The latest:
Alberta’s top doctor is urging people to follow both the “detail and the spirit” of public health measures as the province deals with community spread of a variant of concern first reported in the U.K.
With 1,078 reported cases of the B117 variant reported on a federal tracking site as of Wednesday evening, Alberta trails only one other province — Ontario — in total reported cases of the more transmissible variant.
“The B117 variant is spreading in many different contexts and many different settings,” Dr. Deena Hinshaw said at a briefing on Wednesday. “And we’re seeing higher attack rates than we typically do in settings where people are exposed.”
Hinshaw said that so far, the cases the province has seen of the P1 variant (linked to Brazil) and the B1351 variant (first reported in South Africa) have been few in number and linked to travel.
The B117 variant, however, has been established in the community.
“While we are continuing to work hard to slow its spread, it is spreading in all zones of our province.”
We have ID’d 50 new cases of the variant of concern, which make up about 11% of our active COVID-19 cases. Looking to schools, there are active alerts or outbreaks in 283 schools, about 12% of schools in AB w/ 1,199 cases since Jan. 11. (2/10)
—@CMOH_Alberta
Hinshaw said that while vaccination efforts are ramping up, the province is not yet at a point where the vaccination coverage is sufficient to “prevent severe outcomes.”
“For the next couple of months, including spring break, we need to just hold on and protect our communities with our choices.”
Hinshaw highlighted some progress around vaccinations, pointing to the province’s plan to offer first doses to all adults who want one by the end of June.
Alberta is not the only province concerned about the spread of variants of concern. As of Wednesday evening, the Public Health Agency of Canada had reported more than 4,200 cases of the variants, including:
- 3,946 of the B117 variant.
- 240 of the B1351 variant.
- 71 of the P1 variant.
Ontario has seen the highest total number of cases of variants of concern of any province, with 1,134 cases of the B117 variant, 47 of the B1351 variant and 34 of the P1 variant.
In Saskatchewan, there’s growing worry about variants of concern in Regina, which has seen more than 80 per cent of the province’s variant cases.
Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam said on Twitter that with the increase of variant cases, “maintaining public health measures and individual precautions is crucial to reducing infection rates and avoiding a rapid reacceleration of the epidemic and its severe outcomes.”
-From CBC News and The Canadian Press, last updated at 7 a.m. ET
What’s happening across Canada
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CBC’s David Cochrane goes inside the processes of vaccine delivery and distribution as well as the challenges to deliver on the promise of at least one shot for every Canadian who wants it by July 1. 4:08
As of early Thursday morning, Canada had reported 919,244 cases of COVID-19, with 31,600 cases considered active. A CBC News tally of deaths stood at 22,554.
In Atlantic Canada, there were three cases of COVID-19 reported on Wednesday — two in Nova Scotia and one in New Brunswick. There were no new cases reported in Prince Edward Island or Newfoundland and Labrador.
In Quebec, health officials reported 703 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday and 13 more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus. Health officials also reported a rise in the number intensive care patients, up 16 compared with the prior day, for a total of 107. Total hospitalizations dropped by one, to 532.
Health officials in Ontario reported 1,508 new cases of COVID-19 and 14 additional deaths on Wednesday. A provincial dashboard listed the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations as 741, with 300 of those patients in the province’s intensive care units.
The top doctors in Ontario’s two main COVID-19 hot spots are preparing for warmer weather. Dr. Eileen de Villa and Dr. Lawrence Loh said they’re seeking to ease some of the restrictions on outdoor activities in Toronto and Peel.
Both medical officers want to keep their communities in the strictest “grey-lockdown” category of Ontario’s colour-coded pandemic framework, but with adjustments that would allow for outdoor dining and fitness.
In the Prairie provinces, Manitoba reported 96 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday and no additional deaths.
The Manitoba government also moved to reduce the minimum age for COVID-19 vaccines by two years — to 53 and up for First Nations people, and 73 and up for others. Those numbers do not include younger age groups with underlying health conditions that are already eligible for vaccination.
In Saskatchewan, health officials reported 87 new cases and one additional death on Wednesday. The Saskatchewan Health Authority urged people to be vigilant in the face of variant of concern cases, particularly in the Regina area.
Across the North, Nunavut will now count 12 additional cases of COVID-19, including three deaths, in the territory’s total case count. The new numbers come from Nunavut residents who caught COVID-19 or died from the virus while in Manitoba.
