KEY FACTS
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10:49 a.m.: Ontario is reporting 158 new cases of COVID-19 today, with two more deaths due to the coronavirus.
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10:07 a.m.: York Region Public Health has traced back 11 confirmed cases of COVID-19 to wedding events in Toronto, Markham and Whitchurch-Stouffville.
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7:45 a.m.: The Public Health Agency of Canada expects higher demand for influenza vaccines amid a possible double whammy of COVID-19 and flu infections.
The latest coronavirus news from Canada and around the world Sunday. This file will be updated throughout the day. Web links to longer stories if available.
7:15 p.m.: A student group at the University of Kansas is calling for a strike as reported coronavirus cases on campus number nearly 550.
Jayhawker Liberation Front, a student-run club, is calling on students to stay home from their classes on Monday, which is Labour Day, to demand the campus move to remote learning.
“Our institutions have failed us,” the club leaders tweeted. “(The University of Kansas) has put profits over the people. Enough is enough.”
As of Thursday, the university reported 546 cases after testing 22,563 people, which included all students, faculty and staff, ahead of the start of the semester. This makes for a positive test rate of 2.42 per cent at the onset of the semester. University officials have said they plan to continue with more targeted testing of smaller groups as the semester continues.
KU Chancellor Doug Girod has said it is “unlikely” campus will close in the future.
Jayhawker Liberation Front leaders posted on Twitter: “Students have asked for more protection. Faculty/staff have voiced fears. Local publications have been vocal against the re-opening. Despite overwhelming concerns, campus re-opened.”
6:30 p.m.: York Region Public Health has now traced back 23 confirmed cases of COVID-19 to wedding events in Toronto, Markham and the town of Whitchurch-Stouffville.
The four separate events, involving the same wedding, took place on Aug. 28 at a private residence in Stouffville, at the Rexdale Singh Sabha Religious Centre in Toronto, as well as Lakshmi Narayamandir Temple in Toronto and on Aug. 29 at a home in Markham.
Of the 23 people who tested positive for the virus, four are residents of Durham Region and one is a resident of Peel Region, while the rest live in York Region.
York Region Public Health has followed up with known close contacts of the identified cases and directed them to self-isolate for 14 days and to get tested. Public health is working with the families to notify attendees about the potential exposures.
Public health officials are advising anyone who attended these or other events related to the wedding to monitor themselves for symptoms until Saturday, Sept. 12, as they may have been exposed to the virus.
Guests are also asked to visit an assessment centre if they are concerned.
Indoor wedding and funeral venues are allowed to operate at a maximum of 30 per cent capacity in Toronto and York Region.
2:51 p.m.: The latest numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Canada as of 2:41 p.m. Sunday:
There are 131,886 confirmed cases in Canada.
Quebec: 63,497 confirmed (including 5,769 deaths, 55,871 resolved)
Ontario: 43,161 confirmed (including 2,813 deaths, 38,958 resolved) (The Star’s count is slightly different.)
Alberta: 14,474 confirmed (including 242 deaths, 12,799 resolved)
British Columbia: 6,162 confirmed (including 211 deaths, 4,706 resolved)
Saskatchewan: 1,643 confirmed (including 24 deaths, 1,579 resolved)
Manitoba: 1,323 confirmed (including 16 deaths, 898 resolved)
Nova Scotia: 1,085 confirmed (including 65 deaths, 1,015 resolved)
Newfoundland and Labrador: 269 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 265 resolved)
New Brunswick: 192 confirmed (including 2 deaths, 186 resolved)
Prince Edward Island: 47 confirmed (including 44 resolved)
2:03 p.m.: Italy reported 1,297 new coronavirus cases Sunday. This is the smallest increase in five days amid lower than usual testing at the end of the week. Finance Minister Roberto Gualtieri said in an interview earlier Sunday that the country’s economic rebound in the third quarter will be stronger than initially expected.
12:50 p.m.: The Royal Canadian Air Force’s attempts to capitalize on the layoffs that have ravaged Canada’s commercial airline industry during the COVID-19 pandemic have had some early — albeit extremely limited — success.
