Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world on Friday
Half of total U.S. population now fully vaccinated against COVID-19, White House says
The latest:
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Vaccines give COVID-19 survivors a big immune boost, studies show.
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Alberta premier says he won't 'take lectures' from federal health minister on COVID-19.
- Ontario man recounts 'ridiculous' ordeal after being turned around at U.S. border, forced to quarantine for 14 days.
- Canada added 94,000 jobs in July, pushing jobless rate down to 7.5%.
- Japan's COVID-19 cases hit 1 million as infections spread beyond Tokyo.
- Thousands of COVID-19 vaccine doses set to expire as demand wanes.
- INTERACTIVE | Track how many people have been given the COVID-19 vaccine across Canada.
Half of all Americans are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19, a White House official said Friday, as the Biden administration continues to urge people to get the shot amid a resurgence in infections across the country.
In a tweet, White House data director Cyrus Shahpar announced that 50 per cent of the total U.S. population — which includes those younger than 12 years old who are currently ineligible for the vaccine — are fully vaccinated.
Shahpar, who noted that the seven-day average of newly vaccinated people is up 11 per cent from last week and 44 per cent over the past two weeks, said, "Keep going!"
Friday just in: +821K doses reported administered, including 565K newly vaccinated. 7-day average of newly vaccinated is up 11% from last week and 44% over past 2 weeks. 50% of Americans (all ages) are now fully vaccinated. Keep going! 🇺🇸
—@cyrusshahpar46In recent days, the more contagious delta variant has sent new U.S. cases surging to 94,000 a day on average, a level not seen since mid-February.
Deaths per day have soared 75 per cent in the past two weeks, climbing from an average of 244 to 426. The overall U.S. death toll stands at more than 615,000.
The vast majority of those now hospitalized with the virus are unvaccinated.
At a briefing on Friday, White House press secretary Jennifer Psaki said there have been "early discussions about a range of options" for new vaccine mandates for certain situations, such as domestic travellers and nursing home workers.
She added that the administration has "concern" about anti-mask, anti-vaccine mandate restrictions in some states.
"If you don't want to abide by public health guidelines, don't want to use your role as leaders, then you should get out of the way," Psaki said in reference to some state legislators.
She applauded United Airlines' announcement that it will require U.S.-based employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by late October. The airline joins a growing number of corporations responding to a surge in coronavirus cases.
Meanwhile, the Black Hills of South Dakota were roaring with motorcycles and crowds on Friday as the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally started amid a rise in COVID-19 cases in the state.
Organizers expect at least 700,000 people during the 10-day event. Public health experts — and some locals — worry the rally will again play host to coronavirus infections. Only about 46 per cent of adults who live in the county that hosts Sturgis are fully vaccinated, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), compared with 60.6 per cent nationwide.
Last year's rally transformed Sturgis, usually a quiet community of under 7,000 residents, into a travel hub comparable to a major U.S. city. Hundreds of rallygoers were infected, and a team of researchers from the CDC concluded the event ended up looking like a "superspreader event."
— From CBC News, The Associated Press and Reuters, last updated at 8 p.m. ET
What's happening in Canada
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B.C. reports 464 new cases of COVID-19, more health restrictions coming for Central Okanagan.
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Sask. government to rethink pact with Extendicare after 'very troubling' nursing home outbreak report.
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Ontario sees 340 new COVID-19 cases — the most since late June.
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N.L. to lift mandatory masking rules on Aug. 10, premier says.
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N.S. top doctor rejects 3rd dose for people with mixed vaccine doses and travel plans.
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Quebec's vaccine passport plan sparks some worry, but experts say it's necessary.
What's happening around the world
As of Friday evening, more than 201.4 million cases of COVID-19 had been reported around the world, according to the coronavirus tracker maintained by U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University. The reported global death toll stood at more than 4.2 million.
In Europe, visitors to Italy's museums and theatres must either show proof they've had a COVID-19 vaccine, or prove they've recovered from the coronavirus or recently tested negative. A certification rule took effect countrywide on Friday. It also applies to gyms, inside restaurants, indoor swimming pools and crowded outdoor events such as concerts.
In Africa, Senegal's Institut Pasteur de Dakar has reached a deal with U.S. company MedInstill for the bottling of COVID-19 shots, a European Union document shows, marking a step to becoming a fully fledged maker of coronavirus vaccines for Africa.
In the Asia-Pacific region, China recorded another 80 locally transmitted cases of COVID-19 on Friday, as the country seeks to control its widest flare-up since the original outbreak with a combination of lockdowns, mass testing and travel restrictions. Of the new cases, 58 were found in the eastern city of Yangzhou in Jiangsu province, where the highly contagious delta variant spread among airport workers in the provincial capital of Nanjing.
The update came as China's president pledged that two billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines would be supplied to the world through this year, increasing China's commitment as the largest exporter of the shots. The figure likely includes the 770 million doses China has already donated or exported, and it's not clear if it includes a COVAX agreement for Chinese producers to supply 550 million doses.
Hundreds of millions of Chinese shots, the vast majority of which are from Sinopharm and Sinovac, have already been administered to people in many countries around the world. However, there are concerns about whether they protect adequately against the highly transmissible delta variant.
The Philippines placed its Manila capital region under a two-week lockdown on Friday as the Southeast Asian country's Health Ministry reported 10,623 new coronavirus cases, the largest single-day jump in infections for almost four months.
In the Middle East, Iran on Thursday reported 38,674 new cases, down slightly from Wednesday's single-day high of 39,357. The country, which is dealing with another rapid uptick in cases, reported 434 additional deaths on Thursday.
In the Americas, Ralph Gonsalves, the prime minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, was hospitalized after a demonstrator threw a rock at his head during an anti-vaccine protest led by nurses and other workers in the eastern Caribbean island, officials said late Thursday.
— From The Associated Press, Reuters and CBC News, last updated at 8 p.m. ET
With files from Reuters and The Associated Press
