Coronavirus Update: Trudeau government put all vaccine ‘eggs’ in one China basket, O’Toole charges

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

Top headlines:

1. Trudeau government put all vaccine ‘eggs’ in one China basket, O’Toole charges
2. Spread of coronavirus in Brampton linked to systemic factors, experts say
3. Ottawa extends rules and restrictions for travellers amid rising COVID-19 case counts

In Canada, there have been at least 366,906 cases reported. In the last week 35,064 new cases were announced, 1 per cent fewer than the previous week. There have also been at least 292,539 recoveries and 12,018 deaths. Health officials have administered more than 12,805,405 tests.

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

• The chairman of American vaccine maker Moderna says Canada is near the front of the line to receive 20 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine it preordered. The statement comes, as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faces questions about the government’s ability to deliver a timely vaccine to Canadians. Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole has also charged that the Liberal government put too much emphasis on the collaboration with Chinese vaccine-maker CanSino.
• Brampton, Ont., makes up less than half of Peel’s population, but accounts for more than 60 per cent of the COVID-19 cases in the province’s hardest-hit region. Experts say the spread of coronavirus is linked to systemic factors in Brampton, where households are larger and there’s a higher proportion of essential service workers.
• Cases are rising steadily in Atlantic Canada. In the north, Nunavut’s case count increased by 13. As a result, the federal government is extending the restrictions placed on travellers coming from non-U.S. countries to January 21, 2020. Restrictions for visitors crossing the border from the U.S. are currently in place until December 21, but may be extended.
• In Manitoba, the RCMP ramped up enforcement at a church that was fined for holding a service last weekend. Manitoba ordered churches to close earlier this month to deal with a surge in COVID-19 cases that has clogged the hospital system, saying people could only attend services virtually.
• An outbreak at Maimonides Geriatric Centre in Montreal, Que., has sent 20 residents to hospitals and killed 10 residents as of November 28. The province’s long-term care homes were also struck hard by the pandemic’s first wave.

Coronavirus around the world

• New York City will reopen its school system to in-person learning, and increase the number of days a week many children attend class, even as the coronavirus pandemic intensifies in the city, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Sunday.
• The United States’ top infectious-disease expert, Anthony Fauci, said Sunday that the country may see “surge upon a surge” of the coronavirus in the weeks after Thanksgiving, and he does not expect current recommendations around social distancing to be relaxed before Christmas.
• In India, a regulator is assisting an inquiry into an alleged adverse reaction during AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine trial, but has found no reason to recommend halting it, a senior official said Sunday.

Globe opinion

• Elizabeth Renzetti: “I used to joke that I had trouble staying awake, not falling asleep. Well, the joke’s on me. What a very funny pandemic joke it is, too. For eight years – sorry, I mean eight months – I’ve joined the glassy-eyed company of the country’s insomniacs.”
• André Picard: “‘A bit, but clearly not enough.’ That is Miranda Ferrier’s pithy, but all-too-accurate answer to the question: Have we learned anything from the devastation that happened in long-term care during the first wave of COVID-19?”
• Jacquelin Best: “When confronted by the very difficult decisions created by the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, our political leaders have been seduced time and time again into a dangerous kind of wishful thinking.”

More reporting

• The grace period that greeted leaders of the country in the pandemic’s fearful early months is gone. As fatigue and frustration set in, more pandemic-weary Canadians are tuning out health guidelines.
• A Calgary-based collective of food-focused businesses is exploring a silver lining in the COVID-19 era.
• Here’s what forecasters got wrong about the COVID-19 economy.
• When Canada plunged into a COVID-induced lockdown in mid-March, TD Bank chief risk officer Ajai Bambawale spearheaded the bank’s response for its over 2,000 branches across Canada and the U.S.

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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