The air force has been struggling with a shortage of experienced pilots for the past few years as the number leaving for civilian jobs has outpaced the rate at which the military can replace them.
Air force commanders were already working to recruit experienced aviators back into the military before COVID-19, but they redoubled those efforts in March as commercial airlines slashed flights and workforces due to the pandemic.
The result: Four former military pilots have re-enrolled in the air force on a full-time basis since March, while five others have agreed to join as part-time reservists.
While those additions are no doubt welcome, air force spokesperson Lt. Nora Amrane says the military needs about 150 more pilots to get up to full strength.
12:45 p.m.: Quebec is reporting 205 new cases of COVID-19 today.
Authorities say there have been no additional deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus in the last 24 hours.
The province has now recorded 63,497 total cases and 5,769 deaths since the pandemic began.
Public health officials say hospitalizations went up by eight cases in the last 24 hours, for a total of 102.
Of those, 18 people are in intensive care, an increase of one from the previous day.
Quebec says it conducted 17,479 COVID-19 tests on Friday, the last date for which the testing data is available.
10:49 a.m.: Ontario is reporting 158 new cases of COVID-19 today, with two more deaths due to the coronavirus.
There were also 111 cases newly marked as resolved in today’s report.
The total number of cases in Ontario now stands at 43,161, which includes 2,813 deaths and 38,958 cases marked as resolved. (The Star’s tally is slightly different.)
Health Minister Christine Elliott says Toronto is reporting 49 new cases, Peel Region 44 and Ottawa 21.
She says 29 of the province’s 34 public health units are reporting five or fewer new cases.
The province was able to complete 28,955 tests over the previous day.
10:07 a.m.: York Region Public Health has traced back 11 confirmed cases of COVID-19 to wedding events in Toronto, Markham and the Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville.
The events took place Aug. 28 at a private residence, at the Rexdale Singh Sabha Religious Centre in Toronto, as well as Lakshmi Narayamandir Temple and on Aug. 29 at a private residence.
The local public health units are advising anyone who attended these or other events related to this wedding to monitor themselves for symptoms until Saturday, Sept. 12, as they may have been exposed to the infection.
York Region Public Health has followed up with known close contacts of the identified cases and directed them to self-isolate for 14 days and to get tested. Public health is working with the family to notify attendees about the potential exposures.
9:32 a.m.: India saw another record surge of 90,632 cases in the past 24 hours, as infections spread to smaller cities and parts of rural India. According to the health ministry, India’s caseload reached 4,113,811, slightly short of Brazil’s confirmed 4,123,000 infections.
The ministry on Sunday also reported 1,065 deaths for a total of 70,626. More than one million cases have been detected in India in less than two weeks. Authorities say India’s daily testing exceeds one million now.
8:53 a.m.: In Iowa, some drivers took advantage of roads and highways emptied by the coronavirus pandemic by pushing well past the speed limit, a trend that continues even as states try to get back to normal.
The Iowa State Patrol recorded a 101 per cent increase from January through August over the four-year average in tickets for speeds exceeding 100 mph, along with a 75 per cent increase in tickets for speeds of 25 mph or more over the posted speed limit.
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California Highway Patrol officers issued more than 15,000 tickets from mid-March through August 19 for speeds exceeding 100 mph, more than a 100 per cent increase over the same time period a year ago. That includes a continuing spike from May on.
The most likely explanation is drivers taking advantage of more open roads because of the pandemic, said Officer Ian Hoey, a spokesperson for the California agency.
8:10 a.m.: Hundreds of thousands of ship workers around the world have been thrown in limbo by the COVID-19 pandemic.
They’ve been confined to their vessels and can’t spend leisure time ashore while international travel restrictions have made it complicated and difficult for shipping companies to replace crews.
Peter Lahay, the Canadian co-ordinator for the International Transport Workers’ Federation, estimates some 400,000 seafarers around the world are currently past the end of their contracts because they have no way to get home.
7:48 a.m.: Former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi is responding “optimally” to COVID-19 treatment but is the most vulnerable type of patient and is in “the most delicate phase” of the virus, his personal doctor said Sunday.
