The latest news from Canada and around the world Wednesday. This file is no longer updating. . Web links to longer stories if available.
9:53 p.m. South Korea has reported 110 new cases of the coronavirus, half of them linked to a hospital in Busan.
The numbers released by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on Thursday brought the national caseload to 24,988, including 439 deaths.
At least 54 infections were reported in a hospital for the elderly in the southern port city of Busan.
More than 40 others came from the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area, tied to places including hospitals, churches, schools and offices.
The steady rise in infections is a cause of concern in a country that has just lowered its social distancing measures, allowing high-risk venues like nightclubs and karaoke bars to reopen and spectators to return to professional sports.
Health officials are planning to test 160,000 employees at hospitals, nursing homes and welfare centres for senior citizens in Seoul and nearby areas as part of efforts to prevent outbreaks.
9:45 p.m. Mexico reported Wednesday that a total of 1,744 health-care workers have died so far of COVID-19, and another 164 are suspected to have died of it but their test results are still pending.
The number of doctors, nurses, technicians and hospital employees confirmed to have been infected with the novel coronavirus in Mexico now amounts to 127,053. That means health care professionals account for about 15% of all Mexico’s confirmed coronavirus cases, and about 18% of all COVID-19 deaths.
The Health Department said that of those who died, 42% were nurses, 26% were doctors, and 32% were technicians, cleaning staff or other hospital employees.
Mexico has one of the highest rates of medical-personnel deaths in the world, and hospital employees have staged a number of demonstrations in Mexico to protest insufficient personal protective equipment. But Health Department officials denied the death rates was because of a lack of protective gear.
To support its point, the department issued figures showing that furloughed workers — those granted leave because they had pre-existing conditions that put them at risk — had fallen ill and died with greater frequency than health care workers who remained on the job. Officials said that suggested exposure on the job did not translate into higher infection rates.
Active-service health care workers largely mirrored Mexico’s over-all fatality rate of almost 67 COVID-19 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. But health professionals on leave died at a rate of about 126 per 100,000.
A Sept. 16 report by the U.S. union National Nurses United said that at least 1,718 health care workers, including registered nurses, had died in the United States of COVID-19 and related complications. Mexico has a population of almost 130 million, while the U.S. population is almost 330 million.
8:10 p.m.: U.S. First Lady Melania Trump issued a statement Wednesday outlining her personal experience with , and revealing that her son Barron also tested positive for the coronavirus but has since tested negative.
Her husband, President , first at 12:54 a.m. on October 2 that he and Melania had tested positive.
6:43 p.m. The number of active cases of COVID-19 has ticked up to just under 1,500 as B.C. reports 158 new cases on Wednesday.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and deputy health minister Stephen Brown say in a joint news release that 84 people are in hospital, including 24 in intensive care.
They say no one else has died from the illness since the province’s last update, leaving the death toll at 250.
The outbreak at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver is now over, while outbreaks are ongoing at two other acute-care facilities and 17 assisted-living or long-term care homes.
More than 3,600 people are being monitored after exposure to a known case.
B.C. has confirmed 10,892 cases of COVID-19, while 9,112 people who tested positive have recovered.
6:38 p.m. Elections Manitoba says some voters should be allowed to cast their ballot by phone in provincial elections.
The independent agency says voting by phone could be easier for snowbirds and others who are out of the province on election day.
Currently, they are required to apply for absentee ballots by mail.
In its new annual report, Elections Manitoba says some absentee voters do not have a fixed address while travelling or travel in areas where they cannot receive or return their ballots in time.
The report says people with disabilities and military personnel serving overseas could also benefit from the change.
Justice Minister Cliff Cullen’s office says he has yet to review the report and cannot comment yet.
6:35 p.m. A British Columbia Supreme Court judge has dismissed an application by two parents who wanted the province to implement tougher COVID-19 safety measures before schools reopened last month.
Justice Jasvinder Basran says in an oral decision posted online on Wednesday he is satisfied that the advice of public health officials in B.C. is based on the best available scientific knowledge.
He says evidence shows the officials considered the use of masks in schools, while the creation of learning groups of up to 60 or 120 students was also based on “sound scientific advice” balanced with the need to provide children with an education.
The application filed in late August on behalf of Bernard Trest of White Rock and Gary Shuster of Vancouver, both fathers of school-age kids, named the ministers of health and education as respondents.
They sought an injunction restraining the ministries from moving into the current phase of the province’s school restart plan without a mandatory mask policy in classrooms and an order compelling physical distancing among students in the same learning group in classroom settings.
