Coronavirus Update: How many will want a coronavirus vaccine when it’s ready?

Good evening, here are the coronavirus updates you need to know tonight.

Top headlines:

1. A vaccine for COVID-19 is still about a year away, but some doctors fear many will choose not to take advantage when it’s ready
2. The federal government is ready to help provinces boost testing, Trudeau says
3. Bank of Canada believes Canada’s economy is on track for a healthy recovery from the COVID-19 crisis

In Canada, there have been at least 81,324 cases reported, more than double the number from 29 days ago. There have also been at least 41,728 recoveries and 6,152 deaths. Health officials have administered more than 1,447,462 tests.

Worldwide, 5,047,037 cases have been confirmed; with 1,924,737 recoveries and 329,810 deaths reported.

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: Updates and essential resources • Coronavirus in maps and charts • Lockdown rules and reopening plans in each province

Photo of the day

Number of the day

28

A total of 28 soldiers working in long-term care homes in Ontario and Quebec have contracted COVID-19, up from the five reported cases last week.

• There are almost 1,700 Armed Forces working in about 30 care homes, mostly in Quebec.
• Sixteen of the positive cases were in Quebec; the other 12 were in Ontario, the military said.

Coronavirus in Canada

There are currently at least 2,608 hospitalized cases, a 13% drop from a week ago. Of those 352 are in intensive care.

• Reopening retailers in the Quebec report a decline in customers and sales. However, customers who do venture into a shop are there to make a purchase. Day camps in the province will be able to open on June 22.
• Alberta suspended a long list of environmental monitoring requirements in the energy sector, including the requirements around detecting and repairing leaks of methane. The measures must resume by Sept. 30.
• The government in New Brunswick is predicting a $299-million deficit for 2020-21, instead of the surplus projected in its last spring budget. The province reported its first new cases in almost two weeks.
• Manitoba released a draft reopening plan. A timeline will be set in the coming days based on public input, the Premier said.

In Ottawa, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government is ready to help the provinces scale up their testing capacity.

• Ontario and Quebec need to increase immediately, as their economies begin to reopen but case counts remain high, the Prime Minister said.
• Provinces will low case counts must also increase testing, to help prevent a possible second wave, he said.

Canada has the capacity to test about 60,000 people every day, but is averaging about only 28,000 daily tests.

Also today: Dr. Theresa Tam urged Canadians not to judge those who are not wearing face masks. “Don’t assume that someone who isn’t wearing a mask or is wearing something different doesn’t have an actual reason for it,” she said.

Coronavirus vaccines: When H1N1 was circulating in the community, Danielle Ofri, a New York doctor, was flooded with patients asking for a vaccine. Months later, when it was available, Dr. Ofri’s patients didn’t want it, they didn’t believe it was safe, and she worries the pattern will repeat itself with COVID-19. Inside the psychology of inoculation.

Coronavirus around the world

• U.S. President Donald Trump did not wear a mask when he visited a Ford Motor plant on Wednesday in Michigan, where the state’s Democratic Governor has taken heat from him and other critics for enacting stay-at-home measures.
• After being forced shut for almost two months, at least half of Britain’s 47,000 pubs are at risk of permanent closure even after patrons are allowed to return.
• In photos: All around the world cities, towns are reopening with a cautious eye towards preventing a second wave of COVID-19.
• Watch: Global coronavirus cases surpassed 5 million today, with Latin America overtaking the United States and Europe in the past week to report the largest portion of new cases globally. With the largest portion coming from Brazil, Latin America accounted for nearly one third of the 91,000 reported around the world earlier this week.
• The coronavirus has infected more than 10,000 health care workers in hard-hit Iran, news outlets reported Thursday.

Coronavirus and business

The head of Canada’s central banks says the economy will recover this year, despite a recent spate of negative economic news.

• Governor Stephen Poloz argued that too many people have fixated on the bleak numbers – like the GDP – rather than the unique nature of the downturn. He called the negativity as “a little overblown.”
• Poloz argued the government provided sufficient measures in response to the crisis. When the economy reopens, “people can pick up where they left off.”

Also today: Shopify, the Canadian e-commerce giant, is making the move to remote work through the end of 2020.

• More than 5,000-plus employees will continue working from home, even after the current pandemic ends, the company’s CEO said in a tweet. “Office centricity is over,” he wrote.
• The decision could have a long-term effect on commercial real-estate markets across the country. Shopify is one of the biggest tenants in downtown Ottawa and has plans to be a flagship tenant in a massive new downtown Toronto development.

