Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world on Tuesday
Jurisdictions across Canada implement tougher COVID-19 restrictions as cases spike
The latest:
- Trudeau implores premiers, mayors to seek federal help if needed.
- Manitoba moves to code red as COVID-19 cases surge.
- Toronto officials also tighten measures.
- Quebec premier rules out lifting red-zone restrictions early.
- Alberta's active caseload, hospitalizations at record highs.
- British Columbia extends provincial state of emergency.
- U.S. sees more than 1 million cases in first 10 days of November.
- Have a coronavirus question or news tip for CBC News? Email us at COVID@cbc.ca.
Jurisdictions across Canada implemented new restrictions while others committed to existing measures to counter a spike in COVID-19 cases on Tuesday.
Toronto is moving into the "red" level of Ontario's colour-coded coronavirus shutdown system and adding stricter measures on top of that as the country's largest city reported 520 new cases on Tuesday, setting a record for new infections for the second day in a row.
"We need more measures now because we're seeing spread and risk like we've never seen before," the city's Medical Officer of Health Dr. Eileen de Villa told reporters on Tuesday.
Toronto will continue to enforce takeout only dining options; require that meeting and event spaces — including bingo halls, casinos and other establishments — remain closed; and prohibit indoor group fitness classes.
WATCH | Toronto's top doctor announces stricter pandemic measures:
In addition, de Villa is calling on people not to socialize with those outside their households and for businesses to continue to have work-from-home plans.
Tuesday's move is in contrast to the city's previous stance, which was that enacting stricter measures on top of the province's restrictions likely exceeded de Villa's legal powers.
Asked if municipal medical officers of health are able to trigger a full lockdown if they deem it necessary, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Tuesday they can, but "we've never taken that approach."
"I can't rule out anything," Ford said later of possible future lockdowns.
"If it needs to be done, we'll do it."
WATCH | Ontario sparing no expense fighting COVID-19, Ford says:
Manitoba is also imposing new measures and moving to red alert level, prompting business closures and travel restrictions.
The restrictions call for sweeping closures, including a pause on in-person religious services, the closure of personal service businesses such as hair salons, closure of in-store shopping at non-essential retail and the closure of restaurant dining rooms.
"We are truly at a crossroads in our fight against this pandemic," Chief Provincial Public Health Officer Dr. Brent Roussin said at the Tuesday morning announcement.
WATCH | 'Further action is needed,' says Manitoba's top doctor:
Other provinces committed to either extending or seeing through existing measures.
Quebec Premier François Legault on Tuesday ruled out the possibility of lifting red-zone restrictions early, with two weeks remaining in the province's second 28-day partial lockdown. He said the spread of the virus is particularly concerning in certain regions: namely, Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, Lanaudière, Mauricie-Centre-du-Québec and the Gaspésie.
Additionally, British Columbia extended its provincial state of emergency for another two weeks to ensure B.C. health and emergency officials have the powers they need to respond to the pandemic. The original declaration of the state of emergency was made on March 18 and Tuesday's extension lasts until Nov. 24.
The local announcements come as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau remarked Tuesday that Canada is "seeing record spikes this morning across the country."
"I'm imploring the premiers and our mayors to please do the right thing — act now to protect public health," he said during his regular morning briefing with public health officials.
"If you think something is missing in the support we're offering for your citizens — tell us."
WATCH | Pandemic is worsening, says infectious disease specialist:
Trudeau was asked by reporters to point out the provinces struggling with caseloads now, but he declined.
"I think it's extremely important to recognize that we are in a resurgence of COVID-19, and there are things that different regions can do to do more to fight COVID-19," he said.
"Our job as a federal government is to be there to make difficult decisions slightly less difficult."
What's happening across Canada
As of 6:45 p.m. ET on Tuesday, provinces and territories in Canada had reported a cumulative total of 273,037 confirmed or presumptive coronavirus cases. Provinces and territories listed 221,279 cases as recovered or resolved. A CBC News tally of deaths based on provincial reports, regional health information and CBC's reporting stood at 10,632.
1/2 To date, labs across 🇨🇦 have tested 9,986,069 people for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/COVID19?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#COVID19</a>, w\ an average ~2.5% positive overall, for a rate of 265,663 people tested per million population in Canada. <a href="https://t.co/jrZH3tHRUo">https://t.co/jrZH3tHRUo</a>
—@CPHO_CanadaBritish Columbia recorded 525 new cases and three more deaths as hospitalization numbers reached levels not seen since the spring.
Alberta said it has 8,090 active cases, with 207 people in hospital and 43 in ICU beds — all three record highs.
Ontario reported 1,388 new cases — a new daily high — and 15 more deaths.
Saskatchewan reported 127 new cases, while outbreaks have caused two schools in Regina to close and forced the Big River First Nation into lockdown.
Manitoba reported 384 new cases and five more deaths.
In Quebec, health officials reported 1,162 new cases and 38 additional deaths — including nine reported to have occurred in the last 24 hours.
Neither Newfoundland and Labrador nor New Brunswick reported any new cases.
Nova Scotia recorded three new cases, two of which are connected to a cluster of cases in the Clayton Park area of Halifax.
Prince Edward Island announced one new case in a person who was in close contact with a case announced Friday.
In Yukon, high school students in Grades 10 to 12 in Whitehorse will remain on a modified schedule for the remainder of the school year, Education Minister Tracy-Anne McPhee said.
Chief Medical Officer Dr. Brendan Hanley also said masks will soon be required in common areas of schools, including hallways, cafeterias, libraries and corridors, along with physical distancing of one metre within the classroom between students.
What's happening around the world
As of Tuesday, there have been more than 51 million cases of COVID-19 reported worldwide, with more than 33 million listed as recovered on a coronavirus tracking dashboard maintained by Johns Hopkins University. The number of deaths recorded by the U.S.-based university stood at more than 1.2 million.
In Asia, Iran imposed a nightly curfew on businesses in Tehran and 30 other cities. Restaurants and non-essential businesses were ordered to close at 6 p.m. for one month, to keep hospitals from becoming overwhelmed and to slow the worsening outbreak.
Iran has set single-day death records 10 times over the past month, a sign of how quickly the virus is spreading. COVID-19 has killed more than 39,000 people in Iran, the highest toll in the Middle East.
In Europe, Moscow authorities announced two-month restrictions in the capital as Russia has been swept by a resurgence of coronavirus cases since September, with daily infections spiking to more than 20,000 this week.
Cafes, restaurants, bars and nightclubs have been ordered to close between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m., and college and university students were ordered to move to online classes. Theatres and cinemas are limited to 25 per cent capacity, and all mass cultural and entertainment events have been halted.
In the Americas, the U.S. has surpassed one million cases in just the first 10 days of November, with several states posting new highs on Tuesday — including 12,000 new infections in Illinois and more than 7,000 in Wisconsin.
The U.S. death toll is also soaring and hospitals in several states are at the breaking point.
In Africa, Botswana signed an agreement with the global vaccine distribution scheme co-led by the World Health Organization, giving it the option to buy coronavirus vaccines for 20 per cent of its population.
The southern African country has registered a relatively low number of coronavirus cases, around 7,800 with 27 deaths, but its economy has been dealt a severe blow by the pandemic.
With files from The Associated Press and Reuters