Basran ruled the public interest is best served by continuing to rely on COVID-19 guidance issued by provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and the health minister.
“The fact that some of this advice is not universally accepted is insufficient to conclude that the government has clearly chosen the wrong approach in terms of the public interest.”
He also said the application from Trest and Shuster did not clearly identify any statutory authority that would permit the two ministries to make the orders the parents’ were seeking. The power to make orders under the Public Health Act is granted only to health officers, medical health officers and the provincial health officer, he said.
Basran added that Trest and Shuster expressed preferences for sending their children to school in person but felt it wasn’t safe. But he said they did not cite any evidence on remote options available to their children and the province has reasonably accommodated parents who have chosen homeschooling or remote learning options.
Basran ordered each party to pay for their own costs, saying he was satisfied the petitioners had a good-faith belief that their application was in the public interest.
6:24 p.m. Manitoba’s health minister says more restrictions are possible as COVID-19 numbers continue to rise, especially in the greater Winnipeg area.
Cameron Friesen said he is concerned about the latest numbers that show caseloads are still rising two weeks after the Winnipeg region was put under tighter rules that include a 10-person cap on public gatherings.
Friesen said there are other restrictions that could be imposed under the province’s colour-coded pandemic response system, which has Winnipeg in the Orange — or restricted — category while the rest of the province is in the Yellow — or caution — group.
“Whether that means additional closures or additional use of masks, or if it be additional other measures, those things will be contemplated,” Friesen said Wednesday.
“And if it is the advice of public health that now is the time to implement them, then we know that the chief provincial public health officer will so advise.”
Health officials reported 146 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday, mostly in Winnipeg, and two more deaths.
Per capita, Manitoba has the second-highest number of active cases in the country behind Quebec, according to data on Health Canada’s website.
To try to stem the tide, the province imposed another round of restrictions in the greater Winnipeg area last week. Bars, pubs and licensed restaurants must close at 11 p.m. Alcohol service must stop an hour earlier.
Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont said a full lockdown should be one option under consideration, as long as the government is prepared to help people who are put out of work by the move.
“A lockdown has to be on the table,” Lamont said.
“But at the same time, if you’re going to tell people you can’t work, if you’re going to tell people you have to close your business, government has a responsibility to make sure that those people don’t go broke and that business doesn’t go under.”
Manitoba has had 2,925 COVID-19 cases to date. Health officials said 37 people have died and 27 were in hospital on Wednesday.
6:00 p.m. Two weeks after Quebec imposed a partial lockdown on its two biggest cities, the number of new, daily COVID-19 infections reported by health authorities has stabilized.
The fact the daily case numbers haven’t continued to rise is “justification for a little bit of restrained optimism,” said Dr. Christopher Labos, a Montreal-based cardiologist with a degree in epidemiology.
He said the partial lockdown, which forced gyms, bars and other venues to close and banned indoor and outdoor gatherings, was the right move. Quebec imposed those restrictions on Montreal and Quebec City on Oct. 1, and recently announced the same for many other parts of the province.
“I really don’t see that there’s any other option,” Labos, who has worked with McGill University’s Office for Science and Society, said in an interview Wednesday.
Health officials reported 1,203 new cases Wednesday — 844 of which were recorded during the previous 24 hours. The other 359 cases were confirmed between Oct. 10 and 12 but were previously unreported because of what the Health Department said was a “technical problem” during an update to a computer system.
Labos said it will take at least two weeks — maybe more because of testing backlogs — to evaluate the effect of the government’s latest approach to slowing the spread of COVID-19.
But it’s almost impossible, he explained, to determine what effect specific measures have had on the rate of COVID-19 infection. All of the restrictions imposed by the government worked in tandem, leaving scientists without the ability to conduct randomized trials, he said.
Anti-lockdown advocates have been rejoicing following a recent interview by British magazine The Spectator with the World Health Organization’s special envoy on COVID-19, Dr. David Nabarro.
During the interview, which made headlines around the world, Nabarro said the WHO doesn’t advocate for lockdowns as a primary means of controlling the virus.
Labos said he’s worried those comments are being taken out of context.
At no point during that interview did Nabarro say lockdowns don’t work, Labos said. Lockdowns wouldn’t be necessary, Labos explained, if Quebec had an adequate contact tracing program and every positive case could be identified and isolated.
“A lockdown becomes necessary when you have uncontrolled explosive growth, which is unfortunately what we had,” he said.
