Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world on Thursday
CBC News | Posted: February 3, 2022 12:43 PM | Last Updated: February 4, 2022
Jurisdictions across Canada outline plans for gradual easing of COVID-19 measures
The latest:
- Trudeau rules out negotiating with COVID-19 protesters occupying nation's capital.
- Why an Omicron infection alone might not offer the immune boost you'd expect.
- How Canada can avoid past mistakes as public health measures ease.
- People say they want COVID-19 to become 'endemic.' But what does that really mean?
Several jurisdictions across the country outlined plans to gradually ease COVID-19 measures on Thursday, with some saying Canadians will soon need to live with the coronavirus.
In the Prairies, Saskatchewan Premier Scott says he's committed to ending all COVID-19 restrictions soon.
"What's necessary is your freedom. What's necessary is getting your life back to normal," Moe said in a video posted to social media. "It's time."
Saskatchewan has recently posted its highest level of hospitalizations in the pandemic, and the Saskatchewan Medical Association is warning that loosening health measures would strain the health-care system.
WATCH | What to expect next:
Moe said COVID-19 is not going away, but said people are done with having to follow public health orders, so "normalizing" the virus and learning to live with it is the achievable option.
A similar note was struck in neighbouring Alberta, with the chief medical officer of health saying the province must prepare to adopt an endemic approach to managing COVID-19.
"I believe that after the Omicron wave has subsided, the risk of our system becoming overwhelmed will be substantially reduced, and this will enable [us] to shift our response," said Dr. Deena Hinshaw.
"We need to continue monitoring severe impacts and any changes to the virus," she added. "But we cannot continue to use restrictions in the long term, once the risk of system overwhelm has passed."
Hinshaw also announced that the province will shorten the recommended quarantine period for unvaccinated, asymptomatic household contacts of confirmed cases. The quarantine will decrease to 10 days from 14.
WATCH | Moving into an endemic phase:
In contrast, Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey, who is also an orthopedic surgeon, said he understands people are frustrated with lengthy restrictions. But, he said, any changes must be done with caution.
"There are a few out there who believe freedom is identified and defined by what they are unwilling to tolerate — as if masks, vaccines and health mandates were fences built to restrict them rather than the very tools used to protect them and give them freedom," Furey said.
That province has dropped its alert level, triggering a loosening of restrictions on businesses and group sizes that start Monday. It is also lifting isolation requirements for arriving travellers.
Yukon also announced the loosening of restrictions over the coming month, but Premier Sandy Silver says the moves are contingent on indicators like hospitalizations staying down and asked residents for their patience.
The contrasting approaches come as cities across the country prepare for the possibility of rallies against vaccine mandates on Friday. The demonstrations are being organized to mirror the protests in Ottawa and at the U.S. border crossing near Coutts in southern Alberta over the last week.
Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada's chief public health officer, said nearly 85 per cent of the total population — 89 per cent of those who are eligible — have received at least one dose of a vaccine. Around 80 per cent of all Canadians are fully vaccinated, she said in a social media post.
What's happening across Canada
With lab-based testing capacity deeply strained and increasingly restricted, experts say true case counts are likely far higher than reported. Hospitalization data at the regional level is also evolving, with several provinces saying they will report figures that separate the number of people in hospital because of COVID-19 from those in hospital for another medical issue who also test positive for COVID-19.
For more information on what is happening in your community — including details on outbreaks, testing capacity and local restrictions — click through to the regional coverage below.
You can also read more from the Public Health Agency of Canada, which provides a detailed look at every region — including seven-day average test positivity rates — in its daily epidemiological updates.
British Columbia reported 13 more COVID-19 deaths on Thursday, while Manitoba registered seven.
Meanwhile, the capitals of the two largest provinces braced for convoy protests.
In Quebec, more than 100 vehicles taking part in a protest arrived in Quebec City on Thursday night ahead of a rally planned this weekend in front of the National Assembly, while authorities in Ontario say they are preparing for a similar demonstration scheduled for the legislature in Toronto on Saturday.
WATCH | Protest convoy arrives in Quebec City:
In the Atlantic, New Brunswick recorded four more coronavirus-related deaths on Thursday, and the number of people in hospital with the virus remained at a record-high 165; Prince Edward Island's Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Heather Morrison said there are 12 people in hospital due to COVID-19, including two in intensive care; and Nova Scotia announced four COVID-19 deaths and 97 people in designated hospital units, including 13 people in ICU.
In the North, Nunavut Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Michael Patterson says the COVID-19 risk for students in schools in Rankin Inlet and Arviat is low, and schools in those communities will be reopening fully on Monday.
What's happening around the world
As of Thursday, roughly 387.3 million cases of COVID-19 had been reported around the world, according to Johns Hopkins University's coronavirus tracker. The reported global death toll stood at more than 5.7 million.
In Africa, South Africa's Afrigen Biologics has used the publicly available sequence of Moderna's mRNA COVID-19 vaccine to make its own version of the shot, which could be tested in humans before the end of this year, Afrigen's top executive said Thursday.
In Europe, the continent is now entering a "plausible endgame" to the pandemic and that the number of coronavirus deaths is starting to plateau, the director of the World Health Organization's Europe office said.
In the Americas, COVID-19 infections and deaths are still increasing, but the rise in infections seems to be slowing in places hit earliest by the Omicron variant, the Pan American Health Organization said.
In the Asia-Pacific region, Novavax Inc. said on Thursday its two-dose COVID-19 vaccine had received provisional approval from New Zealand's medicines regulator for use in adults.