Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world on Saturday
Ontario reports highest daily case count in 7 weeks as outdoor dining resumes in grey-lockdown zones
The latest:
- Ontario reports 1,829 new cases as outdoor dining resumes in grey-lockdown zones.
- Nova Scotia starts vaccinating residents at primary care clinics.
- New data offers a glimpse at how well Canadians have complied with restrictions.
- Fans from outside Japan banned from attending Tokyo Olympics.
- 51% of adults in the U.K. administered at least 1 dose of vaccine.
- Canada hesitates to update guidance on AstraZeneca vaccine amid potential link to blood clots.
- Have a question about the COVID-19 pandemic? You can reach us at COVID@cbc.ca
Ontario reported 1,829 new cases and 11 new deaths on Saturday as looser restrictions came into effect for restaurants, including the resumption of outdoor dining in grey-lockdown zones.
The new cases marked the province's highest daily case count since Feb. 1 and comes amid growing consensus among health experts and infectious disease specialists that Ontario has entered a third wave of the pandemic.
The surge is driven primarily by variants of concern that are more transmissible and more likely to cause serious illness. Ontario's COVID-19 science advisory table, a group of experts that advises the government on its pandemic response, calculates that variants currently account for about 54 per cent of all new cases.
The province also reported that 765 people are hospitalized due to COVID-19, including 302 in intensive care.
Premier Doug Ford announced Friday that the province would loosen some COVID-19 restrictions to help struggling businesses.
Effective Saturday after midnight, outdoor dining is now permitted in grey-lockdown zones, which include the hard-hit regions of Toronto and Peel Region.
Dr. Peter Jüni of the province's COVID-19 science advisory table told CBC News that the risk of infection outdoors is greatly reduced.
"Outdoors is so much safer. It's not about risk elimination; it's about risk reduction," he said.
WATCH | Ontario allowing outdoor dining in grey-lockdown zones:
Meanwhile, restaurants in the red and orange zones of the province's colour-coded guidelines are seeing their indoor dining capacity increased to 50 per cent — up to a maximum of 50 or 100 people, respectively.
Only those from the same household can sit at a table together, indoors or outdoors. The exception is those who live alone or are acting as caregivers to someone outside their own household may sit with one other household.
The loosening of restrictions comes as Ontario expands its COVID-19 vaccination campaign. As of Monday, people aged 75 and older can start scheduling appointments through the province's booking portal.
The province will also allow certain pharmacies and family doctors in select regions to give the AstraZeneca-Oxford shot to residents aged 60 and older.
What's happening across Canada
As of 6 p.m. ET on Saturday, Canada had reported 930,521 cases of COVID-19, with 34,283 cases considered active. A CBC News tally of deaths stood at 22,643.
Alberta reported 556 new cases of COVID-19 and four more deaths. Officials say 99 of the cases are coronavirus variants of concern, bring the total of active variant cases to 759.
In Saskatchewan, Regina Public Schools and the Regina Catholic School Division plan to move to remote learning over the next two weeks due to concerns over coronavirus variants. Of the 156 confirmed variants of concern cases in the province, 141, or 90 per cent, are in the Regina area.
On Saturday, Saskatchewan announced three additional COVID-19 deaths and 200 new cases, but none of them were variants.
WATCH | Officials urge caution as variants take hold in Western Canada:
Manitoba registered 89 more COVID-19 cases on Saturday and one death. Of the new cases, more than half — 46 — are in the Northern health region.
In another development, an outbreak has been declared at Riverview Health Centre personal care home in Winnipeg.
Quebec administered more than 40,000 vaccine shots in a single day for the first time since the start of the pandemic. So far, more than 915,000 vaccine doses have been administered in the province.
New Brunswick reported three new cases in the Edmundston region. Officials say all three are linked to previous cases and are self-isolating.
Meanwhile, New Brunswickers coming into Nova Scotia now no longer have to self-isolate when entering Nova Scotia. But Nova Scotians going to New Brunswick will still have to self-isolate for two weeks upon arrival there.
Although Nova Scotia has reopened its border, New Brunswick is not planning to do the same.
WATCH | Atlantic bubble set for April reopening:
In Nova Scotia, the province's first vaccinations in a primary care clinic took place at a walk-in clinic in Truro.
Ten community clinics and 15 pharmacies are administering the COVID-19 vaccine to all Nova Scotians who are 80 and older based on birth month, while 25 pharmacies and physician offices are bringing AstraZeneca vaccine to those aged 60 to 64.
Additionally, various restrictions on long-term care, restaurants, sports and other areas were lifted as of 8 a.m. Saturday for those in the Halifax Regional Municipality and other designated areas.
Newfoundland and Labrador added 21 new recoveries and saw no new cases for the fourth time this week.
The new recoveries dropped the province's active caseload to five known active cases, all in the Eastern Health region. The last time the province's active case count was this low was Jan. 27.
In Prince Edward Island, four more people have been diagnosed with COVID-19, including a male under 19 who is involved in minor sport activities, the Chief Public Health Office said late Friday. The office also said there was a public exposure at Stretch Fitness in Summerside.
Nunavut also did not tally any new cases. The territory did see two recoveries, bringing active cases back down to zero.
Yukon is the only other jurisdiction in Canada with no active cases. As of Friday, the Northwest Territories was reporting a single active case.
What's happening around the world
As of Saturday, more than 122.4 million cases of COVID-19 had been reported worldwide with 69.3 million cases listed as recovered, according to a tracking tool maintained by Johns Hopkins University. The global death toll stood at more than 2.7 million.
In the Americas, Chile has reported its highest daily count of 7,084 coronavirus infections since the start of the pandemic, despite widespread restrictions and progress on vaccinations.
In Europe, the U.K. says half of the country's adults have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. The National Health Service has put shots in the arms of 26.9 million people, or 51 per cent of the adult population, according to the latest government statistics.
In Asia, the Tokyo Olympics announced that spectators from abroad will be barred from attending when the Games open in four months in an effort to curb potential COVID-19 risks.
In Africa, Guy Brice Parfait Kolélas, the leading opposition presidential candidate in Republic of Congo, was receiving oxygen at a private hospital after being diagnosed with COVID-19, a family member said, casting Sunday's election into doubt on the eve of the vote.
With files from The Canadian Press, Reuters and The Associated Press