Roxane Borges Da Silva, a professor at Universite de Montreal’s school of public health, said Quebec followed WHO recommendations by imposing targeted lockdowns. She said that approach was a good decision.
By keeping some services open — such as retail businesses and manufacturing — she said the government is trying to find a balance between protecting the health-care system and keeping people working. That equilibrium, she said, “is very hard to find.”
The fact a computer issue reportedly delayed the reporting of some positive tests is “one more reason” it’s too early to say whether the restrictions in Montreal and Quebec City have been effective, Borges Da Silva said.
Other data is also important, she said. “Hospitalizations are the most reliable indicator.”
Health authorities Wednesday reported one death linked to the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours and five COVID-19 deaths from earlier dates, for a total of 5,976. Hospitalizations increased by 20 to 488, with 80 patients in intensive care, a decrease of five.
Quebec has now reported a total of 88,994 COVID-19 cases.
On Wednesday afternoon, Parti Quebecois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said his party wants the government to start sharing what advice it’s getting from public health officials.
“If we want to maintain trust between the public and the government, public health has to provide information,” Plamondon told reporters. “We have to be able to know what the recommendations are and, ultimately, separate the politics from the science.”
COVID-19 Resources Canada, a national group of researchers, has also called for the Quebec government to share more information about what advice it’s receiving from public health officials. The group says other provincial governments are more forthcoming with that kind of information.
5:38 p.m. Residents of long-term care homes in three Ontario regions where COVID-19 cases are surging won’t be allowed to go out for social or personal reasons as of Friday.
The provincial government says short-term and temporary absences for medical or compassionate reasons, however, will still be allowed.
The new restrictions will apply to long-term care homes in Toronto, Peel Region and Ottawa, and will remain in place until further notice.
Minister of Long-Term Care Merrilee Fullerton says the changes may be difficult for residents and families affected, but its priority has to be keeping everyone in the homes safe.
Those wanting to visit loved ones in a home are urged to call ahead to make sure the facility is free of outbreaks and confirm visiting policies and restrictions.
The province says measures regarding long-term care will be updated as the COVID-19 pandemic evolves.
4:25 p.m.: Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil says his province has no plans to impose border restrictions following two COVID-19 outbreaks in neighbouring New Brunswick.
While McNeil says health officials from his province are continuing to monitor the situation, he expressed confidence that New Brunswick has taken the proper steps to deal with the outbreaks.
Chief medical officer of health Dr. Robert Strang says what’s being seen in New Brunswick is an important reminder that COVID-19 is still here and it can quickly “rear its head.”
Strang says there are no indications of community spread of the virus so far in the New Brunswick outbreaks in Moncton and Campbellton, and there is no evidence of increased risk to travellers.
He says as a result there is no need at this point to impose any travel restrictions between the two provinces.
Nova Scotia reported no new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday and has four active cases with one patient in intensive care.
3:35 p.m.: There are 188,984 confirmed cases in Canada.
Quebec: 88,994 confirmed (including 5,977 deaths, 74,483 resolved)
Ontario: 61,413 confirmed (including 3,017 deaths, 52,512 resolved)
Alberta: 20,956 confirmed (including 286 deaths, 18,055 resolved)
British Columbia: 10,734 confirmed (including 250 deaths, 8,974 resolved)
Manitoba: 2,925 confirmed (including 37 deaths, 1,514 resolved)
Saskatchewan: 2,199 confirmed (including 25 deaths, 1,920 resolved)
Nova Scotia: 1,092 confirmed (including 65 deaths, 1,023 resolved)
New Brunswick: 292 confirmed (including 2 deaths, 200 resolved)
Newfoundland and Labrador: 283 confirmed (including 4 deaths, 271 resolved)
Prince Edward Island: 63 confirmed (including 60 resolved)
Yukon: 15 confirmed (including 15 resolved)
Repatriated Canadians: 13 confirmed (including 13 resolved)
Northwest Territories: 5 confirmed (including 5 resolved)
Nunavut: No confirmed cases
Total: 188,984 (0 presumptive, 188,984 confirmed including 9,663 deaths, 159,045 resolved)
2:55 p.m. New Brunswick is reporting eight new cases of COVID-19.
Six of the cases are in the Campbellton region in the north of the province, involving people ranging in age from their 30s to their 60s.
The other two cases are in the Moncton region and are linked to an outbreak at the Notre-Dame Manor special-care home.
