Coronavirus Update: Ontario Premier Doug Ford announces lockdown for Toronto and Peel

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

Top headlines:

1. Ford says Toronto, Peel moving into lockdown on Monday
2. Trudeau tells Canada the “future of our country” is at stake in second wave
3. Quebec will provide framework for holiday gatherings by Dec. 17

In Canada, there have been at least 320,200 cases reported. In the last week 32,877 new cases were announced, 4 per cent more than the previous week. There have also been at least 256,376 recoveries and 11,324 deaths. Health officials have administered more than 11,795,922 tests.

Worldwide, there have been at least 56,898,415 cases confirmed and 1,360,381 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: Coronavirus in maps and charts • Lockdown rules and reopening • Mask-wearing rules • Back to school guide • Essential resources

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Coronavirus in Canada

• Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced that Toronto and Peel would enter into a lockdown starting Monday, with schools and daycares remaining open. Indoor gatherings should be limited to immediate households, and outdoor events are limited to 10, the province said. Toronto will open 76 more park washrooms for the winter.
• Quebec’s Premier François Legault said his government would provide a framework for holiday gatherings by December 17. The province reported 1,259 new COVID-19 and 32 more deaths today.
• In Manitoba, the rate of positive COVID-19 tests stands at 13.7 per cent – well above the national average – as the province reported 437 new cases today. In Steinbach, a city of 16,000 where last week doctors were forced to triage patients in their cars, the positivity rate is 40 per cent.
• Nova Scotia imposed stricter limits on gatherings in most of Halifax, reducing the cap from 10 to five people for gatherings that do not require physical distancing. The limit on informal indoor and outdoor gatherings was reduced as well. The province has reported 51 cases so far this month.
• New Brunswick moved Saint John into a higher alert level, and asked people to limit contacts to their own family bubbles. The province reported nine more cases today. The total of active cases in the province is 51.
• A lack of data likely means that the number of COVID-19 cases among Indigenous communities – particularly in Alberta and Saskatchewan – are going underreported, Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller said.

In Ottawa, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the “future of our country” is at stake during the second wave of COVID-19. The Prime Minister urged Canadians to take immediate action to prevent worst-case scenarios.

• Public health authorities released their latest modelling showing COVID-19 case counts have far surpassed levels seen during the first wave.
• At current rates of contact, officials predict that Canada is headed toward a surge of more than 20,000 cases per day by the end of December. If Canadians increase rates of contact, that figure could rise to 60,000 cases per day.
• Trudeau said he would avoid using federal powers – such as setting limits on interprovincial travel – noting that Atlantic Canada and the northern territories have taken steps to control their borders.

New Canadians: Approvals for immigration applications fell sharply during first months of COVID-19 pandemic, according to new data released in the House of Commons.

Coronavirus around the world

• In the United States, Donald Trump Jr., President Donald Trump’s son, tested positive for COVID-19 this week but is ‘asymptomatic’ according to a spokesperson, who didn’t announced the news until late Friday. Also today, Florida Senator Rick Scott tested positive for COVID-19 – the second senator, after Iowa’s Chuck Grassley, and at least the eighth Congress member to announce a positive result this week.

Coronavirus and business

Starting Monday, business owners will be able to apply for the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy – the new rent relief program – two months after the previous program finished.

• The legislation passed without an amendment that would have let business owners apply before paying rent – something many entrepreneurs who have seen revenues collapse say they need. The government said it intends to correct the error.
• The new aid is retroactive to Sept. 27, the date the previous program wrapped up. Under the new program, entrepreneurs can apply for subsidies of up to 65 per cent of their monthly rent within certain limits – or up to 90 per cent if they are under more severe pandemic restrictions such as a lockdown.

Also today: Pfizer applied to health regulators in the United States for emergency use authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine, days after announcing its candidate is 95 per cent effective in trials.

And: Layoffs of low-wage workers has created a new tax burden.

Globe opinion

• Lauren Dobson-Hughes: Our governments have failed to protect us — and now we are paying the price
• Doug Saunders: The latest COVID-19 surge has tested countries with federal governments. Canada hasn’t passed
• Phoebe Maltz Bovy: Forget a vaccine – I’m surviving the pandemic thanks to murder mysteries

More reporting

• Near the Quebec-New Brunswick border, more than 100 students from an Indigenous community are still unable to attend their high school. For more than a month, students from Listuguj have been learning online after their Campbellton highschool – about a 10-minute drive away – was closed to them over fears of interprovincial COVID-19 spread.
• Yes, the holiday season in 2020 will look different. Here’s how to stay festive.
• How restaurants are pandemic-proofing their menus in a bid to survive the second wave of COVID-19.
• In the United States, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin defended the decision to defund the Federal Reserve’s emergency COVID-19 lending programs.

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. Wash your hands. How to break a bad habit (like touching your face). Is flying safe?
• 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.

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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