The latest:
Germany has recorded nearly 20,000 new coronavirus cases in one day, its highest level yet.
The national disease control centre, the Robert Koch Institute, on Thursday said 19,990 infections had been confirmed in the past 24 hours. That tops the previous record of 19,059 set on Saturday. It brought the total case tally in Germany, a nation of 83 million people, since the pandemic began to 597,583. Another 118 deaths raised the total to 10,930.
Like other countries in Europe, Germany has seen a sharp rise in infections in recent weeks. A four-week partial shutdown took effect on Monday, with bars, restaurants, leisure and sports facilities being closed and new contact restrictions imposed. Shops and schools remain open.
Although Germany’s situation is alarming officials, many other European countries are in worse shape. The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control said Wednesday that Germany has 237 new cases per 100,000 residents over 14 days — some seven times lower than in Belgium.
Four regions in Italy are being put under severe lockdown, forbidding people to leave their homes except for essential reasons, in an effort to slow surging COVID-19 infections and prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed.
Premier Giuseppe Conte on Wednesday night announced what he described as “very stringent” restrictions on the so-called red zone regions of high risk: Lombardy, Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta in the north, and Calabria, the region forming the “toe” in the south of the Italian peninsula.
Except for few circumstances, no one will be allowed to enter or leave red zone regions or even travel between their towns, although people can exercise by themselves and while wearing masks near home. Non-essential stores will be closed, although barber shops and hair salons can stay open, and only nursery, elementary and the first year of middle school will have in-class instruction.
Conte said the lockdown will begin Friday to allow time to organize. Designations will be reviewed every two weeks.
Greece’s prime minister has announced a nationwide three-week lockdown starting Saturday, saying the increase in coronavirus infections must be stopped before the country’s health-care system comes under “unbearable” pressure.
With more than 27,000 people hospitalized across France, the COVID-19 patients occupy more than 80 per cent of the nation’s ICU beds, according to the public health agency. That’s the highest level since April. Overall, France has 1.5 million confirmed cases and 38,674 deaths, the seventh-highest toll worldwide.
‘Stay home as much as possible’
Norway’s prime minister has urged citizens to “stay at home as much as possible” and limit social contacts to avoid a new lockdown.
Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg said the coronavirus measures introduced just last week were not enough. The nation had 3,290 new confirmed infections in the past week.
Ukraine hit a new daily high on Thursday, reporting 9,850 daily coronavirus cases — the third high this week.
In the Netherlands, health officials said the number of coronavirus patients in Dutch hospitals has fallen for the second straight day. Authorities said 2,512 people infected with the coronavirus were in hospital Thursday, a decline of 60 from the previous day. That includes 607 COVID-19 patients in intensive care.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte enforced a “partial lockdown” last month, closing all bars and restaurants. He tightened the restrictions this week, ordering all public venues such as cinemas, theatres, libraries and museums to shut down for two weeks.
Poland reported a record 27,143 new coronavirus infections on Thursday, approaching a threshold at which the government has said it could be forced to impose a nationwide lockdown. On Wednesday, the government announced new restrictions to curb the COVID-19 pandemic and said it would impose a full lockdown if cases continue to surge.
Meanwhile, in England, a four-week lockdown began Thursday that will shut all shops selling items deemed non-essential, such as books and clothes. The other nations of the U.K. — Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — have also announced wide-ranging restrictions on economic activity.
What’s happening in Canada
As of 11:55 a.m. ET on Thursday, provinces and territories in Canada had reported a cumulative total of 250,355 confirmed or presumptive coronavirus cases. Provinces and territories listed 207,770 as recovered or resolved. A CBC News tally of deaths based on provincial reports, regional health information and CBC’s reporting stood at 10,377.
In Manitoba, the province’s top doctor is urging people to help “turn the tide on the transmission of this virus” as case numbers rise. Hospitals in the province were working to make space as health officials on Wednesday reported 374 new cases of COVID-19, its second-highest daily tally. The province had 140 people in hospital, with 21 in intensive care.
“We announced 21 deaths in the last week alone. We had 21 deaths related to the flu last year in total,” Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Brent Roussin said Wednesday.
“We’ve learned a lot over time from this virus, but what we always knew is that this is not simply the flu.”
WATCH | COVID-19 more dangerous than the flu, warns Manitoba’s top doctor:
Manitoba has had 87 COVID-19-related deaths so far, with 21 announced in the last week alone, Dr. Brent Roussin said at a news conference Wednesday. That compares to a total of 21 deaths related to the flu in all of last year, he said. 0:50
In Ontario, Premier Doug Ford’s government is set to unveil its first pandemic-era budget, which is expected to lay out the details of the next stage of its COVID-19 response.
