Coronavirus Update: Health Canada approves Pfizer’s antiviral COVID-19 drug Paxlovid

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

Top headlines:

1. Health Canada approves Pfizer’s antiviral COVID-19 drug Paxlovid
2. Facing staff shortages, Quebec asks public-sector workers to help in health-care system
3. China’s claim that Omicron case came from Canadian mail dismissed as ‘ludicrous’

In the past seven days, 206,099 cases were reported, down 26 per cent from the previous seven days. There were 813 deaths announced, up 75 per cent over the same period. At least 10,031 people are being treated in hospitals.

Canada’s inoculation rate is 14th among countries with a population of one million or more people.

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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 • Tracking vaccine doses • Lockdown rules and reopening

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Coronavirus in Canada

• Facing staff shortages, the Quebec government is asking public sector workers to temporarily fill more than 2,000 health-care service aide positions, the Health Department said Monday. Meanwhile, Quebec’s coroner said today that grieving families may never get the full story behind the thousands of deaths that occurred in long-term care homes during the first wave of COVID-19. The province is reporting 54 more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus today and a rise of 81 COVID-19-related hospitalizations.
• Most Ontario long-term care workers have just under two weeks to get their third COVID-19 vaccine doses, but union and industry groups say more time is needed to meet the government’s target. The province reported 578 patients in intensive care with COVID-19 on Monday and 3,887 patients hospitalized with the virus.
• British Columbia has extended a COVID-19 order that will keep gyms and fitness centres closed. The province is reporting 5,625 new cases of COVID-19 over the last three days, with 819 people in hospital, 99 of them in intensive care.
• Alberta’s health minister has tested positive for COVID-19 and provincial hospitalizations exceed 1,000 patients for the first time since September as the Omicron variant spreads rapidly.
• In Manitoba, some students walked out of class today to protest the return to school as COVID-19 numbers continue to rise. Health officials are reporting 20 COVID-19-related deaths since Friday, and the number of people in hospital with the virus has reached a record 601.
• Nova Scotia became the first province in Atlantic Canada today to reopen its schools to in-person learning.

Health Canada has approved Pfizer’s antiviral treatment Paxlovid for COVID-19.

• “Canadians should be very happy today to hear that the oral antivirals are beginning to become available in Canada,” chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam said at a virtual briefing Monday.
• The medication is the first oral COVID-19 treatment that can be taken at home.

Post-secondary students: Despite the challenges that have accompanied the shift online during the pandemic, the latest statistics show that university students seem to have persevered.

Hospital staffing shortages: A surge in COVID-19 cases is being felt broadly across the health-care system, with staffing shortages impacting a range of services, including home care, laboratory testing and emergency response.

Ski resort restrictions: Planning to hit the slopes this winter? The majority of provinces require proof of vaccination to use non-essential services, but each ski resort has its own set of rules when it comes to chairlifts, dining, rentals and more. Here’s what you need to know about the country’s largest resorts.

Coronavirus around the world

• A claim by health authorities in China that the Omicron variant was introduced to a resident of Beijing through a piece mail from Canada was dismissed Monday as being ludicrous. Meanwhile, tickets for the Beijing Olympics to be offered to “selected” spectators because of the pandemic, organizers said Monday. Plus, China’s economy grew 8.1 per cent in 2021 but slowed near the end of the year due to strict COVID-19 rules and debt curbs.
• Tennis star Novak Djokovic could be barred from the French Open after France’s parliament approves new COVID-19 vaccine pass law. Meanwhile, Djokovic has arrived in Serbia after deportation from Australia.
• Greece imposed a vaccine mandate Monday for people 60 and older as a spike in infections has put pressure on Greek hospitals, where most of the seriously ill patients belong to that age group.
• Influenza has returned to Europe at a faster-than-expected rate this winter, raising concerns about a prolonged “twindemic” with COVID-19.
• In the United States, Omicron COVID-19 variant cases are surging among children in Georgia.

Coronavirus and business

Air Canada, WestJet and Toronto Pearson airport issued a joint letter to the federal and Ontario governments, calling on them to ditch the arrival test that is required on top of a vaccination mandate and prearrival negative COVID-19 test. The airlines and airport say that testing capacity limits are the main concern.

• A growing number of physicians and public-health experts also say the rule should be revisited because it is out of step with Canada’s overall approach to COVID-19 and diverts critical lab resources to asymptomatic people with less need.

Also today: Canadian truckers must now be fully vaccinated if they want to avoid quarantine when returning from the United States, while unvaccinated American drivers are not allowed into Canada. The new rules have already created a labour-shortage challenge in the industry.

And: Canadian home prices jumped by record 26.6 per cent in 2021 – following a similar trend as the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Globe opinion

• André Picard: There’s nothing ‘incidental’ about hospital patients with COVID-19
• Campbell Clark: Trudeau’s vaccine promise that wasn’t made to be kept
• Tim Kiladze: The pandemic turned LinkedIn into one of the wildest places on the internet
• David Shribman: 2022 is starting out to be a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day year for Biden
• The Editorial Board: No, the pandemic does not prove that our health-care system should be more like America’s

More reporting

• Global job market to take longer to recover than previously thought due to COVID-19 uncertainties, ILO says
• Edmonton Oilers place goalie Stuart Skinner in NHL’s COVID-19 protocol
• Cineworld argues judge ‘erred’ in decision to award damages to Cineplex

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.

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