Nunavut Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Michael Patterson said it’s been unclear since the start of the pandemic which jurisdiction these numbers would fall under. The cases and deaths occurred between December 2020 and January 2021. Patterson said attribution of cases of COVID-19 acquired outside the territory will continue to occur on a case-by-case basis.
There were no new cases reported in Yukon or the Northwest Territories on Wednesday.
In British Columbia, health officials reported 498 new cases of COVID-19 and four additional deaths. A joint statement from Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix said no data about variant cases was available Wednesday due to a lab sequencing issue.
-From The Canadian Press and CBC News, last updated at 7:05 a.m. ET
What’s happening around the world
As of early Thursday morning, more than 121.2 million cases of COVID-19 had been reported worldwide, according to a tracking tool maintained by Johns Hopkins University. The global death toll stood at more than 2.6 million.
In Africa, the head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the suspension of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in some European Union nations hurts efforts to build public confidence and trust in vaccines on the continent of 1.3 billion people.
John Nkengasong said in a briefing Thursday that despite “unfortunate events” in Europe, African nations should continue rolling out the AstraZeneca vaccine, the only shot currently available in many countries that have accessed batches of it through the COVAX initiative.
Nkengasong said a recent meeting convened by his group concluded that vaccine-related decisions in Africa should not be “based on anything that is subjective.” He said instead there should be continuous monitoring and reporting of any adverse events following inoculations.
At least 22 of Africa’s 54 nations have received more than 14 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine as of March 13, according to the World Health Organization.
The European Medicines Agency, which is expected to update its findings later Thursday, has said there is “no indication” the AstraZeneca shot is responsible for dangerous blood clots in a few recipients. The World Health Organization has also said the benefits of the vaccine outweigh any risks and recommends its continued use. Other European nations are proceeding with vaccinations despite safety worries in countries such as Germany.
In Europe, Italy inaugurated a living monument to its COVID-19 dead Thursday as it marked the anniversary of one of the most haunting moments of the pandemic: when Bergamo’s death toll reached such heights that an army convoy had to transport coffins out because its cemeteries and crematoriums were full.
Premier Mario Draghi visited the northern city on Thursday to commemorate a national day of mourning for Italy’s coronavirus victims. Flags flew at half-mast around the country and public authorities observed a minute of silence.
Draghi laid a wreath at Bergamo’s cemetery and inaugurated a forest named in honour of the more than 100,000 victims in Italy, the first country in the West to be hit by the outbreak.
“This wood doesn’t only contain only the memory of the many victims,” Draghi said. “This place is a symbol of the pain of an entire nation.”
The anniversary came as much of Italy including Bergamo is under new lockdown, with schools and restaurants shuttered, amid a new surge of infections. And it comes as Italy’s halting vaccination campaign has slowed down further because of the suspension of AstraZeneca shots pending review.
France is set to announce new coronavirus restrictions on Thursday, including a potential lockdown in the Paris region and in the north of the country, as the number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care units spikes.
“We will make the decisions we need to make,” French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday while visiting the hospital of Poissy and Saint-Germain-en-Laye, west of Paris. He said measures will be “pragmatic, proportionated and targeted.”
Prime Minister Jean Castex is scheduled to detail new restrictions on Thursday. The virus is rapidly spreading in the Paris region, where the rate of infection has reached over 420 per 100,000 inhabitants and ICUs are closed to saturation. France’s nationwide infection rate is about 250 per 100,000.
In the Asia-Pacific region, Pakistani authorities are warning that strict lockdown measures may need to be implemented if the public continues to violate physical-distancing measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Health authorities say a potential lockdown could include closing businesses and restrictions on economic and social activities. The warning was issued Thursday by the National Command and Control Center, which oversees Pakistan’s response to COVID-19.
Amid a third wave of the coronavirus that is gripping Pakistan’s largest province, Punjab, and the northern part of the country, Pakistani health and administrative authorities have imposed a partial lockdown in affected areas since last week. Pakistan has reported 615,810 virus cases among 13,717 deaths.
Thailand will procure an additional 100,000 doses of China’s Sinovac vaccine to be used and paid for by businesses, in the first phase of a private sector vaccination scheme.
In the Americas, Paraguayan opposition lawmakers lost a bid to impeach President Mario Abdo over the government’s handling of the pandemic.
The United States is investing $12.25 billion on ramping up COVID-19 testing to help schools reopen safely and promote testing equity among high-risk and under-served populations.