Shopify follows OpenText in making at-home working more permanent. Open Text announced recently they would close half their global offices. [For subscribers]

Also today: Telus will provide cellphone data to a federal agency to help researchers gain insights into the movements of Canadians. [For subscribers]

How will COVID-19 change our society?

The Globe and Mail assembled a wide list of ways COVID-19 and its aftereffects will transform society. Sports is one of three parts of that series: The others focus on national, urban and foreign affairs, and business.

Question: What will cities look like in the future?

Answer: More buildings will be temporary, and they will adapt as needed. New buildings will see AC replaced with natural ventilation, or in simpler terms, buildings designed for the movement of fresh air.

The rise of the mid-sized city: If we’ve entered a new era of worker flexibility, the coming years could see hordes of Canadians ditch their cramped downtown condos for roomier confines in mid-sized cities and towns, adding thousands to an urban exodus that’s already taken root. Places like the Niagara region and London in Ontario, Granby and Joliette in Quebec, and Abbotsford in British Columbia will see more former city dwellers.

An act of kindness

Pitching in: Supporting restaurants and feeding health care workers

Aron Solomon and friends are helping food-service companies and health care workers at the same time.

“We thought we could help keep restaurants alive by giving them a revenue stream. And we can buy these amazing health care workers lunch. So it’s a win-win,” Mr. Solomon said. He, along with friends and his business partner, launched Sustain the Line.

The website matches restaurants with health care workers and donors. All donations go directly to the restaurant and Sustain the Line doesn’t handle any cash or charge a fee.

“We’re going to be here to help as long as restaurants need the help and as long as people on the front line need a thank you and need some sustenance,” he said.

Have you witnessed or performed acts of kindness in your neighbourhood? Share your stories, photos and videos and they might be included in The Globe and Mail. Email audience@globeandmail.com

Distractions

For the chair-bound worker: How to reduce pain in the lower back and hips.

Thanks to our less active lives, complaints of lower-back pain and hip tightness are on the rise.

Our lower backs have a natural inward curvature, says registered physiotherapist Rochelle Chung. “If the curvature is lost for a prolonged period of time – such as when we’re sitting on a couch – it can cause those tissues to fatigue or overload, leading to low-back problems and hip tightness.”

Stress and other knocks to our emotional well-being can lead to a hypersensitive nervous system and cause physical discomfort. To combat tightness in the lower back and hips, Chung recommends moving often, trying yoga poses such as cobra, upward dog or cat-cow, and breathing mindfully. She also advises using a lumbar roll when sitting on unsupportive chairs or soft couches to restore the natural curve in the back. (Don’t have a lumbar roll? Use a rolled-up towel instead.)

More Globe reporting and opinion

• New climate targets and programs to cut Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions are being delayed as the federal government’s focus on the COVID-19 pandemic sidelines other work, and physical distancing frustrates program consultations.
• “Presentations are about words and ideas, backed by charts and graphics. That won’t change in the new normal at work. But the setting will change, and that requires you to rethink your presentations, be it to colleagues, clients or upper management.”
• Alison Cretney and Juli Rohl: “As governments look toward reopening the economy and returning to some semblance of life as we knew it, this “Team Canada” approach should be brought to bear on other issues faced by the country – perhaps especially so on the messy intersection of energy, climate change and Indigenous rights in Alberta."
• Adrienne Tanner: “Masks should be mandatory on trains and buses. Many of the world’s major cities, including Singapore, Berlin, Rome and Bangkok, have already taken this step. B.C. should follow suit.”
• David Fisman: "The past several months have offered us, as a country, extraordinary challenges. As an epidemiologist, internist and parent, these challenges have subsumed every part of my work life and my personal life. "

Information centre

• Here’s what you should do if you are newly laid off; how to apply for CERB, EI, and other financial benefits; and other coronavirus and employment questions answered.
• How to minimize damage to your credit score; how to manage retirement anxiety during difficult times; and things to think about if you’re considering home delivery.
• Here are the expectations for self-isolation; tips for managing anxiety; and protecting your mental health.
• How to get physical distancing right; measures condo buildings are taking to encourage physical distancing; and what you can do to help slow the spread of coronavirus.
• Here are the essentials to stock up on and how to shop safely for groceries; the best pantry staples; foods to eat to maintain an immune system-friendly diet; and how to keep a healthy diet while working from home.
• How to break a bad habit (like touching your face) and what to do if you think you have the virus.

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Have questions about the coronavirus? Email audience@globeandmail.com.