Coronavirus Update: Pandemic delaying treatment, exacerbating existing health conditions, survey says

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

Top headlines:

1. A Heart & Stroke survey found the majority of respondents are worried that people living with heart disease or stroke are worse off because they are not able to access care needed during the pandemic
2. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland is being urged to shut down the federal wage subsidy by an economist who served as a federal government adviser
3. In Britain, where the number of new cases topped 49,000 yesterday, scientists are keeping a close eye on Delta Plus

In the past seven days, 20,075 cases were reported, down 17 per cent from the previous seven days. There were 314 deaths announced, up 31 per cent over the same period. At least 2,371 people are being treated in hospitals and 1,628,081 others are considered recovered.

Canada’s inoculation rate is 14th among countries with a population of one million or more people.

Open this photo in gallery:

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

Open this photo in gallery:

Coronavirus in Canada

• The federal government is sending more help to the Northwest Territories to deal with a spike in COVID-19 cases. The support – 10 specialists from the Canadian Red Cross – will be effective until Nov. 14, with the possibility of a two-week extension.
• Quebec Premier Francois Legault said the province will lift its COVID-19 state of emergency once children aged five through 11 are vaccinated against the novel coronavirus. The province is reporting 342 new cases of COVID-19 today and four additional deaths. It’s the lowest number of new daily cases reported in the province since mid-August.
• Ontario is reporting 328 new COVID-19 cases today and four deaths. Health Minister Christine Elliott says 223 of the infected people are not fully vaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status.
• COVID-19 capacity limits for indoor and outdoor organized events will be lifted on Oct. 25 in British Columbia, says Provincial Health Officer Bonnie Henry.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted critical cardiovascular research and access to patient care, and has caused emerging heart issues, according to a national Heart & Stroke survey.

• The survey found that 92 per cent of respondents worried that the health of people living with heart disease or stroke worsened because they were not able to access needed care during the pandemic.
• Delays in diagnosis and treatment resulting in worse health was the biggest issue for 82 per cent of the health professionals and researchers surveyed, and 54 per cent cited mental-health issues as “significant” for people living with heart disease and stroke during the pandemic.

The global vaccine gap: A World Health Organization-led program aims to secure antiviral COVID-19 pills for $10 per course for poorer countries.

The COVID-19 wage subsidy: Ottawa should shut down the wage subsidy program, says a Canadian economist and former federal adviser.

Coronavirus around the world

• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to authorize the mixing and matching of COVID-19 booster doses this week.
• Many scientists in Britain are now calling on the government to reimpose social restrictions and speed up booster vaccinations as coronavirus infection rates, already Europe’s highest, rise still further. And, the U.K. Health Security Agency is watching the Delta Plus variant closely, adding that the mutation was “on an increasing trajectory.”
• Homicide allegations related to his handling of the coronavirus pandemic are being levelled against Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.

Coronavirus and business

Canada’s COVID-19 benefits for businesses and individuals are set to expire on Oct. 23. Here’s what you need to know about the pandemic-relief programs:

• The most popular pandemic-relief programs have been the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy, the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy and the Canada Recovery Benefit – all set to expire on Saturday.
• Will the federal government extend these programs? The Liberal government has the legal authority to extend them to Nov. 20, without further parliamentary approval. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says the government is considering options to extend support for businesses.

Also today: The costs of repaying debt to help households and businesses through the COVID-19 crisis will be dwarfed by funding pensions and health services as societies age, according to an Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development report.

And: The world is gripped by an energy crunch – hitting global recovery from COVID-19 pandemic as winter approaches.

Plus: Work-from-home arrangements may not be beneficial for companies over the long haul, according to CIBC’s chief executive.

Globe opinion

• André Picard: Is a third COVID-19 shot the charm?
• Robyn Urback: Quebec couldn’t let its hospitals collapse – it was right to cave to unvaccinated health care workers

More reporting

• Ready to travel again – after months of pandemic restrictions? Here are deals for trips abroad and at home
• Winnipeg Jets captain Blake Wheeler will miss at least four games while on the sidelines with COVID-19

Information centre

• Everything you need to know about Canada’s travel restrictions for vaccinated and unvaccinated people
• Waiting for a second dose? We answer your COVID-19 vaccine questions
• What is and isn’t ‘paid sick leave’ in Canada? A short primer
• 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.

What are we missing? Email us: audience@globeandmail.com. Do you know someone who needs this newsletter? Send them to our Newsletters page.