The Coronavirus Update newsletter will not be publishing next week. It will resume on Wednesday, Jan. 4
Good evening, these are the top coronavirus headlines tonight:
Top headlines:
- Hearses queue outside Beijing crematorium, even as China reports no new COVID-19 deaths
- Ontario opens bivalent COVID-19 vaccine bookings for kids aged five to 11
- After COVID-19 created an unstable vacation industry, chaos-weary travellers turn to travel agents
An increasing number of health agencies have changed how they're reporting data on the coronavirus. A look at the current numbers in Canada for reported cases, deaths from COVID-19 and for hospitalizations can be found here.
COVID-19 updates from Canada and the world
- The Ontario government has expanded eligibility for the COVID-19 bivalent booster vaccine to children aged five to 11.
- Dozens of hearses queued outside a Beijing crematorium on Wednesday, even as China reported no new COVID-19 deaths, sparking criticism of its virus accounting. Experts say China could face more than a million COVID-19 deaths next year.
- Cities across China scrambled to install hospital beds and build fever screening clinics on Tuesday. The country this month began dismantling its stringent “zero-COVID” regime of lockdowns and testing after protests against curbs that had kept the virus at bay for three years.
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Pandemic recovery
- Travel agents are hearing from new customers looking for a sense of security after COVID-19 created an unstable vacation industry.
- A new report from Quebec’s anticorruption unit says its officers were kept busy this year chasing down hundreds of reports related to the production and use of fake COVID-19 vaccine passports.
- The Quebec government is crediting the pandemic for helping the province surpass its climate change targets. Quebec cut emissions from greenhouse gases by almost 27 per cent compared to 1990 levels between 2013-2020.
- The Manitoba Labour Board has dismissed several complaints in recent months from workers who wanted their unions to fight COVID-19 requirements.
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Globe opinion
Amanda Clarke, Laura Chang and Sarah Niedoba: Think the $54-million ArriveCan was expensive? How about $4.6-billion on outsourced IT?
Dr. Alika Lafontaine: Canada’s health care system is stuck firmly in the past
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Information centre
- Everything you need to know about Canada’s travel rules for vaccinated and unvaccinated people
- When will COVID-19 be endemic? The four factors that will shape the virus’s future
- Wastewater is filling the COVID-19 data gap
Thank you for subscribing to our Coronavirus Update Newsletter. As the pandemic eases, we plan to wind this down and eventually cease sending, but have many other newsletters to keep you informed, including Globe Climate, Carrick on Money and Breaking News.
Reach out to us: audience@globeandmail.com
Samantha Edwards