The new cases bring the province’s total to 292, of which 200 have recovered. There have been two deaths.
2:44 p.m Deputy chief public health officer Dr. Howard Njoo says collecting better data can help in addressing inequalities the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed.
Speaking at a virtual public health conference today, Njoo says collecting data on race and ethnicity for health purposes has been neglected for a very long time but everyone recognizes its importance now.
Njoo’s superior Dr. Theresa Tam says having more granular data now, during the second wave of COVID-19, makes it possible to adopt more targeted approaches in different areas of the country.
But she says the fatigue that regular people and public health workers alike feel is presenting new challenges.
Tam says there’s a need for a fine balance between maintaining low virus transmission and at the same time minimizing the social and economic impacts of the pandemic.
Canadian Public Health Association director Richard Musto says all health and social services organizations should use demographic data to understand fully who is affected disproportionately by the pandemic.
2:17 p.m. Toronto’s medical officer of health, Dr. Eileen de Villa, says Toronto is reporting 296 new COVID-19 cases today.
2:08 p.m. French President Emmanuel President Macron’s office says France will restore a state of health emergency that expired on July 10.
There are no additional measures that come into force with the move announced Wednesday, but it will allow the government to enforce stricter measures in the future, either locally or nationally. The move is expected to enter into force on Saturday.
France initially declared a state of health emergency in March, paving the way for the government to oblige citizens to stay home in lockdown. Macron is addressing the nation on television Wednesday night and could address further measures.
2:07 p.m. Spain has become the first European Union nation to reach 900,000 infections after adding more than 11,000 confirmed cases.
Spain’s health ministry say it has confirmed 908,056 infections since the beginning of the pandemic, which is seventh in the world.
France is next in the EU with more than 750,000 cases, although the exact number of cases in each country depends on the amount of testing.
More than 5,000 new cases were diagnosed in Spain between Tuesday and Wednesday, the ministry says.
Spanish authorities have confirmed 33,413 deaths from COVID-19, ranking eighth in the world. Health experts believe the actual number is much higher because of a lack of testing.
2 p.m. For the third time in a week, Iran on Wednesday marked its highest single-day record for new deaths and infections from the coronavirus, with 279 people killed and 4,830 new cases.
A Health Ministry spokeswoman, Sima Sadat Lari, made the announcement as Iran, with a population of more than 83 million, struggles with the worst outbreak in the Middle East. Since the first cases of the virus were announced in February, the country has had more than 513,000 confirmed cases and over 29,300 deaths.
In recent weeks, Iran has seen daily death tolls spike to their highest-ever levels, sparking increasing concern even as government officials continue to resist a total lockdown for fear of cratering the economy, which has been hard-hit by U.S. sanctions.
On Wednesday, Iran announced a travel ban to and from five major cities, including the capital of Tehran and the holy city of Mashhad, to prevent the spread of the virus. Kianoush Jahanpour, a Health Ministry spokesman, told state TV that the travel ban aims to reduce risks ahead of a religious holiday on Saturday. Iran’s weekend is Thursdays and Fridays.
1:55 p.m. Coronavirus infections are surging anew in the northern Italian region where the pandemic first took hold in Europe, putting pressure again on hospitals and health care workers.
At Milan’s San Paolo hospital, a ward dedicated to coronavirus patients and outfitted with breathing machines reopened this weekend, a sign that the city and the surrounding area is entering a new emergency phase of the pandemic.
For the medical personnel who fought the virus in Italy’s hardest-hit region of Lombardy in the spring, the long-predicted resurgence came too soon.
“On a psychological level, I have to say I still have not recovered,’’ said nurse Cristina Settembrese, referring to last March and April when Lombardy accounted for nearly half of the dead and one-third of the nation’s coronavirus cases.
“In the last five days, I am seeing many people who are hospitalized who need breathing support,” Settembrese said. “I am reliving the nightmare, with the difference that the virus is less lethal.”
Months after Italy eased one of the globe’s toughest lockdowns, the country on Wednesday posted its highest ever daily total of new infections at 7,332 — surpassing the previous high of 6,557, recorded during the virus’s most deadly phase in March. Lombardy is again leading the nation in case numbers, an echo of the trauma of March and April when ambulance sirens pierced the silence of stilled cities.
1:50 p.m. Manitoba is reporting 146 new COVID-19 cases, continuing a spike that has been concentrated in Winnipeg.
Health officials are also reporting two more deaths: a man in his 80s and a woman in her 70s, both from Winnipeg.
