Good evening, here are the COVID-19 updates you need to know tonight.
Top headlines:
Ivermectin – an anti-parasitic drug – is reportedly being used in Alberta as a treatment for COVID-19, causing a spike in calls to the province’s poison-control centre Moderna plans to invest up to $500-million to build a vaccine manufacturing facility in Africa as pressure grows to produce drugs on the continent Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland hinted that there are plans to extend some wage and rent subsidies for businesses beyond the Oct. 23 expiration date In the past seven days, 27,247 cases were reported, down 9 per cent from the previous seven days. There were 271 deaths announced, down 6 per cent over the same period. At least 2,523 people are being treated in hospitals and 1,581,601 others are considered recovered.
Canada’s inoculation rate is 13th 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
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Students wearing protective face masks attend class amid concerns about the spread of the coronavirus disease in Havana, Cuba on Oct. 7, 2021.
ALEXANDRE MENEGHINI/Reuters
Coronavirus in Canada Newfoundland and Labrador is introducing a vaccine passport system starting Oct. 22. Residents aged 12 and up will have to provide proof of vaccination before they can enter places such as bars, restaurants, gyms and nursing homes. In Nova Scotia, hospital visitors will need to show proof of vaccination starting Oct. 13. The new rule also includes people accompanying patients who are entering hospitals or clinics for appointments or procedures. In Alberta, calls to the province’s poison-control centre hotline about ivermectin – an anti-parasitic drug that has been pushed as a treatment for COVID-19 despite warnings from health officials – spiked over the past month. Meanwhile, an Alberta woman whose pregnant sister died of COVID-19 last month is urging others to get vaccinated. A hospital in southwestern Ontario says it has fired 57 employees who failed to get vaccinated against COVID-19. The Windsor Regional Hospital says it has also suspended six “professional staff” – people who had privileges to practice at the facility but weren’t employees. Quebec will stick to its firm Oct. 15 deadline for health care workers to be fully vaccinated or be suspended without pay. The province’s health minister says about 25,000 health workers in the province are still not fully vaccinated. In British Columbia, Premier John Horgan says vaccine mandates for workers in the province’s education system are a last resort, and that would be up to the school boards to make that decision. In Ottawa, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says the federal government is discussing options to extend pandemic aid for businesses beyond the Oct. 23 expiration date.
The re-elected Liberal minority government is facing calls from many business and labour leaders for a broad extension of the expiring programs, which include wage and rent subsidies to business owners and programs that go directly to individuals who are unable to work because of the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 vaccine approval: Pfizer is set to seek approval in Canada of its COVID-19 vaccine for kids as young as five.
Coronavirus around the world Across the U.S., the pandemic has seen movement from liberal areas to conservative regions, a migration that follows real estate prices. But it also comes at a time when Americans are, in ways not seen before, letting politics guide where they choose to reside. Moderna plans to invest up to $500-million to build a factory in Africa to make up to 500 million doses of mRNA vaccines each year, including its COVID-19 shot. New Zealanders desperate to get back to their home country are forced each week or so to enter a lottery for coveted beds in quarantine hotels – making it nearly impossible to return. Coronavirus and business Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says the current spike in inflation is largely the result of temporary factors related to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as supply-chain disruptions and year-over-year price comparisons.
In a virtual speech to the Washington D.C.-based Council on Foreign Relations, Mr. Macklem said the international financial system needs to evolve to manage the challenges of pandemic recovery and climate change. Inflation in Canada has run above the bank’s 1 to 3 per cent target since May, hitting an 18-year high of 4.1 per cent in August. Also today: Toronto-area GO trains and UP Express won’t require proof of COVID-19 vaccine.
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Globe opinion Campbell Clark: Trudeau uses federal employees to set a vaccine-mandate example Justin Giovannetti: The abandonment of New Zealand’s COVID-zero strategy leaves few people pleased David Parkinson: Atlantic Canada grapples with pandemic-fuelled population boom John Ibbitson: Pandemic-driven fertility decline a challenge for Canada, a crisis for China 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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