Dr. Alberto Zangrillo repeated Sunday that he nevertheless remained “cautiously optimistic” about Berlusconi’s recovery.
The three-time premier turns 84 in a few weeks and has had a history of heart problems that required being fitted with a pacemaker several years ago. He checked into the San Raffaele hospital in Milan early Friday after testing positive for the virus earlier in the week. At the time he had the early stages of a lung infection.
Data from Italy’s Superior Institute of Health indicates that men aged 80-87 have the highest COVID-19 death rate among all cases in Italy, at 47 per cent.
7:46 a.m.: There are 131,319 confirmed cases in Canada.
Quebec: 63,117 confirmed (including 5,767 deaths, 55,724 resolved)
Ontario: 43,003 confirmed (including 2,811 deaths, 38,847 resolved)
Alberta: 14,474 confirmed (including 242 deaths, 12,799 resolved)
British Columbia: 6,162 confirmed (including 211 deaths, 4,706 resolved)
Saskatchewan: 1,643 confirmed (including 24 deaths, 1,579 resolved)
Manitoba: 1,294 confirmed (including 16 deaths, 852 resolved)
Nova Scotia: 1,085 confirmed (including 65 deaths, 1,015 resolved)
Newfoundland and Labrador: 269 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 265 resolved)
New Brunswick: 192 confirmed (including 2 deaths, 186 resolved)
Prince Edward Island: 47 confirmed (including 44 resolved)
Yukon: 15 confirmed (including 15 resolved)
Repatriated Canadians: 13 confirmed (including 13 resolved)
Northwest Territories: 5 confirmed (including 5 resolved)
Nunavut: No confirmed cases
Total: 131,319 (0 presumptive, 131,319 confirmed including 9,141 deaths, 116,050 resolved)
7:45 a.m.: The Public Health Agency of Canada expects higher demand for influenza vaccines amid a possible double whammy of COVID-19 and flu infections. It’s recommending provinces and territories consider alternate ways to deliver immunization programs this season.
Spokesperson Maryse Durette said the agency has ordered 13 million doses of the flu vaccine compared with 11.2 million last year.
A study by University of British Columbia researchers published recently in the Journal of Pediatrics suggests the COVID-19 pandemic may be motivating more parents to get their children vaccinated for flu.
It found that was the case for 54 per cent of parents, up 16 percentage points from last year, among 3,000 families surveyed in Canada, the United States, Japan, Israel, Spain and Switzerland.
7:43 a.m.: The death toll from the coronavirus in Israel has surpassed 1,000, as the government on Sunday mulled steps for imposing new restrictions to quell a resurgence in infections.
Israel had earned praise for its early handling of the virus crisis and imposing tight movement restrictions. Since reopening the economy in May, however, new cases have spiked to record levels and the government has been blamed for mismanaging the resurgence. Weekly protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his corruption trial have expanded to include demonstrations against his handling of the health crisis and the resulting economic pain.
More than 3,000 new cases a day have been confirmed in the most recent spike, raising the spectre of a renewed nationwide lockdown.
7:39 a.m.: The premier of Australia’s Victoria state announced a slight easing of restrictions in Melbourne but the country’s second-largest city will remain in lockdown until at least Oct. 26.
On Sunday, health officials said Victoria recorded 63 new cases and five more deaths. It takes the state’s total fatalities to 666 and the national death toll to 753.
Sunday 7:37 a.m.: The U.S. Bureau of Prisons directed all federal prisons to reopen visitation for inmates by Oct. 3 in a memo sent to wardens last week, a move that representatives for correctional officers said would be dangerous and “opening Pandora’s box.”
The Bureau of Prisons suspended visitors coming to see inmates in March amid concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic. Six months later, it is directing wardens to open visitation under “non-contact only” rules.
“Social visiting will resume no later than Saturday, October 3, 2020, in accordance with the guidance below,” the memo sent on Monday states. “Wardens will immediately begin developing local procedures to reinstate social visiting.”
Source:- Toronto Star
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