Good evening, we’re updating the coronavirus newsletter to better reflect the pandemic as it changes. What would you like to see included? Send your thoughts to audience@globeandmail.com

       Top headlines:

       Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is supporting compulsory vaccines for some federally regulated workplaces — the first time he has publicly backed the highly controversial issue Desperation in Zimbabwe: As the virus sweeps through the country, and vaccines are scarce, some residents are making bribes or using political connections to secure a shot Canada had the worst record for long-term care deaths in the first wave. So why are there so few coroners’ reports? In the past seven days, 6,559 cases were reported, up 57 per cent from the previous seven days. There were 63 deaths announced, up 13 per cent over the same period. At least 418 people are being treated in hospitals and 1,400,626 others are considered recovered.

       Canada’s inoculation rate is 7th among countries with a population of one million or more people.

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       Sources: Canada data is compiled from government websites, Johns Hopkins and COVID-19 Canada Open Data Working Group; international data is from Johns Hopkins University.

       Coronavirus explainers: Coronavirus in maps and charts ？ Tracking vaccine doses ？ Lockdown rules and reopening

       Photo of the day Open this photo in gallery

       People receive a dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine during a mass vaccination in Monterrey, Mexico, August 5, 2021.

       DANIEL BECERRIL/Reuters

       Coronavirus in Canada In Quebec, Premier Francois Legault announced the government will impose a vaccine passport system and says it appears the province is at the beginning of a fourth wave of COVID-19. Federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu has written to Alberta’s Health Minister Tyler Shandro to warn the move to end routine COVID-19 testing, contact tracing and mandatory isolation is risky. Spread of the Delta variant requires more caution, not less, Hajdu said, and asked Shandro to explain the evidence and rationale behind the province’s changes. Yukon lifted a series of public health restrictions, including the requirement to wear a mask indoors, as active COVID-19 infections decline and the vaccination rate rises. A nursing home in Saskatchewan was found to be “woefully unprepared” for a deadly COVID-19 outbreak last year, the province’s ombudsman said. Ontario is updating its COVID-19 protocols for child-care centres, and will allow singing indoors and visitors in the centres. In Ottawa, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he is considering making COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for some federally regulated workplaces – the first time he has openly supported any form of compulsory vaccinations.

       Trudeau says he fully supports that plan and that the government is in discussions with the federal public service about whether there are some job categories where vaccination should be made mandatory. Across Canada, thousands died of COVID-19 in long-term care. Canada had the worst record for COVID-19 fatalities in long-term care homes among other wealthy countries during the first wave of the pandemic.

       But, with the notable exception of Quebec, no province has ordered public hearings into the disproportionate toll the coronavirus took on residents. In the absence of proper assessments of these deaths, nursing home operators have rarely, if ever, lost their licences, no criminal charges have been laid and grieving families have had nowhere to turn in their searches for answers. COVID-19 election: Canada’s chief public health officer, Dr. Teresa Tam, is confident people will be able to cast ballots safely if a federal election is called.

       Coronavirus around the world In Zimbabwe, residents are desperate to get even one jab of a COVID-19 vaccine. “Citizens bear the brunt of the shortages across vaccination centres in the country,” the Zimbabwe Democracy Institute said in a recent report on the situation. Grappling with the spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant that was first identified in India, Indonesia has quickly become Asia’s coronavirus epicentre. The country is reporting a death rate in the unvaccinated that is more than three times higher than those who are vaccinated. Germany and France are ignoring an appeal by the World Health Organization to hold off on vaccine boosters until more of the global population is vaccinated. Coronavirus and business Many Canadians aged 65 and up say they have suddenly found themselves cut off from the guaranteed income supplement for seniors because the pandemic benefits they received last year caused unanticipated clawbacks.

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       One man, a 65-year-old resident of British Columbia’s Cowichan Valley, is facing possible eviction because the $2,000 a month in Canada Emergency Response Benefit he received through much of 2020 has rendered him ineligible for the income supplement typically available to low-income seniors. Data on the total number of GIS recipients who had their payments reduced is not currently available. Also today: Home sales in Toronto, Vancouver dip again, as pandemic-buying frenzy fades

       Globe opinion Robyn Urback: Ontario’s COVID-19 back-to-school plan: hoping, praying and replaying Brooks Fallis: A vaccine-only strategy won’t prevent a fourth wave of COVID-19 Michael Haddad: Canada’s health care workers need to be held to a higher standard on vaccines The Editorial Board: Florida is a cautionary COVID-19 tale. Here’s what Canada can learn from it More reporting Moderna says its COVID-19 vaccine shot is 93 per cent effective six months after second dose Canada’s federal government says it is sending 82,000-plus doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to Trinidad and Tobago Rebounding global economy from COVID-19 pandemic helps fill order book at Germany’s Siemens AG Campers have ‘given up’ trying to book as newbies flood market during the pandemic Information centre Everything you need to know about Canada’s travel restrictions for vaccinated and unvaccinated people Waiting for a second dose? We answer your COVID-19 vaccine questions What is and isn’t ‘paid sick leave’ in Canada? A short primer Got a vaccine ‘hangover’? Here’s why Sources: Canada data are compiled from government websites, Johns Hopkins University and COVID-19 Canada Open Data Working Group; international data are from Johns Hopkins.

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