Coronavirus Update: 1 million Canadians spent at least one night away from home over the holidays, despite public health warnings

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

Top headlines:

1. Canadians’ overnight travel spiked over the holidays – particularly for those living in affluent neighbourhoods – according to an analysis of location data gathered for The Globe.
2. The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto says children need to be back learning in classrooms as soon as possible, but added only with proper strategies and robust testing.
3. Florida has changed course on “vaccine tourism,” reversing an earlier position that residents and visitors would both be eligible for vaccinations.

In the last 7 days, 42,561 cases were reported, down 21 per cent from the previous 7 days. There were 1,083 deaths announced, up 13 per cent over the same period. At least 4,347 people are being treated in hospitals and 645,729 others are considered recovered.

About 80 per cent of the 928,500 doses of vaccine distributed to provinces have been administered. That’s 1.9 doses for every 100 people in Canada.

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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 • Lockdown rules and reopening • Canada’s vaccine distribution plan • Developing/approved vaccines • Pfizer’s vaccine, explained • Essential resources

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Coronavirus in Canada

• Sick Kids Hospital says children in Ontario should be in school in person as soon as possible – but note that can only happen with measures to prevent and control infections, along with a “robust” testing strategy. Meanwhile, an unidentified COVID-19 variant has been found in a long-term care home in Barrie, Ont., where 19 residents died and 122 of 130 residents were infected.
• Premier Francois Legault says critics of the province’s curfew who are advocating for exemptions for homeless people are trying to divide Quebec.
• British Columbia said it will provide an update on the province’s COVID-19 immunization campaign tomorrow.
• Manitoba will ease some restrictions in all but its northern regions.

More than a million Canadians spent at least one night away from home over the holidays, according to an analysis of location data.

• Despite repeated warnings that holiday gatherings would only increase the rising number of COVID-19 infections, roughly 1.2 million Canadians ventured out over the winter break.
• The numbers indicate the kind of Canadians who travelled most over the holidays were wealthy, predominantly white families.

Inmates: Half of the provinces have yet to say when jail inmates will receive COVID-19 vaccinations, despite recommendations that those in correctional centres should get inoculated relatively soon due to health and living conditions that put them at a high risk for outbreaks.

Coronavirus around the world

• It will take months before mass vaccination is able to thwart the spread of the virus, according to researchers in Britain.
• Pfizer has cut the volume of COVID-19 vaccines it will deliver to some European Union countries in half this week, government officials said.
• On his first full day in office, U.S. President Joe Biden moved forward with steps to expand testing and vaccinations and increase mask-wearing.
• A member of South Africa’s cabinet died due to complications from COVID-19 as the country grapples with a second wave of the virus.

Coronavirus and business

The Canadian Revenue Agency is backtracking on their initial message to artists, now saying that grant money counts as income to qualify for emergency benefits.

• Last week, The Globe and Mail reported on the predicament of artists across the country, who were being told by the CRA that they needed to repay thousands of dollars in emergency benefits and were cut off from future payments.
• Now, the CRA has told some artists they will be able to use their grant income to qualify for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit and its successor program, the Canada Recovery Benefit.

Also today: The European Central Bank said the recent surge in COVID-19 infections posed a risk to the euro zone’s recovery.

Globe opinion

• Sabina Vohra-Miller, Seema Marwaha and Naheed Dosani: It’s already clear that vaccine hesitancy will be a barrier to successfully immunizing the country. It’s vital that we ask different groups what they are worried about so that those concerns can be addressed.
• Bria Hamilton: Stories of racism in medicine are commonly shared across Black communities. If we as a society are going to beat this virus, vaccine education within Black communities needs to be a priority to ease any lingering distrust.
• Vincent Lam: Ask your family doctor when they might be able to give a COVID-19 vaccine and they will tell you that, despite having given hundreds or thousands of vaccines in their career, they know as much as you do. This shouldn’t be the case.
• Gary Mason: With Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s interjection that he would be so far up the Pfizer CEO’s ying-yang, it seems as though we have reached that phase in the pandemic where political niceties are abandoned.

More reporting

• The Glastonbury music festival has been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic for the second year in a row.
• Federal health officials are raising concerns over the “alarming rate” of COVID-19 cases in Indigenous communities.

Information centre

• When will a COVID-19 vaccine be available in Canada? How well do they work? Here’s what you need to know.
• Rob Carrick’s 10-point checklist of things you should have done by now to protect or improve your financial situation. Tips for minimizing 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; and what to do if you think you have the virus. Wash your hands. How to break a bad habit (like touching your face). Is flying safe?
• The best foods to eat to maintain an immune system-friendly diet; and how to keep a healthy diet while working from home; four eating tips when working from home; and five mistakes that might cause you to gain unwanted weight. Here are the essentials to stock up on and how to shop safely for groceries; the best pantry staples and how to stop stress-eating.
• Find answers to your coronavirus and employment questions.

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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