The capital city has been under tightened restrictions for two weeks that limit public gatherings to 10 people and require masks in indoor public places.
1:23 p.m. Coach Dan Mullen clarified his comments four days after saying he wanted 90,000 at Florida Field during the coronavirus pandemic, apologizing Wednesday “if I offended people or anybody out there.”
A decision on his team’s game against defending national champion LSU should happen in much quicker fashion.
The 10th-ranked Gators expect the Southeastern Conference to make a call on postponing or playing Saturday’s game against the Tigers by the end of the day, a verdict that will be tied to results of another round of COVID-19 testing.
“I would think that would come today,” Mullen said. “To be honest with you, it’s hard for me to speculate until we get the test results back for today as to where we’re at. I would hate to lead anyone on or speculate on that. I would think today, by today, for everybody involved, that we would have some more answers.”
Florida paused team activities Tuesday after learning it had 19 positives and about a dozen more quarantined because of contact tracing results. Mullen said two assistant coaches also tested positive for COVID-19. Those numbers could increase more with Wednesday’s results.
Florida moved to everyday testing after seeing a spike in positives Sunday, the day after a 41-38 loss at Texas A&M.
1:22 p.m. A Bank of Canada official says pandemic-related shifts in how people shop means central banks must speed up work on creating their own digital currencies.
COVID-19 has meant more people are shopping online, and foot traffic for brick-and-mortar storefronts hasn’t caught up to pre-pandemic levels for many small and medium-sized businesses.
Bank of Canada deputy Timothy Lane says that shift in spending habits coupled with the speed of technological developments has narrowed the window to deliver a digital currency issued by the central bank.
The comments from an online panel today are a turnaround from late February, just before the pandemic struck, when Lane said there wasn’t a compelling case to issue a central bank-backed digital currency.
1:02 p.m. The judge-alone murder trial of Alek Minassian, who killed 10 people when he drove a van into pedestrians along Yonge St. in April 2018, will go ahead next month even as Toronto courts face .
The trial, which will centre on Minassian’s state of mind, is still set to start on Nov. 9 after being postponed earlier this year due to the pandemic, but may take place , court heard Wednesday.
Superior Court Justice Anne Molloy said this would allow more people to watch the trial, given the strict limits on the number of people allowed in a physical courtroom.
1 p.m. Quebec is reporting 1,203 new cases of COVID-19, 844 of which are from the past 24 hours.
Authorities said today 359 cases between Oct. 10 and Oct. 12 weren’t previously reported because of a technical problem.
The province is also reporting one death attributed to the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours and five other COVID-19 deaths from previous dates.
Hospitalizations increased by 20 to 488, with 80 patients in intensive care, a decrease of five.
12:31 p.m. The TTC is defending its handling of crowding on the transit system after being criticized for telling riders to board another bus if the one they’re on is too full to allow for social distancing.
A Twitter message Tuesday morning advised that “as the city re-opens, social distancing will no longer be possible on our vehicles. As such, if you feel that a vehicle you are on is overcrowded, I would suggest getting off and boarding the next one.”
Although TTC officials have that keeping the recommended two metres apart won’t always be possible on its vehicles as ridership rebounds from its low point earlier in the pandemic, the post sparked controversy, with some users accusing the transit agency of abdicating a responsibility to keep passengers safe during the COVID-19 crisis.
12:19 p.m. The number of new cases in public schools across Ontario has jumped by 96 from the previous day, to a total of 645 in the last two weeks, and 1,040 in since classrooms reopened.
, the province reported 51 more students were infected for a total of 376 in the last two weeks. Since school began there have been overall total of 580 students infected.
Two more schools have closed on Tuesday, totalling five schools still closed to contain the coronavirus, the Ministry of Health figures read.
12:08 p.m. A popular farm near Toronto is closing its pumpkin patch. Downey’s Farm made the announcement on their Instagram account.
“We have made the difficult decision to remove our front lawn Pumpkin Patch for the remainder of this fall season.”
The farm is popular for picking, photos and family gatherings.
“We have worked hard to keep the tradition alive this year as pumpkins have been on the front lawn every fall since 1986.” The Barn Market store remains open with a limit on the number of visitors inside.
12:04 p.m. Mississauga’s Playdium is permanently closing, they announced Wednesday on Twitter.
“We regret to inform you that we will be permanently closing as of November 1, 2020,” the tweet read.
Playdium first opened its doors in the early 1990s, and is a popular spot for video games, simulators, batting cages, Go-Karts and mini golf.
