Coronavirus Update: Majority of Canadians say they’d support another lockdown if COVID-19 resurges, poll finds

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

Top headlines:

1. Poll of more than 1,000 Canadians finds 70 per cent would support, or somewhat support, returning to lockdown in the event of a second wave
2. Four hard-learned lessons from the pandemic critical to handling a resurgence in Canada
3. U.S. nears five million coronavirus cases, the highest in the world

In Canada, there have been at least 117,306 cases reported. In the last week 2,312 new cases were announced, 30 per cent fewer than the previous week. There have also been at least 101,839 recoveries and 8,953 deaths. Health officials have administered more than 4,448,657 tests.

Worldwide, there have been at least 18,282,208 cases confirmed and 693,694 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

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Number of the day

7 in 10

More than seven in 10 Canadians support closing all but essential businesses and asking exposed Canadians to self-isolate if coronavirus cases spike again, according to a new poll conducted for The Globe and Mail by Nanos Research.

• 50 per cent said they would support shutdown measures, while 23 per cent said they would somewhat support it.
• 13 per cent said they opposed shutdown measures, and another 12 per cent somewhat opposed it.

Pollster Nik Nanos said he thinks widespread Canadian support for a return to lockdown, if necessary, is also driven by the escalating crisis in the United States, where efforts to contain the virus have failed.

Coronavirus in Canada

• When students return to school in Alberta, face masks will be required for students between grades 4 to 12 and all staff in common areas.
• The construction industry in Ontario says its members won’t use the COVID Alert app since it requires smartphones, which are prohibited on job sites. Instead, the industry advocated for a wearable option.

In Ottawa, the government said COVID Alert, the recently released contact tracing app, has been downloaded by 1.1 million people.

• The app only only works on smartphones released in the past five years, which critics say will leave out poorer and older Canadians who are unlikely to have newer devices.
• In response, Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam said the app is only one of many tools used to combat coronavirus.

Migrant workers: Agriculture employers in several provinces are restricting the movement of migrant farm workers during the pandemic, raising questions about the rights of temporary foreign workers.

Lessons from the first wave: In the past seven months, Canada has learned many hard lessons about COVID-19. These four lessons, if applied in a second wave, could keep cases under control as students return to school and winter looms.

1. Masks work. If everyone wears them, they should contribute to controlling a second wave
2. Testing, tracing and isolating works, but only if deployed quickly and only when community transmission is low
3. Preserve critical-care capacity in hospitals but don’t shut down all scheduled operations again – because you can’t
4. To protect nursing homes, cut down on crowding

Coronavirus around the world

• Watch: U.S. President Donald Trump argued in an Axios interview that the U.S. has better coronavirus death numbers than other countries if counted as a percentage of cases, not the total population. The country is approaching five million cases and has racked up more than 155,000 deaths.
• Philippine police enforced a strict new lockdown on about 28 million people in the capital Manila and nearby provinces as the Southeast Asian country reported the region’s biggest daily rise in coronavirus cases.
• Vietnam reported dozens of new cases and two deaths related to a continuing outbreak, as Hanoi said the country lacked testing kits needed to continue mass screening for cases.
• Germany has continued to experience a steady uptick of cases in recent weeks, and health officials urged people to continue physical distancing rules as the country is already experiencing a second wave of the virus.

Coronavirus and business

Porter Airlines delayed its restart for the third time, pushing its reopening date to Oct. 7, from Aug. 31.

• The airline grounded its planes on March 31 and laid off most of its 1,500-person work force.
• Porter cited travel restrictions, a closed Canada-U.S. border and quarantine rules as reasons for the delay.

Also today: Manufacturing in the United States accelerated to its highest level in nearly 18 months in July. However, a resurgence in U.S. coronavirus cases raises fears about how long a recovery will last.

And: A growing number of younger Canadians are buying life insurance coverage online as the novel coronavirus pandemic spurs worries about economic uncertainty and puts a spotlight on potential health risks.

Rob Carrick: How the COVID-19 pandemic may sabotage retirement for boomers and Gen X [For subscribers]

Globe opinion

• Arthur Schafer: “That [Justin Trudeau and Bill Morneau] deny what is patently obvious to most Canadians indicates that neither understands what it is to be in a conflict of interest.”

More reporting

• Grocery shelves won’t be fully stocked with Clorox’s disinfecting wipes until 2021
• Chipotle is among several fast food brands set for new wave of hiring as sales rebound [For subscribers]
• Oil prices rise more than 1 per cent on hopes for economic recovery, but coronavirus fears weigh [For subscribers]
• How one B.C. venue is bringing back concerts
• The Madrid Open tennis tournament is cancelled due to COVID-19
• Rafael Nadal won’t defend his U.S. Open title because of coronavirus concerns
• First-year Toronto Argonauts head coach Ryan Dinwiddie is dealing with pandemic uncertainty

Distractions

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💸 For the money-stressed millennial: The first season of The Globe and Mail’s personal finance podcast Stress Test is out now. Catch up on topics like how to get out of debt, what you should know before buying a home and investing amid a pandemic. If you enjoyed what you heard, let us know.

Leave us a rating on Apple Podcasts, or send the show a note at podcasts@globeandmail.com. We hope to see you for a Season 2.

1. How to survive the gig economy
2. How to get out of debt
3. Is now the right time to buy a house?
4. Crisis-proof your finances
5. Does investing change during a pandemic?
6. Can you afford to live downtown?
7. How much do kids really cost?
8. Should you move back in with your parents?

Listen to Stress Test on iTunes or Spotify.

Information centre

• 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, and what you can do to help slow the spread of coronavirus. How to break a bad habit (like touching your face).
• 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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