Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world on Feb. 2
Potential breakthrough in Alberta truck blockade; several provinces see record hospitalizations
The latest:
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GoFundMe puts protest convoy fundraiser on pause.
- Figure skater Keegan Messing's Olympics in limbo as he awaits test results.
- Manitoba to begin easing restrictions next week, premier says.
- What the latest pandemic wave is like for the ICU team at one Toronto hospital.
- Host of symptoms, variable recovery times complicate return to work for those with long COVID.
- 'It's one by one': Community workers keen to tackle Montreal's pockets of unvaccinated.
- Emails raise questions about regulator's independence amid COVID-19-related flight refunds.
Some organizers of a convoy protest around Parliament Hill, which began as opposition to mandatory vaccination for cross-border truckers, said Wednesday they plan to remain "for as long as it takes." Meanwhile, protesting truckers have partially reopened a highway blockade at the southern Alberta border.
In Ottawa, the protest has included vehicles parked and honking on roads leading to Parliament Hill since Friday. In recent days there have been reports of Ottawa residents feeling anxious and fearful amid the ongoing protest.
Police have announced three arrests for offences they say are related to the protests. In a briefing to city councillors Wednesday afternoon, Ottawa's police Chief Peter Sloly said policing alone might not solve the occupation of the city's downtown core, and military aid might be necessary.
The scope of the road closures and size of the area city officials say to avoid have dropped since Saturday, when police estimated crowds of between 5,000 and 18,000 people, but both still take up swaths of residential and business districts. Many businesses have chosen to close.
On Wednesday, some protest organizers said they have empathy for the city's residents, but insisted there's no other way to end all COVID-19 public health mandates across Canada.
"Our message to the citizens of Ottawa is one of empathy," wrote Chris Barber, who said he's a senior convoy leader, in a Wednesday morning news release.
"We understand your frustration and genuinely wish there was another way for us to get our message across, but the responsibility for your inconvenience lies squarely on the shoulders of politicians who have [preferred] to vilify and call us names rather than engage in respectful, serious dialogue."
The news release also said the protesters plan to remain "for as long as it takes."
Meanwhile, there was a potential breakthrough in resolving a blockade that has snarled cross-border traffic at the main U.S.-Canada border crossing in the village of Coutts, Alta.
The protest of trucks lined up in front of the border checkpoint — the primary conduit for the approximately $6 billion in trade between Alberta and the U.S. — has halted all traffic at that location of Highway 4 since Saturday. The demonstration is tied to the nationwide protest over the federal vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers, which took effect last month.
Chad Williamson, a lawyer representing truckers blocking access to the crossing, said on Wednesday they had spoken with RCMP and agreed to open a lane of the highway in each direction. Trucks and other vehicles began clearing paths.
"The truckers finally feel like their message has been heard," Williamson said. "In a tremendous show of good faith, they are reopening one lane each way to provide unimpeded access through the town of Coutts and across the border in both ways.
Later Wednesday, the United Conservative Party denied that its rural caucus has negotiated an agreement to temporarily end the blockade in exchange for discussions on lifting COVID-19 health restrictions.
RCMP Cpl. Curtis Peters said the protesters removed vehicles from one lane in each direction, northbound and southbound, but added the change may be temporary and that police continue to monitor the situation.
In a statement issued shortly after 5:30 p.m. local time, RCMP said the move allowed area residents to move freely and would enable emergency services to provide full services. The RCMP said border access and the flow of goods and services would also resume.
Officers "remain on scene and our efforts continue to be focused on fully reopening services," reads the statement.
— From CBC News and The Canadian Press, last updated at 8:15 p.m. ET
What's happening in the rest of Canada
With lab-based testing capacity deeply strained and increasingly restricted, experts say true case counts are likely far higher than reported. Hospitalization data at the regional level is also evolving, with several provinces saying they will report figures that separate the number of people in hospital because of COVID-19 from those in hospital for another medical issue who also test positive for COVID-19.
For more information on what is happening in your community — including details on outbreaks, testing capacity and local restrictions — click through to the regional coverage below.
You can also read more from the Public Health Agency of Canada, which provides a detailed look at every region — including seven-day average test positivity rates — in its daily epidemiological updates.
In Atlantic Canada on Wednesday, New Brunswick reported a record 165 COVID-19 hospitalizations, with 16 people in the province's intensive care units. The province also saw four additional deaths and 381 additional lab-confirmed cases.
Health officials in Newfoundland and Labrador reported 20 COVID-19 hospitalizations, down five from the previous day's record high, with nine people in ICU. Health officials also reported four additional deaths and 248 new lab-confirmed cases.
Prince Edward Island, where public schools resumed in-person classes on Monday, reported there are 15 people in hospital due to COVID-19. Of those, two people were in intensive care. There were also 238 new lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19.
In Nova Scotia, a news release from the province said there were 92 people receiving care in designated COVID-19 units in hospital, including 13 in intensive care. There were also six additional deaths related to COVID-19 and 395 new lab-confirmed cases.
