The latest:
- Health measures loosening in several Ontario COVID-19 hot spots today, as province reports record in new daily cases.
- Quebec premier pens open letter to province’s residents urging unity this winter amid COVID-19.
- U.S. sets daily record with more than 126,000 new virus cases on Friday.
- Polypropylene is now recommended in masks. Should I be concerned? Your mask questions answered.
- Have a coronavirus question or news tip for CBC News? Email us at COVID@cbc.ca.
As Canada’s most-populous province rolls back restrictions in several COVID-19 hot spots on Saturday, other provinces are moving ahead with further public health measures in an effort to curb a surge in infections.
Ontario’s new tiered, colour-coded COVID-19 restriction framework came into effect at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday. The system classifies each public health unit as a grey, red, orange, yellow or green zone based on factors including caseload, transmission levels and health-care capacity.
Peel Region, which has seen rising cases in recent weeks, is the sole red zone, which means indoor restaurant dining is now limited to 10 people and gyms limited to 10 people indoors.
Health officials in Peel had asked that the region remain under a modified Stage 2 — the restriction classification system previously used by the government — which involved more stringent rules such as a ban on indoor dining in restaurants and bars.
WATCH | Peel Region deemed red zone under Ontario’s new pandemic plan:
Earlier this week, the province rolled out its new tiered, colour-coded COVID-19 restriction framework. The red zone is less restrictive than the current modified Stage 2: restaurants and bars can serve indoors but only 10 customers are allowed inside, and gyms can open with restrictions. 0:56
York Region and Ottawa, which previously were also under a modified version of Stage 2, are now classified as orange zones. The orange level limits bars and restaurants to 50 people indoors, with no more than four seated together.
Toronto, which continues to see the most COVID-19 cases in the province, is staying in modified Stage 2 for another week.
The Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) has criticized the government’s decision to proceed with reopening, calling it “reckless” in the face of continuing spread of the coronavirus.
Ontario reported 1,132 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, its highest ever single-day increase in cases, and 11 deaths, with 852 recoveries.
According to documents obtained by CBC News, 100 COVID-19 patients are in intensive care units as of Friday night — the highest since June.
Meanwhile, new restrictions are coming to another region of Manitoba, with the province’s chief public health officer saying that simply asking people to follow public health advice hasn’t worked.
In a press conference Friday, Dr. Brent Roussin said Southern Health region will move to the highest level of the province’s pandemic system on Monday, joining Winnipeg, which moved to the red level earlier this week.
Among the new restrictions the Southern Health region will see are all restaurants and bars closed for dine-in service, and capacity at cultural or religious gatherings reduced to 15 per cent, or 100 people, whichever is lower.
Roussin said the new restrictions are needed to stem the tide of cases in the region and across the province. Manitoba reported 243 new cases of COVID-19 and five deaths on Friday. Fifty-two of those new cases were in Southern Health, which includes larger population centres like Steinbach, Portage la Prairie, Winkler and Morden.
In Saskatchewan, new public health orders took effect on Friday, with masks now mandatory in indoor public spaces in Saskatoon, Regina and Prince Albert.
The allowable size of private gatherings provincewide has also been reduced to 10 from 15. The province said that much of the recent spread of COVID-19 has occurred in private settings and in homes.
Saskatchewan reported 87 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday. There were 33 people in hospital, with four of those in intensive care.
What’s happening across Canada
As of 1:15 p.m. ET on Saturday, provinces and territories in Canada had reported a cumulative total of 258,184 confirmed or presumptive coronavirus cases. Provinces and territories listed 212,966 cases as recovered or resolved. A CBC News tally of deaths based on provincial reports, regional health information and CBC’s reporting stood at 10,475.
Quebec reported 1,234 new COVID-19 cases and an additional 29 deaths on Saturday, as Premier François Legault urged residents in an open letter to stay united and maintain their efforts to keep COVID-19 at bay this winter.
In the letter published Saturday morning, Legault thanked Quebecs for their efforts so far and struck a hopeful tone, saying, “I want us to celebrate Christmas in Quebec.”
He cautioned that “it won’t be a big Christmas with the whole family, but if grandparents could see their grandchildren at last, that for me would be a great victory.”
Nova Scotia reported four new cases on Saturday, bringing the number of active cases in the province to 20, the highest number since May 23.
