Coronavirus Update: British Columbia announces plans for mass vaccination

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

Top headlines:

1. British Columbia announces plans for mass vaccination
2. Another six residents at a long-term care facility in Barrie have died after being infected with an unidentified COVID-19 variant
3. COVID-19 variant spreading across South Africa can evade immunity, research suggests

In the last 7 days, 41,701 cases were reported, down 19% from the previous 7 days. There were 1,099 deaths announced, up 8% over the same period. At least 4,260 people are being treated in hospitals and 652,829 others are considered recovered.

About 84% of the 928,500 doses of vaccine distributed to provinces have been administered. That’s 2.0 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

• Experts in Ontario are pointing to workplace transmission as a major source of COVID-19 infection, and say better testing, paid sick leave, and stronger enforcement is needed to slow the spread in the province. Meanwhile, another six residents of the long-term care home Roberta Place in Barrie have died after being infected with an unidentified variant of COVID-19. And, a Whitby couple have been charged with misleading health officials after contracting the U.K. variant of COVID-19.
• British Columbia announced plans for a mass vaccination campaign starting in April, with an aim to immunize 4.3 million residents aged 18 and over by the end of September. Meanwhile, school districts in the province spent just $5-million of the $35-million federal pandemic fund to upgrade ventilation at schools. Instead, school districts spent almost triple that ($14.8-million) on hiring more cleaning staff and buying more supplies to enhance the cleaning at schools.
• Yesterday, Alberta said that thousands of residents in privately funded congregate care facilities haven’t received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and are not, as a group, given priority in the government’s inoculation plan. Earlier this week, the province said it had vaccinated residents and staff in facilities subsidized by taxpayers – however, this excludes facilities that may offer care for seniors in similar settings but are funded privately.

In Ottawa, the federal government is looking at options that would make it harder for people to return from foreign trips, including hotel quarantines for returning travellers.

• However, Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said the tools already in place must also be fully utilized, including more police enforcement of two-week quarantine rules for arriving travellers.
• Public Health Agency of Canada figures show 153 flights have arrived from outside Canada over the last two weeks on which at least one passenger later tested positive for COVID-19.
• Health Minister Patty Hajdu said 50,000 tickets for international travel have been cancelled since the rule requiring a negative COVID-19 test before boarding a plane to Canada was announced.

Also today: In a call with President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he wants to collaborate with the United States on ending the pandemic. Trudeau said the two leaders are in alignment on several issues and is “looking to be co-ordinated and aggressive” in increasing measures against COVID-19.

Coronavirus around the world

• The mutations in the new COVID-19 variant detected in South Africa may evade the immunity that is normally provided by previous infection, researchers are discovering. The variant, thought to be about 50 per cent more transmissible, has become the dominant form of coronavirus in the country, fueling a dramatic surge of cases in the last two months.
• The Prime Minister of Britain, Boris Johnson, said the new U.K. COVID-19 variant “may be associated with a higher degree of mortality,” though both vaccines currently used in the country are effective treatments against it. However, the U.K. variant is more transmissible, and is putting the country’s health service under “intense pressure,” the Prime Minister added.
• Air passengers bound for the United States will need to show proof of negative COVID-19 test or proof of recovery from coronavirus starting Jan. 26. The new rules are part of a series of sweeping executive orders signed by President Biden yesterday.

Coronavirus and business

Pfizer committed today to supplying up to 40-million COVID-19 vaccine doses to developing countries, as part of COVAX, the World Health Organization-backed effort to get affordable shots to poor and middle-income countries.

Also today: Corporate Canada is still a boys’ club, data analysis shows – and the COVID-19 pandemic could make it more so.

Globe opinion

• Andrew Coyne: Well done, everyone: Vaccines were our last line of defence, but now our governments have bungled that as well
• Robyn Urback: This far into the pandemic, shouldn’t lockdowns be more nuanced?
• Gary Mason: British Columbia’s assault on its surgery backlog has been a pandemic success story
• Jeremy Cohen: Online learning is worsening the already-uneven educational experience for neurodiverse students

More reporting

• Canada deported 12,122 people even as COVID-19 raged in 2020, according to data seen by Reuters.
• Bharat Biotech’s COVID-19 shot is safe and produced immune response in early human trial, a study shows.
• The newest James Bond film, No Time to Die, has been delayed for the second time due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The pandemic has fuelled interest in cosmetic procedures, but critics question the timing.

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 money 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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