10:54 a.m. A Wisconsin judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked an order from Gov. Tony Evers’ administration limiting the number of people who can gather in bars, restaurants and other indoor places, a move that comes as the state breaks records for new coronavirus cases, deaths and hospitalizations.
Sawyer County Circuit Judge John Yackel, who blocked the order a day after the Tavern League of Wisconsin sued, set a court date for Monday. The judge said that hearing will give attorneys for the defendant, Wisconsin Department of Health Secretary Andrea Palm, a chance to argue why the order should not be put on hold while the lawsuit plays out.
The Democratic governor’s order, issued by Evers-appointee Palm last week, limited the number of customers in many indoor establishment to 25 per cent of capacity. Gatherings in indoor spaces without an occupancy limit were limited to 10 people. The order does not apply to colleges, schools, churches, polling locations, political rallies and outdoor venues.
10:35 a.m. Toronto home prices continued to soar during the third quarter thanks to pent-up demand from the springlockdown, but is already starting to show signs of cooling off, according to a report from the country’s biggest real estate company.
In the third quarter, the price of an average home in the Greater Toronto Area rose by 11 per cent from the same time a year ago, hitting $922,421, according to the report from Royal LePage to be released Wednesday morning.
That kind of double-digit increase won’t be happening in the fourth quarter, or next year, predicted Royal LePage president and CEO Phil Soper.
10:25 a.m. The LCBO says an employee at a Brampton store has recently tested positive for COVID-19.
According to a issued by the LCBO, the employee works at the , near the intersection of Steeles Avenue and Mavis Road.
The LCBO was notified of the positive case on Sunday and the employee’s last day of work was Oct. 4.
10:17 a.m. The rate of people testing positive for COVID-19 suddenly jumped back up to three per cent as another 721 Ontarians contracted the virus, according to government statistics released Wednesday.
That’s up from a positivity rate of 2.6 per cent the previous day, and means three of every 100 people tested were positive, a level considered an international benchmark for concern and which prompted new restrictions for Toronto, Peel and Ottawa from Premier Doug Ford last Friday.
Meanwhile, York Region and Hamilton saw sharp rises while the number of schools with cases fell slightly.
There were 79 new infections in York, up from 42 the previous day, and 41 in Hamilton, where health officials have been dealing with an outbreak traced to a spin-class studio. That’s an increase from 15 the previous day.
10:05 a.m. Health Canada has added five new products to its growing list of recalled hand sanitizers. The agency has pulled two Sanix products for containing the “unacceptable ingredient,” methanol.
Authorities also recalled Prairie Potions’ Purify Hand Sanitizer and Antibacterial Spray for using methanol.
Last Best Brewing and Distilling Hand Sanitizer and Rocky Mountain Soap Company’s Nomad Hand Sanitizer (Lemongrass) are both being recalled for missing risk statements and containing unauthorized technical-grade ethanol.
Since June, Health Canada has recalled more than 100 hand sanitizer products, often for containing unauthorized ingredients or improper labelling.
10 a.m. Skate Canada International has been cancelled amid concern of rising COVID-19 cases in Ontario.
The Grand Prix event was scheduled for Oct. 30-31 in Ottawa in front of no fans, but the decision was made to scrap the competition in consultation with the City of Ottawa and the provincial government on Wednesday.
Skate Canada CEO Debra Armstrong said with the recent 28-day shutdown of recreational facilities, among other venues that host large gatherings in the province’s hot spots including Ottawa, and the “continuous shift in requirements across the country,” it became clear it wouldn’t be possible to host the event.
Skate Canada International is one of six Grand Prix events around the world that kick off the figure skating season. The Grand Prix circuit has become primarily domestic competitions due to travel restrictions around the global pandemic, and therefore only open to skaters who live and train in the host countries.
9:30 a.m. The disproportionate impact on women’s mental health grew in late September, as a new survey reveals women are displaying higher anxiety levels for the first time in months.
Experts say the results reflect growing anxiety surrounding the home, with children’s return to school and persistent gender roles that have women responsible for child and home care, affecting their return to the workforce.
The survey of 1,003 adults across Canada was conducted by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and Delvinia, an automated research platform, between Sept. 18 and 22. It shows that women are experiencing higher rates of moderate to severe anxiety than men — 24 per cent of women surveyed said they feel anxious, compared to only 17 per cent of men.
