Coronavirus Update: B.C., Manitoba, Nova Scotia to prioritize access to PCR tests for at-risk groups

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

Top headlines:

1. B.C., Manitoba, Nova Scotia to prioritize access to COVID-19 lab tests for at-risk groups as demand strains capacity
2. Story of the COVID-19 pandemic is now the past, present and future of Omicron
3. Thousands of flights cancelled globally as Omicron spoiled Christmas plans

COVID-19 data is published Monday through Friday.

Coronavirus explainers: Coronavirus in maps and charts • Tracking vaccine doses • Lockdown rules and reopening

Photo of the day

Open this photo in gallery:

Coronavirus in Canada

• Ontario is reporting 9,826 new cases of COVID-19 today. Yesterday, the province reported a record 10,412 cases.
• Quebec’s new and tighter COVID-19 restrictions took effect today. Among the new rules, restaurants and private gatherings are limited to six people or two family bubbles, and outdoor gatherings are to be kept to a maximum of 20 people. The province is reporting about 8,000 cases today and three more deaths.
• In B.C. and Manitoba, health officials on Friday asked young people with mild COVID-19 symptoms, but who are otherwise healthy, to forgo the PCR lab test and simply assume they have Omicron, self-isolate and notify close contacts.
• Health officials in Nova Scotia reported more than 1,100 new COVID-19 cases over the past two days. Meanwhile, on Friday, the province said people who have symptoms or are a close contact to a positive case will now have to complete an online self-assessment before receiving a PCR test.

British Columbia, Manitoba and Nova Scotia are the latest provinces to try to limit access to some types of COVID-19 testing as laboratory systems across the country buckle under record cases driven by the Omicron variant.

• The new instructions were made in an effort to ensure high-risk individuals and critical frontline workers can still access PCR tests when they need them.
• B.C. Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said PCR tests need to be reserved for people over 65, those with underlying illnesses and people who have more severe symptoms where it makes a difference in how they get treated.

The science of Omicron: The new variant’s two defining traits – its high transmissibility and ability to evade vaccines – have led to projections that show the variant spreading rapidly if COVID-19 measures are not tightened.

Shopping slump: Fewer shoppers look for deals as COVID-19 cases overshadow Boxing Day.

Coronavirus around the world

• Commercial airlines around the globe cancelled more than 4,500 flights over the Christmas weekend as a mounting wave of COVID-19 infections driven by the Omicron variant created greater uncertainty and misery for holiday travellers.
• New Zealanders celebrated Christmas with few restrictions, in one of the few countries in the world largely untouched by the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
• A major hospital in Israel will begin administering a fourth COVID-19 vaccine shot to 150 staff on Monday in a trial aimed at gauging whether a second booster is necessary nationwide.
• Australia’s most populous state New South Wales reported a record number of new COVID-19 cases on Sunday and a sharp jump in hospital admissions.
• In the United States, the Omicron variant disrupted holiday travel but not shopping.

Coronavirus and business

While airlines cancelled hundreds more flights on Sunday, citing staffing problems tied to COVID-19, American shoppers shrugged off the Omicron variant with holiday sales rising at the fastest pace in 17 years, according to one spending measure.

• Mastercard Spending Pulse, which tracks all kinds of payments including cash and debit cards, reported Sunday that holiday sales had risen 8.5 per cent from a year earlier. Mastercard Spending Pulse had expected a 7.4-per-cent increase.
• The results, which covered Nov. 1 through Dec. 24, were fuelled by purchases of clothing and jewellery. Holiday sales were up 10.7 per cent compared with the prepandemic 2019 holiday period.

Also today: As regulators ease capital restrictions imposed during the pandemic and allow banks and insurers to deploy their cash as they see fit, Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. bought back US$1-billion of its own stock at a premium price on Christmas Eve.

Globe opinion

• Rita Trichur: Tracking boosters, protecting privacy, detecting vaccine passport fraud. Are businesses ready?
• Eric Reguly: Fear of Omicron is main driver of slowdown, not legal restrictions, so the economy is still in peril

More reporting

• New COVID-19 treatment pills should be taken as soon as possible after symptoms appear
• COVID-19 forces NHL to bring back taxi squads in effort to keep season going
• How to protect a child too young for a COVID-19 vaccine
• ‘Expect the unexpected,’ Orlando Magic coach says as NBA’s COVID-19 cases continue to rise

Information centre

• Everything you need to know about Canada’s travel restrictions for vaccinated and unvaccinated people
• Where do I book a COVID-19 booster or a vaccine appointment for my kids? Latest rules by province
• 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.

What are we missing? Email us: audience@globeandmail.com. Do you know someone who needs this newsletter? Send them to our Newsletters page.