- Coroner inquest ordered in death of N.B. inmate from COVID-19
- Hospitality industry hoping for break in restrictions following Omicron wave
Quebec on Wednesday reported 2,730 COVID-19 hospitalizations, including 204 in intensive care. The province also reported 3,816 new cases of COVID-19 and 50 deaths.
The update comes a day after Premier François Legault announced he is scrapping a proposed tax on unvaccinated Quebecers, now saying it is more important to build bridges and extend a hand to people who refuse to get vaccinated.
Meanwhile, Ontario on Wednesday reported there were 2,939 people with COVID-19 in the province's hospitals, with 555 patients with COVID-19 requiring intensive care, continuing a downward trend. The province also reported 72 additional deaths and 3,909 new lab-confirmed cases.
- Projections suggest Quebec's hospitalizations may go up in February
- Ontario seeks to expand use of rapid tests
Manitoba is planning to relax COVID-19 restrictions once the current public health orders expire next week, Premier Heather Stefanson said at a Wednesday news conference. New rules to take effect on Feb. 8 will allow for larger private gatherings and will allow for higher capacity in public spaces for people who are fully vaccinated.
The update came as the number of people in the province's hospitals with COVID-19 set a new record for the third day in a row, rising to 744 — including 54 in ICU. The province also reported seven more deaths and 526 new lab-confirmed cases.
Saskatchewan also reported a record number of people in hospital with COVID-19 — 372 — on Wednesday, including 40 in ICU. There were four additional deaths and 611 new lab-confirmed cases. The premier has said he wants to end the province's proof of vaccine program by the end of the month.
Alberta on Wednesday reported 1,598 patients are being treated in hospital with COVID-19, a new high for the province, including 106 ICU patients. It also reported 14 new deaths and 3,024 additional lab-confirmed cases, with a test positivity rate of nearly 40 per cent.
Health officials in British Columbia on Wednesday reported that 988 COVID-positive individuals are in hospital — down 47 from the previous day — with 136 in intensive care. They also reported 18 new deaths in the past 24 hours, and 1,776 new lab-confirmed cases.
- Alberta premier hopes to start lifting all restrictions by end of February
- B.C. hitting 'peak' of hospitalizations, officials say
- COVID-19 cases in Yukon schools accounted for 1 in 5 of all active cases last September
In the North, Nunavut reported 22 new lab-confirmed cases on Wednesday, while the Northwest Territories reported 148 and Yukon reported 18.
— From CBC News and The Canadian Press, last updated at 8:15 p.m. ET
What's happening around the world
As of Wednesday evening, more than 384.4 million cases of COVID-19 had been reported worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University's coronavirus tracker. The reported global death toll stood at nearly 5.7 million.
In the Asia-Pacific region, New Zealand's government on Thursday outlined plans to ease its quarantine requirements for incoming travellers and reopen its borders, a change welcomed by thousands of citizens abroad who have endured long waits to return home.
Most incoming travellers need to spend 10 days in a quarantine hotel room run by the military, a requirement that has created a bottleneck at the border.
In Australia, the COVID-19 hospitalization rate fell to its lowest in nearly three weeks on Wednesday, while a steady rate of daily infections raised hopes the worst of its Omicron-fuelled outbreak may have passed.
Meanwhile, new cases in Tokyo exceeded 20,000 for the first time, dimming hopes that a wave of infections fuelled by the highly transmissible Omicron variant is peaking in Japan.
In the Middle East, Turkey has recorded 110,682 new infections in 24 hours, its highest daily figure of the pandemic, health ministry data showed on Wednesday. In late December, daily cases stood at about 20,000 but have since surged due to the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. Data also showed 217 people died due to COVID-19 in the same 24-hour period.
COVID-19 infections and deaths in the Americas are still increasing, but the rise in infections seems to be slowing down in places hit earliest by the Omicron variant, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said on Wednesday.
Most of the seven million new cases reported in the past week were in North America (some four million new infections), while Chile and Brazil posted record numbers of daily cases, and deaths have more than doubled in Cuba, the Bahamas and Antigua and Barbuda, the regional health agency said.
In Europe, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson faced three new calls to resign from within his own Conservative Party on Wednesday, adding to the steadily growing number demanding he quit over a series of parties at 10 Downing Street during lockdown.
Police are investigating 12 different gatherings at the heart of the British state for breaches of the government's own COVID-19 public health laws following an internal inquiry that criticized a "serious failures of leadership."
Meanwhile, the Kremlin continues to hold off from imposing nationwide restrictions as Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged a "difficult" COVID-19 situation that has seen infection records for two weeks straight. The state coronavirus task force reported 141,883 new infections on Wednesday — a massive spike from the daily 15,000 cases recorded in early January.
A subset of the omicron variant, BA.2, has been also discovered in Russia. The BA.2 subset is widely considered stealthier than the original version and some scientists worry it could also be more contagious.
In Africa, health officials in South Africa on Wednesday reported 4,502 new cases of COVID-19 and 175 additional deaths. The country has now reported more than 3.6 million cases and more than 95,000 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
— From Reuters and The Associated Press, last updated at 9:45 p.m.
With files from The Canadian Press, Reuters and The Associated Press