New Brunswick reported three new cases, all in the Fredericton region, and one new recovery on Saturday.
Newfoundland reported two new cases and one new recovery on Saturday. Health officials there are asking people who are returning from work at Manitoba Hydro’s Keeyask Generating Station to self-isolate after news of an outbreak at the site earlier this week.
Until recently, P.E.I. was the only province in Canada with no active cases of COVID-19. That changed Friday when it announced two new cases, men in their 20s and 50s who had travelled outside Atlantic Canada.
British Columbia’s provincial health officer and health minister will hold a rare weekend news conference on Saturday amid a dramatic spike in COVID-19 cases.
Dr. Bonnie Henry and Adrian Dix will speak at 1 p.m. local time, though there is no word yet on what will be announced. In a news conference earlier this week, Henry said they were talking with health authorities about possibly bringing in region-specific restrictions, if necessary.
WATCH | B.C.’s top doctor talks about hard-hit Fraser Health region:
Dr. Bonnie Henry says there are a number of factors, including a large number of essential workers and multigenerational families. 1:50
The province set a new COVID-19 record for the second straight day on Friday, announcing a record 589 new cases and two more deaths.
In Alberta, Premier Jason Kenney urged people to forego parties and social gatherings in their homes as COVID-19 cases surge in the province, but rejected any further public health restrictions for the time being.
The province announced 609 new COVID-19 cases on Friday after reporting a record 802 new cases the day before.
In the North, Nunavut confirmed its first COVID-19 case on Friday, in Sanikiluaq.
Residents in the community of about 900 people are being asked to remain at home and to avoid mingling with those who are not part of their households, and all travel to and from Sanikiluaq is now restricted to cargo and emergencies.
What’s happening around the world
As of Saturday morning, more than 49.5 million of COVID-19 cases have been reported worldwide, with more than 32.6 million of those listed as recovered, according to a coronavirus tracking tool maintained by Johns Hopkins University. The global death toll stood at more than 1.2 million, the U.S.-based university reported.
In the Americas, the United States set a record of more than 126,400 confirmed cases in a single day on Friday. The seven-day rolling average of new daily cases in the U.S. is approaching 100,000 for the first time, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Total U.S. cases since the start of the pandemic stand at 9.7 million, with more than 236,00 deaths. The seven-day rolling average for daily deaths in the U.S. rose in the past two weeks from 772 on Oct. 23 to 911 on Friday. Those numbers were higher in the spring and August.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows, has been diagnosed with the coronavirus. Meadows traveled with Trump in the run-up to election day and last appeared in public early Wednesday morning without a mask as Trump falsely declared victory in the vote count.
In Europe, Germany’s disease control centre reported a daily record of 23,300 coronavirus infections on Saturday, surpassing the record of 21,506 set the day before. The Robert Koch Institute also reported 130 deaths, a number trending upward but far lower than the high of 315 deaths reported one day in April.
Germany has imposed significant new restrictions to prevent the health system from being overwhelmed. A four-week partial shutdown took effect on Monday, with bars, restaurants, leisure and sports facilities closed and new contact restrictions imposed. Shops and schools remain open.
In the Asia-Pacific region, Malaysia’s government says it will expand movement restrictions to most parts of the country after coronavirus cases tripled in a month. Another 1,168 new cases were reported Saturday, bringing the total tally to 39,357 — compared to just 13,993 cases a month ago. The death toll stands at 282.
Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob says the entire peninsula of Malaysia, except for three states, will be placed under a conditional movement control order from Monday until Dec. 6. He says the move will help curb the virus spread and allow targeted screening to be done.
In the Middle East, Iran reported 9,460 cases of the coronavirus on Saturday, breaking its previous single-day record earlier this week. The Health Ministry also registered 423 additional deaths, pushing its confirmed death toll to 37,832, the highest in the Middle East.
Iran has seen a recent surge of infections as the government resists a centralized lockdown to salvage its sanctions-hit economy. However, authorities have recently tightened movement restrictions and introduced travel bans and mask mandates as hospitals in the hard-hit capital of Tehran near overwhelming numbers of patients.
Countries in Africa have reported more than 1.8 million confirmed COVID-19 cases since the pandemic started, with more than 1.5 million recoveries and more than 44,000 deaths.
South Africa has been the hardest-hit country on the continent, with more than 734,000 cases and more than 19,000 deaths reported.