Survey results also reveal that 27 per cent of respondents with children under 18 reported having moderate or severe anxiety.
9:25 a.m. Canada has withdrawn its team from Saturday’s world half-marathon championships due to rising COVID-19 cases in Poland.
Poland reported a record-high 6,526 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday. The race, originally scheduled for March 29, is being held in Gdynia, Poland.
Paddy McCluskey, Athletics Canada’s chief medical officer, said flying, airport transfers, plus common areas such as hotel lobbies and common dining areas were all concerning, and “we felt it was not prudent to expose our team to those risks.”
The withdrawal was another blow for Canada’s distance runners, as the global pandemic has virtually wiped out the road racing season.
Canada was to be represented by Rachel Cliff, Justin Kent, Ben Preisner, Philippe Parrot-Migas and Thomas Toth.
9:17 a.m. WestJet says it is indefinitely suspending operations to Moncton, N.B, Fredericton, Sydney, N.S., and Charlottetown, while significantly reducing service to Halifax and St. John’s, N.L.
The airline is also suspending operations between Toronto and Quebec City.
WestJet says the suspension eliminates more than 100 flights weekly starting Nov. 2.
The airline says it has worked to keep essential air service going since the start of the pandemic, but demand for travel is being severely limited by restrictive policies.
The airline also says it is laying off 100 corporate and operational support employees.
The cuts do not include airport staff from the affected Atlantic airports due to an earlier restructuring.
9:01 a.m. Two employees at separate Loblaws-owned stores in Mississauga have recently tested positive for COVID-19.
According to the , one employee at the and a second at have tested positive.
Management was notified of the Shoppers case Oct. 13 and the employee’s last day of work was Oct. 7.
The No Frills employee’s last day of work was Oct. 3 and management was notified of the case Oct. 12.
9 a.m. An employee at a Mississauga Dollarama location has recently tested positive for COVID-19. Management was notified of one employee at the who tested positive on Oct. 12.
The employee’s last day was Oct. 8. Employees who may have been in close contact with the employee are currently self-isolating. The store underwent a deep cleaning before reopening on Oct. 13.
8:30 a.m. U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces growing pressure to order a national lockdown as Europe’s leaders labor to contain an alarming increase in COVID-19 cases.
Johnson has tried to strike a balance between targeted restrictions and keeping as much of the economy open as possible. But opposition leader Keir Starmer warned local measures aren’t working and demanded a two-to three-week lockdown after documents revealed a scientific advisory group had called for the same action three weeks ago.
Other countries across Europe widened curbs, with the Dutch prime minster ordering a partial lockdown. German Chancellor Angela Merkel will consult with regional leaders and French President Emmanuel Macron is due to appear on national television. Both may announce new restrictions.
7:24 a.m. The health unit in Six Nations says the community is “in crisis” after a surge of cases over the Thanksgiving long weekend.
Ohsweken public health reported 14 new lab-confirmed and 33 new probable cases of the virus on Tuesday.
The spike in cases is associated with private gatherings and people “travelling from one gathering to the next,” according to an Oct. 13 .
“Health-care perspectives and advice can’t be ignored,” said Lori Davis Hill, director of health services . “They are working around the clock to keep us safe.”
Testing was carried out over the weekend, and continues into this week.
“Our health-care staff are exhausted, and contact-tracing is not yet complete,” she said. “They are becoming overly stressed as a result of (the) community taking risks to gather.”
In a published on Tuesday, the Six Nations assessment centre request patience from those calling to book a test as “staff are experiencing a high level of demand.”
“Some members that attended gatherings are symptomatic but not seeking testing, placing the community at a seriously heightened risk of exposure,” said elected chief Mark Hill. “Please get tested if you are unsure, it is better to be safe than sorry.”
7:07 a.m. A new report on the mental health of Canadian workers suggests loneliness is worse for many people than the fear of dying from COVID-19.
Morneau Shepell’s overall mental health index for September was down 10.2 points from its pre-2020 benchmark. The reading in August was down 11.2 points from the benchmark, while July was down 10.4 points.
While the financial impact of the pandemic and getting ill with COVID-19 were the most prevalent concerns, people who identified loneliness as a concern had the lowest mental health score at minus 25.8.
That was even lower than the score of minus 17.7 for those who cited a fear of dying from COVID-19 as a worry.
Morneau Shepell’s latest monthly report on its mental health index is based on online responses collected Aug. 21 to 30, before the recent surge of COVID cases.
The polling industry’s professional body says online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error because they do not randomly sample the population.
