Coronavirus Update: Hutterites across the Prairies face discrimination from nearby towns as outbreaks surge

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

Top headlines:

1. Members of Hutterite colonies in Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan are facing stigma after a spike in cases
2. Craig Keilburger says WE Charity “would not have received any financial gain” from federal student grant program: What you missed at today’s hearings
3. Dr. Tam says Canada in discussions to potentially preorder COVID-19 vaccine doses

In Canada, there have been at least 114,968 cases reported. In the last week 3,273 new cases were announced, 2% more than the previous week. There have also been at least 100,101 recoveries and 8,911 deaths. Health officials have administered more than 4,131,261 tests.

Worldwide, there have been at least 16,481,230 cases confirmed and 654,052 deaths reported.

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: Updates and essential resources • Coronavirus in maps and charts • Lockdown rules and reopening plans in each province

Photo of the day

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Number of the day

17

Four additional Miami Marlins players have tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the MLB club’s case total to 17.

• Yesterday, the baseball club reported 14 players and staff tested positive, resulting in the postponement of two games.

Major League Baseball postponed its 162-game regular season in March, opting for a condensed 60-game schedule that began last Thursday.

Coronavirus in Canada

• Hutterite communities across Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba reported both a rise in coronavirus cases and harsh discrimination from nearby towns. Yesterday, Saskatchewan identified nearly two dozen new cases in Hutterite colonies, potentially more as people await test results.
• In Quebec, health officials took over a private seniors’ home after 21 residents contracted coronavirus and three died.
• In Ontario the staff and faculty unions at the University of Toronto are protesting against the university’s plans for in-person classes in the fall. Meanwhile, the province reported 111 new cases and four deaths.
• Prince Edward Island reported no active coronavirus cases, health officials said.

In Ottawa, Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam said an independent vaccine task force is advising the government on potential COVID-19 vaccines and preordering doses. The doctor said the task force is also exploring made-in-Canada manufacturing.

• Health Canada approved the use of remdesivir to treat patients with severe symptoms – the first drug approved to treat COVID-19 in Canada.
• Remdesivir has been shown to shorten hospital stays, is administered intravenously and will be used only on patients that can be closely monitored.

Two clinical trials authorized by Health Canada continue to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the drug.

Also today: At the House’s finance committee, WE Charity’s former board chair Michelle Douglas and founders Craig and Marc Kielburger answered questions from MPs over the now-cancelled contract to administer a student grant program.

• WE Charity found Craig Kielburger said the organization “would not have received any financial gain” from the contract.
• Michelle Douglas, former board chair, said she quit because executives wouldn’t hand over financial documents to explain why it was firing hundreds of staff. “I could not do my job,” she said.
• Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will testify to the finance committee on Thursday.

Yesterday, it was reported the contract allowed the group to receive all of the money to administer the program upfront, with the organization getting $30-million out of a potential $43.5-million before the contract was cancelled.

And: A timeline of events for the WE Charity contract controversy.

Coronavirus around the world

• In the United States, Twitter temporarily restricted the account of Donald Trump Jr. after he posted a video about the drug hydroxychloroquine that violated the site’s misinformation policy. His father, President Donald Trump, also pushed the anti-malaria drug, which studies have confirmed is ineffective as a cure for COVID-19. Meanwhile, Florida reported a record one-day rise in coronavirus deaths, and cases in Texas passed the 400,000 mark.
• Watch: Researchers with the State University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil are tracking coronavirus spread through a local neighbourhood by monitoring the community’s air and sewage for signs of the highly contagious virus.
• State media in North Korea say the country introduced tougher restrictions after it locked down the town Kaesong, on the border with South Korea, to tackle what could be its first publicly confirmed infection.

Coronavirus and business

Demand for international air travel will not rebound until 2024, an airline industry group says – a year later than previous estimates.

• The International Air Transport Association said closed borders, smaller corporate travel budgets and lower consumer confidence will result in a “longer recovery period” than initially anticipated.
• Seat sales will fall 55 per cent in 2020, compared with 2019, IATA said, updating an earlier forecast for a decline of 46 per cent.

Also today:

• In British Columbia, wine sales soar online.
• Graduates who are entering the labour force during the pandemic could lose thousands of dollars in potential earnings in the coming years.

Rob Carrick: It’s too early to move back to pre-COVID finances

More reporting

• Rising COVID-19 cases dent U.S. consumer confidence; housing market presses ahead [For subscribers]
• Recreational property market sales are increasing, and while demand is on the rise, prices have yet to climb to match
• Tired of working from home? Try a hotel room
• Alberta municipalities get $1-billion boost as pandemic thrashes finances
• Oil sands production expected to rebound after COVID-linked 2020 slump [For subscribers]

Distractions

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For the cash-strapped young person: Should you move back in with your parents?

• Rob Carrick and Roma Luciw discuss when it makes sense to move home
• We talk to a 23-year-old who moved back home after COVID-19 left her jobless
• We hear from Rob’s family about what it was like when his 26-year-old son Will moved back home. Rob and Roma revisit Rob’s book How Not to Move Back in With Your Parents 10 years later to see what’s changed.

Read the transcript in English or French.

🎧 Catch up: How to survive the gig economy • How to get out of debt • Is now the right time to buy a house? • Crisis-proof your finances • Does investing change during a pandemic? • Can you afford city life? • What is the real cost of kids • Should you move home?

Listen and subscribe on iTunes or Spotify.

Information centre

• Rob Carrick’s 10-point checklist of things ways to protect your finances and an 8-part personal finance podcast. What you need to know about managing your finances right now. Minimize the 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, and what you can do to help slow the spread of coronavirus. How to break a bad habit (like touching your face). Are you working from home? Get up; sitting is terrible. Tired of WFH? Try a hotel.
• 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. What to cook with rhubarb (aside from pie).
• Here’s what you should do if you are newly laid off; how to apply for CERB, EI, and other financial benefits; how the CRA might identify CERB fraud; and other coronavirus and employment questions answered. What to do if your employees don’t return to work because they want to collect CERB.

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