Coronavirus Update: More than five million kids lost a parent or caregiver to COVID-19

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

Top headlines:

A study of data from 19 countries, including India and the U.S., found that more than 5.2 million children lost a parent or caregiver during the first 19 months of the pandemic.
Public health mandates could possibly return in September, when respiratory viruses typically resurge, Canada’s chief public health officer Dr. Teresa Tam says
New U.S. COVID guidelines will allow most Americans to go mask-free indoors

In the past seven days, 41,849 cases were reported, down 22 per cent from the previous seven days.

There were 467 deaths announced, down 25 per cent over the same period. At least 5,165 people are being treated in hospitals. Canada’s inoculation rate is 14th among countries with a population of one million or more people.

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

Photo of the day

People line up to receive China's Sinovac coronavirus vaccine at a community vaccination center in Hong Kong, Feb. 25, 2022.Kin Cheung/The Associated Press

Coronavirus in Canada

Ontario is reporting 1,003 people in hospital with COVID-19 and 297 in intensive care.
Quebec is reporting 24 more deaths attributed to COVID-19 and a 72-patient drop in hospitalizations linked to COVID-19.
British Columbia’s public safety minister says a significant number of people who received tickets for allegedly violating COVID-19 measures are disputing them – but added, “those tickets will be paid.”

Canada must be ready to bring some public health measures back if case counts begin to rise sharply again because of another COVID-19 variant, chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam said Friday.

It’s still uncertain what the novel coronavirus that has upended life around the world nearly two years will do next, Dr. Tam said.

Government handling of trucker blockade: Nearly half of Canadians say their impressions of the Prime Minister has worsened over his handling of the trucker convoy protests, according to a new poll.

Patrick King: A leader of the truck convoy that came to Ottawa in protest of vaccine mandates and became entrenched in the city’s downtown core for more than three weeks has been denied bail.

“Build back better”: The idea of strengthening economic shortfalls unearthed by the pandemic has become a rallying cry for Canada. But, the prime minister’s briefing binder notes that governments looking to “build back better” could create “uncertainty about rule and standards, create market distortions, and generate less of an even playing field.”

Coronavirus around the world

The CDC in the U.S. announced new COVID-19 guidelines on Friday, shifting from a focus on the rate of COVID-19 transmission to local hospitalizations, hospital capacity and infection rates. Universal school masking, for example, will now be advised only in communities with a “high” level of COVID-19, and 72 per cent of the population will reside in communities where indoor face coverings are no longer recommended.
In Hong Kong, the daily case count reached 10,010 on Friday, health officials said, after topping 6,000 last week and 8,000 earlier this week in a spiralling outbreak.
A new report from an international research team that included experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, and several colleges and universities found that more than 5 million children lost a parent or caregiver to COVID-19 during the first 19 months of the pandemic, a significant increase over a study conducted at 13 months into the crisis. The majority of children lost their fathers.

Coronavirus and business

Small business owners across Canada fear they could face renewed restrictions with each potential new wave of COVID-19. And, another round of lockdowns in year three of the pandemic could thwart last-ditch attempts by some entrepreneurs to stage a comeback after closures, debt and repeat layoffs.

“We can’t keep on slamming the brakes on businesses and their operations,” said Louis-Philippe Gauthier, senior director of legislative affairs with the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses in Atlantic Canada. “Capacity restrictions are just choking off businesses.”
As restrictions lift, Gauthier said it will take time to rebuild consumer confidence. Another round of lockdowns would decimate the hard-won gains of small businesses.

And: The CEO of AbCellera insists the company is more than just a COVID-19 drug developer and is working on antibodies for ailments such as cancer, immune deficiency disorders and vision problems.

Also today: How smart suppliers helped event planner Eric Ethier pivot to PPE in December 2019

Globe opinion

Konrad Yakabuski: Polite no more: The world sees Canada very differently now
Dan Werb: Open science, not for-profit discovery, is Canada’s best path to pandemic prevention
Rita Trichur: Provincial flip-flops on vaccine mandates are creating confusion for businesses

More reporting

This is what workers mean when they say they want ‘flexibility’

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
Where to get rapid tests for free and for sale
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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