Coronavirus Update: Omicron three times more likely to cause reinfections compared to earlier variants, new data suggests

Good evening, here are the COVID-19 updates you need to know tonight.

Top headlines:

1. Omicron is three times more likely to cause reinfections in people who already had the virus, compared to earlier variants, according to new data
2. U.S. to require all inbound foreign air passengers to get COVID-19 test the day before
3. Vaccines increase immune response when used as boosters, according to new British study

In the past seven days, 21,051 cases were reported, up 15 per cent from the previous seven days. There were 137 deaths announced, down one per cent over the same period. At least 1,520 people are being treated in hospitals.

Canada’s inoculation rate is 16th among countries with a population of one million or more people.

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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Coronavirus in Canada

• Ontario’s expanded eligibility for booster doses for people 50 and over takes effect on Dec. 13 at 8 a.m. Those eligible will be able to book shots through the province’s online booking system, by phone, through local public-health units or in pharmacies and doctor’s offices. A Toronto-area health unit has confirmed a case of the Omicron COVID-19 variant, and Toronto Public Health also declared an Omicron-driven outbreak at the Toronto East Detention Centre. Meanwhile, Ontario is reporting 959 new COVID-19 cases and eight deaths from the virus today.
• Alberta plans to open up third shots to everyone 18 and older, beginning with those aged 60 and older on Monday. Additional age groups will be added depending on demand for third doses and supply, with all adults expected to be eligible by early next year.
• Coroner Géhane Kamel wrapped up Quebec’s long-term care inquest for the year by saying she remains troubled by the province’s apparent lack of preparation to protect eldercare facilities when the new disease arrived in early 2020. Meanwhile, Premier François Legault said Thursday that the province isn’t planning to open eligibility for COVID-19 vaccine boosters to younger adults just yet, despite rising case counts. The province is reporting 1,146 new cases of COVID-19 today and two more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus.

Canadians and all other foreign visitors who travel to the United States by air will soon need to get a COVID-19 test no later than 24 hours before their departure.

• A White House background memo makes no mention of land borders, or whether fully vaccinated Canadians who drive south would be required to show a test result. Currently, no such test is required to cross into the U.S. by land.

Fiscal update: Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced today that the federal government will release its fiscal update on Dec. 14. The Liberals have faced increasing criticism over financial transparency, given that it has yet to release a detailed breakdown of how Ottawa spent about $600-billion during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Coronavirus around the world

• New data from South Africa suggests that Omicron is three times more likely to cause reinfections in people who already had the virus, compared to earlier variants.
• Germany announced it would bar the unvaccinated from all but essential businesses such as grocery stores and pharmacies, and legislation to make vaccination mandatory will be drafted for early next year.
• Former U.S. president Donald Trump tested positive for COVID-19 three days before his first presidential debate with Joe Biden in September, 2020, a former aide said in their book. The U.S. has also extended its mask mandate for planes, trains and busses through to mid-March.
• A U.K. study involving seven COVID-19 vaccines has found that they all significantly increase immune response when used as boosters, and that the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine worked so well it could be given in half doses to increase global supplies.

Coronavirus and business

As the Canadian labour market heals from the pandemic, a key segment of workers is disappearing rapidly by the month: the self-employed.

• Around 280,000 fewer people are self-employed than when the pandemic started, a decline of 9.7 per cent, according to Statistics Canada figures through October. The share of those who work for themselves (13.6 per cent) is the lowest in nearly four decades.
• Several analysts said the trend may partly reflect a shift from people working for themselves to working for others, rather than abandoning the job market.

Also today: Investors track COVID-19 case counts, watch key market levels as Omicron fears grow

Globe opinion

• The Editorial Board: Canada’s Omicron border choice: act now – or never
• Mina Tadrous, Tara Gomes and Michael Law: Pharmaceutical costs are soaring due to innovative but pricey new drugs
• David Parkinson: Ottawa must aim its fiscal powers at lagging business investment in the next phase of recovery

More reporting

• Montreal Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher, defenceman Sami Niku enter NHL’s COVID-19 protocol

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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