On Thursday, the province reported 998 new cases and 13 new deaths on Thursday.
According to Health Minister Christine Elliott, of the cases reported Thursday, there were:
- 350 in Toronto.
- 269 in Peel Region.
- 71 in York Region.
The number of people in hospital ticked up to 381, with 86 people in intensive care, the province reported Thursday.
In Quebec, Premier François Legault is slated to give a COVID-19 update Thursday afternoon. The province, which has seen more than 111,000 cases since the pandemic began, reported 1,138 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday and 28 deaths, 10 of which occurred in the past 24 hours.
Provincial data listed the number of people in hospital at 538, with 82 in intensive care.
In Atlantic Canada, Nova Scotia reported one new case of COVID-19 on Thursday.
New Brunswick reported three new cases on Wednesday and Newfoundland and Labrador reported one new case, bringing an end to an eight-day run with no new cases in that province. Prince Edward Island has no active cases of the novel coronavirus.
Across the North, there were no new cases in Yukon, the Northwest Territories or Nunavut. But N.W.T.’s chief public health officer cautioned Wednesday that “more cases are inevitable” as cases mount across much of Canada.
British Columbia reported 335 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday and one additional death, bringing the death toll to 273. An update from provincial health officials said there were 92 people in hospital, with 25 in intensive care.
WATCH | 3-layer masks now recommended for COVID-19:
Canada’s top public health doctor now recommends three-layer non-medical masks with a filter layer to prevent the spread of COVID-19, something the World Health Organization has been recommending for months. 1:55
In Alberta, another Calgary hospital is dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak. The province reported 515 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday and five additional deaths. The province reported 164 COVID-19 hospitalizations, with 30 in ICU.
In Saskatchewan the provincial health authority is stepping up its staffing to allow for more contact tracing as case numbers tick upward. The province initially reported 37 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, but later revised that figure to 35, saying two cases were determined to be out-of-providence residents and were removed from Saskatchewan’s tally.
What’s happening around the world
As of Thursday morning, more than 48 million COVID-19 cases had been recorded worldwide, with nearly 32 million of those considered recovered, according to a case-tracking tool maintained by Johns Hopkins University. The U.S-based institution put the global death toll at more than 1.2 million.
In the Americas, the U.S. set another record for daily confirmed coronavirus cases as several states posted all-time highs Wednesday, underscoring the vexing issue confronting the winner of the presidential race.
The total U.S. death toll is already more than 232,000, and total confirmed U.S. cases have surpassed nine million. Those are the highest totals in the world, and new infections are increasing in nearly every state.
In Minnesota, hospitals are under pressure and ICU beds are nearing full capacity as coronavirus cases reach a new high and hospitalizations continue to surge.
Hospitals in hard-hit El Paso, Texas are also under serious pressure, with 1,041 hospitalizations reported on Wednesday.
“Our hospitals are near breaking point. We need everyone to do their part to stop this virus,” said Dr. Hector Ocaranza, the health authority for the city and county.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is sending additional medical personnel and equipment to the city and local officials ordered a two-week shutdown of non-essential activities.
In Chile, President Sebastian Pinera said the country’s health regulator had given the go-ahead for clinical trials of AstraZeneca PLC’s COVID-19 vaccine.
The World Health Organization said Thursday that a preliminary analysis that looked at indicators in 14 countries found the pandemic has dealt “a heavy blow” to several key health services in Africa, including maternal health and vaccination efforts.
“A new wave of COVID-19 infections could further disrupt life-saving health services, which are only now recovering from the initial impact,” Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa, said in a statement.
In South Africa, the hardest-hit country in Africa, health officials and cabinet members are urging people to keep following guidelines aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19. With COVID-19 cases on the rise, President Cyril Ramaphosa is set to address the nation next week, according to local media. The country has more than 730,000 reported cases of COVID-19 and more than 19,500 reported deaths.
In the Asia-Pacific region, mainland China has barred entry to some travellers from Britain and Belgium and set strict testing requirements on visitors from the United States, France and Germany, as it reimposed border restrictions in response to rising global cases.
Australia has agreed to purchase another 50 million doses of two more COVID-19 vaccines, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said, as Canberra aims to complete a mass inoculation program within months.
India is reporting 50,209 new coronavirus cases for the previous 24 hours amid a surge in the capital of New Delhi, which officials now say is in its third wave of infections.
The Health Ministry on Thursday also reported 704 deaths from COVID-19 across the country, raising its toll for the pandemic to 124,315.
In the Middle East, Bahrain has granted emergency approval for the use of a Chinese vaccine candidate currently in Phase 3 trials on frontline workers, state news agency BNA said.