5:39 a.m.: The World Bank has approved $12 billion in financing to help developing countries buy and distribute coronavirus vaccines, tests, and treatments, aiming to support the vaccination of up to 1 billion people.
The $12 billion “envelop” is part of a wider World Bank Group package of up to $160 billion to help developing countries fight the COVID-19 pandemic, the bank said in a statement late Tuesday.
The World Bank said its COVID-19 emergency response programs are already reaching 111 countries.
Citizens in developing countries also need access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines, it said.
“We are extending and expanding our fast-track approach to address the COVID emergency so that developing countries have fair and equal access to vaccines,” said the bank’s president, David Malpass, said in the statement.
“Access to safe and effective vaccines and strengthened delivery systems is key to alter the course of the pandemic and help countries experiencing catastrophic economic and fiscal impacts move toward a resilient recovery,” he said.
The International Finance Corporation, the private sector lending arm of the World Bank is investing in vaccine manufacturers through a $4 billion Global Health Platform, the statement said.
5:11 a.m.: India has confirmed more than 63,000 new cases of the coronavirus, an increase of over 8,000 from the previous day but still far fewer than it was reporting a month ago, when the virus was at its peak in the country.
The Health Ministry reported 63,509 new cases on Wednesday, raising India’s total to more than 7.2 million, second in the world behind the U.S. The ministry also reported 730 fatalities in the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to 110,586. The country was seeing more than 1,000 deaths per day last month.
According to the Health Ministry, India’s average number of daily cases dropped to 72,576 last week from 92,830 during the week of Sept. 9-15, when the virus peaked. Over the last month, the country has been seeing a trend of declining cases on a week-to-week basis.
5:05 a.m.: Health officials are scheduled to meet Wednesday to discuss whether to add areas of northern England, including Manchester and Lancashire, to the highest-risk tier, meaning additional anti-coronavirus measures such as closing pubs could soon be imposed there. Only Liverpool was placed in the highest-risk category when the plan was unveiled Monday.
The discussions come as the regional government in Northern Ireland prepares to announce even tougher measures, including a two-week school closure. Northern Ireland has the highest infection rate among the U.K.’s four nations.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is being criticized by all sides two days after announcing his three-tier approach to controlling the virus.
A report released Tuesday showed that the government’s science advisers have called for tougher measures, including a two- to three-week national lockdown. The opposition Labour Party has called for that advice to be followed, while members of Johnson’s Conservative Party say the measures already in place go too far and are damaging the economy.
5 a.m.: A new poll suggests Canadians are turning against the idea of the government requiring people to get a vaccine for COVID-19 when it becomes available.
Only 39 per cent of respondents in the poll by Leger and the Association for Canadian Studies said a COVID-19 vaccine should be mandatory while 54 per cent said it should be voluntary.
That’s a marked shift from July, when 57 per cent supported mandatory inoculations and 43 per cent believed they should be voluntary.
The new poll also suggested more overall reluctance about getting inoculated when a vaccine becomes available, with 63 per cent of respondents saying they would, seven percentage points lower than in July.
4 a.m.: A COVID-19 outbreak at a fly-in reserve in Manitoba and increasing infections in First Nations populations in the province has leaders worried.
“It’s a wake-up call for all of us,” said Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Arlen Dumas.
The First Nations population in Manitoba was largely spared of infections earlier this year during the first wave of COVID-19, as leaders imposed travel restrictions and lockdowns.
But Dumas said the initial success “allowed for a bit of apathy to creep in.”
There have been 179 COVID-19 cases among First Nations people in Manitoba, with most in the last few weeks, according to the Manitoba First Nations COVID-19 Pandemic Response Coordination Team.
Leading up to the Thanksgiving weekend, there were 143 active cases among First Nations people in the province. Sixty of those were on reserves, which is more than half of all on-reserve cases in the country.
Tuesday 9:42 p.m. China says it has carried out more than 4.2 million tests in the northern port city of Qingdao, with no new cases of coronavirus found among the almost 2 million sets of results received.
The city has reported a total of 12 cases, six with symptoms and six without, since the new outbreak was first spotted over the weekend at a hospital.
China on Wednesday reported 27 new cases of coronavirus, including 13 new cases of local transmission and 14 cases brought from outside the country. The local cases included seven that had been shifted to confirmed from asymptomatic. It wasn’t immediately clear whether any of those involved cases reported in Qingdao.
China has reported a total of 4,634 deaths among 85,611 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
