Coronavirus Update: Unvaccinated kids under 12 entering Canada no longer need COVID-19 test

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

Top headlines:

1. The federal government announced several small changes to its COVID-19 border restrictions today, including allowing unvaccinated children aged five to 11 travelling with a fully vaccinated adult to enter without a test.
2. As Ontario deals with the sixth wave of the pandemic, it has extended its remaining mask mandate in high-risk settings until June 11.
3. How microdosing on nature helped relieve some of the stress and anxiety we’ve felt during the pandemic.

In the past seven days, there were 417 deaths announced, up 14 per cent over the same period. At least 6,276 people are being treated in hospitals. Canada’s inoculation rate is 13th 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

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Coronavirus in Canada

• Ontario has 1,591 people in hospital and 214 patients in ICU for COVID-19, as the province announced it will extend its mask mandate in high-risk settings to June 11.
• In Quebec, 2,410 people are hospitalized and 34 more people have died from the virus, while health authorities say 10,833 health-care workers are off the job due to COVID-19.
• Anyone 70 years old and older in Nova Scotia can now book a second booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

In Ottawa, travel rules have changed once again, this time for unvaccinated children coming into the country.

• As of Monday, unvaccinated kids aged 5 to 11 travelling with a fully vaccinated adult will no longer need a COVID-19 test to enter Canada. Other small changes, such as not requiring a quarantine plan, were also announced.

CERB repayments: A report has found that a disproportionate number of letters questioning people’s eligibility for CERB and warning they may owe back some of the payments landed in postal codes home to First Nations, including in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

Coronavirus around the world

• In Shanghai, the continued lockdowns and some newly confusing communications are fraying nerves among residents, some of whom have been in their homes since April 1.
• Fully vaccinated visitors to Thailand will no longer need to undergo any test or quarantine on arrival starting May 1.
• Mask mandates return to many United States college campuses as COVID-19 cases rise in the final weeks of the college school year.

Coronavirus and business

Markets for oil continue to respond to the lockdowns in China, among other global impacts, with Brent crude down 1.85 per cent on Friday.

• Chinese demand for gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel in April is expected to slide 20 per cent from a year earlier, Bloomberg reported, as many of China’s biggest cities, including Shanghai, are in COVID-19 lockdowns.

Also today: A recent survey of Canadians working at home found that 70 per cent of respondents had discomfort at the end of the day, with women reporting more frequent and more severe pain than men. This isn’t surprising, says Rachel Mitchell, a Canadian Certified Professional Ergonomist (CCPE) and registered kinesiologist, as women are “more likely to be the one at the dining room table or working at the kitchen table, because they’re also more likely to be supervising a child.”

Globe opinion

• Konrad Yakabuski: “In the U.S., politics have poisoned the authority of public-health institutions”
• Lara Pingue: “Live, laugh, love and other lies we tell each other”
• Noah Richler: “My fellow Canadians: Nova Scotia doesn’t want you”

More stories

• Forest bathing: At the height of the lockdowns, when many of us felt trapped, unsettled and decidedly grumpy, nature saved us.

Information centre

• Everything you need to know about Canada’s travel rules for vaccinated and unvaccinated people
• Where do I book a COVID-19 booster or a vaccine appointment for my kids? Latest rules by province
• 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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