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.

Having just represented Canada in their sliding sports — Lumsden in bobsled and Edney in luge — the two men pondered their futures together.

“There was actually one moment about, are we going to keep going? Talking about, what are each of us going to do? What’s the next four years look like?” Edney recalled a decade later.

“I do remember talking about that now. That was a big moment,” Lumsden said.

As the two men were sounding boards for each other as athletes, they are again as high-performance directors of their respective sliding sports.

Edney, an Olympic relay silver medallist in 2018 and the first Canadian man to win a World Cup gold medal, became Luge Canada’s HPD upon his retirement the following year.

Lumsden, a world and World Cup bobsled champion who raced his third Olympic Games in 2018, leaned on his sliding compatriot when he returned from five years of working in the financial sector to become HPD at Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton in July.

“The first person I called when BCS reached out to me about the role that I’m in now is Sam,” Lumsden said recently at Calgary’s WinSport, where they spent much of their competitive careers and now have offices.

“It’s been four months. I was squatting in the luge offices for the first two months beside him.

“We had all these ideas about we’re going to have weekly coffees and workouts Tuesday and Thursday and in the four months now, we’ve had two coffees and zero workouts.”

Canada has won at least one sliding-sport Olympic medal in each of the last five Winter Games, but Edney and Lumsden face a challenge as team leaders that they didn’t as athletes.

WinSport’s sliding track, built for the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary and where Edney and Lumsden did hundreds of runs as athletes, has been closed since 2019 needing a $25-million renovation.

There is no sign that will happen. WinSport took the $10 million the provincial government offered for the sliding track and put the money toward a renovation of the Frank King Lodge used by recreational skiers and snowboarders.

Canada’s only other sliding track in the resort town of Whistler, B.C., has a fraction of Calgary’s population from which to recruit and develop athletes.

“The comparison is if you took half the ice rinks away in the country, hockey and figure skating would be disarray,” Edney said.

“It just changes the dynamic of the sports completely, in terms of we’re now scrambling to find ways to bring people to a location that’s not as easy to get to, or to live out of, or to train out of full time.

“We’re realizing how good we had it when Calgary’s (track) was here. It’s not going to be the end of us, but it’s definitely made it more difficult.”

Lumsden, a former CFL running back as well as an Olympian, returned to a national sport organization still recovering from internal upheaval that included the athlete-led ouster of the former president and CEO after the 2022 Winter Olympics, and Olympic champion pilot Kaillie Humphries suing the organization for her release to compete for the U.S. in 2019.

“NSOs like Luge Canada and Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton, they’re startups,” Lumsden said. “You have to think like a startup, operate like a startup, job stack, do more with less, especially in the current environment.

“I felt it was the right time for me to take my sporting experience and the skill set that I learned at Neo Financial and working with some of the most talented people in Canada and try to inject that into an NSO that is in a state of distress right now, and try to work with the great staff we have and the athletes we have to start to turn this thing around.”

Edney, 40, and Lumsden, 42, take comfort in each other holding the same roles in their sports.

“It goes both ways. I couldn’t have been more excited about who they hired,” Edney said. “When Jesse was coming in, I knew that we were going to be able to collaborate and work together and get things happening for our sports.”

Added Lumsden: “We’ve been friends for a long time, so I knew how he was going to do in his role and before taking the role, having the conversation with him, I felt a lot of comfort.

“I asked ‘are you going to be around for a long time?’ He said ‘yeah, I’m not going anywhere.’ I said ‘OK, good.'”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.

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Billie Jean King Cup and Davis Cup encourage donations for Spanish flood recovery efforts

Published

4 hours ago

November 5, 2024

Anne Joseph

MALAGA, Spain (AP) — With the finals of the Billie Jean King Cup and Davis Cup set to be played in Malaga, Spain, this month, the International Tennis Federation is making a donation to the Spanish Red Cross to support relief and recovery efforts for the recent catastrophic flooding in the country.

The ITF and its two team tournaments said in a news release Tuesday that they “express their deepest sympathy to the victims and support for the communities and families affected by the devastating floods in Spain and its regions.”

The Billie Jean King Cup and Davis Cup, along with the ITF, “are donating to the Cruz Roja, and we encourage all our fans and followers to contribute as well.”

The ITF did not say how much it is donating.

Authorities have recovered more than 200 bodies in the eastern Valencia region after heavy downpours caused flash flooding. Police, firefighters and soldiers continued to search Tuesday for an unknown number of missing people.

The Billie Jean King Cup matches are scheduled for Nov. 13-20, and the Davis Cup — the last event of 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal’s career — is set for Nov. 19-24, all in Malaga.

___

AP tennis:

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