Coronavirus Update: When the first wave of COVID-19 hit Canada, the response from governments and health officials was slow and scattered

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

Top headlines:

1. Why was Canada’s initial response to COVID-19 slow and scattered?
2. Texas, Florida halt reopening as cases spike
3. Air Canada, WestJet to resume selling middle seat

In Canada, there have been at least 102,733 cases reported. In the last week 2,106 new cases were announced, 22 per cent fewer than the previous week. There have also been 65,652 recoveries and 8,507 deaths. Health officials have administered 2,725,720 tests.

Worldwide, 9,609,829 cases have been confirmed and 489,312 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: Updates and essential resources • Coronavirus in maps and charts • Lockdown rules and reopening plans in each province

Photo of the day

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Number of the day

$31.3-billion

A WHO-led coalition says it needs US$31.3-billion in the next year for coronavirus testing, treatment and vaccine efforts.

• The coalition is asking governments and the private sector to contribute to help fund 500-million tests and 245-million courses of new treatment to low- and middle-income countries by 2021.
• So far, the coalition has raised US$3.4-billion – a funding shortfall of $27.9-billion. Of that, US$13.7-billion is “urgently needed.”

Coronavirus in Canada

• At least 16 cases have been tied to a nail salon in Kingston, Ontario. The premier said the quick efforts to contact and test 500 people shows “the system is working.” The local medical officer said the outbreak a “near miss.”
• First Nations in British Columbia limited infections in their communities by following strict restrictions and drawing on lessons from the spread of the diseases that decimated other Indigenous populations. Next week, the province’s health officer, Dr. Bonnie Miller, will take over Olivia Munn’s Instagram to talk about COVID-19.
• The ferry service between Nova Scotia and Maine has been cancelled for the 2020 season, citing the ongoing struggle in the U.S. to contain the coronavirus.

In Ottawa, the government announced it is developing national standards for health data collection and sharing. The effort is part of ongoing negotiations with the provinces over $14-billion in new federal COVID-19 transfers.

• Raced-based data has not been available federally, in part because it is not collected by all jurisdictions. The federal public health agency will partner with Statscan to provide a “ethnocultural data dashboard,” Dr. Theresa Tam said.

Chief medical health officers across the country are now actively preparing for a possible second wave in the fall or winter, and are bracing for a scenario in which it coincides with flu season.

Canada’s lost months: When the first wave of COVID-19 hit, the response was scattered. Reporters Robyn Doolittle, Michelle Carbert, and Daniel Leblanc spoke to dozens of infectious-disease experts, health officials and politicians to piece together what went wrong.

Coronavirus around the world

• Texas and Florida, like many areas of the United States, are reporting record daily case numbers. Both states ordered recently reopened bars and restaurants to close. Florida reported 8,942 new cases today; Texas reported 5,996 new cases yesterday.
• More than 14,000 of the COVID-19 deaths in France happened in care homes – almost half of the death toll. Many homes are now facing wrongful death lawsuits.
• In India, where 176 million people still live on less than $1.90 a day, experts say the pandemic has hit poor residents the hardest.
• The economy in Mexico contracted 17 per cent in April. The county has the seventh highest number of COVID-19 deaths in the world.

Coronavirus and business

Starting July 1, both WestJet and Air Canada will resume selling the middle seat on domestic flights.

• The health measure ends as an international airline group says other measures – masks, temperature checks, air filters – are as effective, and less costly.
• Removing the middle seat reduced a flight’s capacity to 62 per cent – below industry’s break-even level of 77 per cent full.

Air Canada’s CEO previously railed against travel restrictions that he says stand in the way of economic recovery, and earlier this week WestJet announced permanent layoffs for more than 3,000 workers.

Also today: The S&P 500 closed down 2.42 per cent, while the Dow lost 2.84 per cent on on news that some parts of the U.S. renewed business restrictions.

Globe opinion

• Konrad Yakabuski: “The question now facing policy makers in Canada, the United States and dozens of other countries that issue their own currencies is just how long they can keep this up.” [For subscribers]
• Brent Crane: “Life under lockdown feels a lot like foreign travel. The new rules of communication and commerce have turned once-familiar environments into alien ones. It creates an uncanny disconnect with a place you thought you knew.”

Distractions

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🍿For the movie fiend: Three streamable picks for the weekend ahead

• All About Who You Know: A boy-meets-girl story with a slightly meta twist, as film-school grad Cole pursues Haley, who happens to be the daughter of Cole’s screenwriting idol Michael.
• Stealing School: An ambitious university student accused of plagiarism by an unctuous teaching assistant with his own agenda.
• Inmate #1: The Rise of Danny Trejo: This documentary about veteran character actor Danny Trejo is compelling and frequently funny only-in-Hollywood saga.

Information centre

• Pandemic personal finance: 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, and what you can do to help slow the spread of coronavirus. How to break a bad habit (like touching your face).
• 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.

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