Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world on Friday
Ontario reports 1,855 new cases of COVID-19, 20 new deaths
The latest:
- B.C. reports record 911 new cases of COVID-19, 11 more deaths.
- Los Angeles County issues stay-home order amid coronavirus surge
- Alberta again breaks records for hospitalizations, ICU patients.
- Manitoba sends out Black Friday warning, reports 344 new COVID-19 cases and 14 more deaths.
- Trudeau turns to the military to help with vaccine distribution.
- Ontario reports 1,855 new cases, 517 in Peel Region, 494 in Toronto; COVID-19 outbreak at London hospital spreads to organ transplant, cardiac units.
- Have a coronavirus question or news tip for CBC News? Email us at COVID@cbc.ca
The Manitoba government warned residents on Black Friday to follow public health orders or face the consequences, as the province continues to see COVID-19 cases numbers that are putting pressure on the health-care system.
While the 344 new cases announced Friday was a drop from 383 reported the day before, the province's chief public health officer said health-care providers are being overwhelmed by the increasing burden of COVID-19 on the system.
"Although we don't see the dramatic climb in numbers, we're at a state of numbers that we can't maintain," said Dr. Brent Roussin. "We're not going to be able to have enough capacity to maintain these numbers for much longer."
The province also reported 14 new deaths on Friday. On Thursday, Roussin said that roughly 70 per cent of Manitoba's total COVID-19 deaths have occurred this month.
WATCH | Manitoba's top health official on recent COVID-19 deaths:
There are a record 322 people in Manitoba hospitals with COVID-19, up from 307 the day before, with 45 of those in intensive care.
The five-day test positivity rate — a rolling average of the COVID-19 tests that come back positive — is now at 14.5 per cent provincewide, down slightly from Thursday's record high of 14.8 per cent.
In the face of surging infections, the province sent out a stern reminder that "personnel empowered to enforce public health orders will be out in full force" on Black Friday.
One of the biggest shopping days of the year, Black Friday typically has crowds of people line up well before stores open. With a strict COVID-19 lockdown in place this year, the province said anyone who breaks public health orders faces fines of $1,296 for individuals or $5,000 for businesses.
"Manitobans are also reminded that leaving the province to shop is discouraged," the release said.
The province announced stricter COVID-19 measures last week that prohibit businesses from selling non-essential items in stores and further restricted capacity at large retailers.
The new public health orders also prohibit people from having anyone inside their home who doesn't live there, with few exceptions.
I repeat the same message daily. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StayHome?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#StayHome</a>.<br>This it is the action that matters the most right now. Only go out for essential reasons.
—@roussin_brentMeanwhile, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the country is on track for the majority of Canadians to receive a COVID-19 vaccine by September 2021.
The federal government has been criticized by the opposition, provincial leaders and some public health experts for offering few details about its plans to roll out a vaccine once Health Canada gives one the green light.
On Friday, Trudeau said Ottawa has chosen a senior military commander to lead its distribution effort. Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin, the current chief of staff to the Canadian Joint Operations Command and a former commander of the NATO mission in Iraq, will head up vaccine logistics and operations within a new branch of the Public Health Agency of Canada.
WATCH | Trudeau is asked about vaccine delivery timeline:
What's happening across Canada
As of 7 p.m. ET on Friday, Canada's COVID-19 case count stood at 359,064, with 60,666 of those considered active cases. A CBC News tally of deaths based on provincial reports, regional health information and CBC's reporting stood at 11,894.
Ontario reported 1,855 cases of COVID-19 on Friday and 20 additional deaths, bringing the provincial death toll to 3,595.
Health Minister Christine Elliott said on Twitter that 517 of those cases were in Peel Region and 494 were in Toronto — both of which are in the "lockdown" stage of the province's pandemic protection plan.
The high single-day case number came as the province reported completing just over 58,000 tests, the most tests Ontario has ever conducted in one day.
According to a COVID-19 dashboard, hospitalizations stood at 541 in Ontario, with 151 of those people in intensive care.
WATCH | Ontario prepares vaccine plan amid record-high new cases:
Quebec reported 1,269 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, with 38 deaths. Hospitalizations stood at 669, with 90 people in intensive care, according to provincial data.
In Atlantic Canada, New Brunswick reported 12 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, while Newfoundland and Labrador reported four new cases and Nova Scotia reported eight new cases.
Prince Edward Island has not reported any new cases on Friday. Starting Monday, masks will be mandatory for staff and students in Grades 10-12 at all times inside a school building, including while sitting at their desks, with exemptions made for situations such as eating or drinking.
Nunavut reported four new cases of COVID-19 on Friday. The territory, which saw its first confirmed case earlier this month, has now seen a total of 159 cases.
The Northwest Territories reported no new cases on Friday. There have been 15 confirmed cases in the territory since the start of the pandemic, all since recovered.
Yukon reported three new cases late Thursday, with two in Whitehorse and one in a rural community.
WATCH | Mental health biggest concern in Nunavut lockdown, community food centre exec says:
Saskatchewan reported 329 new cases and four deaths on Friday. Along with 208 recoveries, that brought the number of active cases to 3,263.
A range of new public health measures are now in effect in Saskatchewan, including a rule that says no more than 30 people are allowed to gather inside public venues. Large retail stores are limited to half-capacity, and no more than four people can sit together at a bar or restaurant.
Alberta, which announced new public measures to combat the spread of coronavirus this week, reported 1,227 new cases of COVID-19 and nine new deaths on Friday. Along with 1,053 recoveries, the number of active cases in the province now stands at 14,217.
The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 is 405, including 86 in intensive care — surpassing yesterday's record highs.
Starting Monday, all Alberta students in grades 7 to 12 are moving to online learning until Jan. 11. The province's new measures also ban indoor social gatherings, limit outdoor gatherings to 10 people, restrict access to some businesses, and make masks mandatory at indoor workplaces in Edmonton and Calgary.
WATCH | Some First Nations in Alberta now experiencing 1st wave of COVID-19:
Kaycee Madu, Alberta's minister of justice and solicitor general, said Friday that the province is empowering 700 more peace officers to help enforce COVID-19 public health orders.
Fines for breaking the rules can range from $1,000 to $100,000 in extreme cases that end up in court, said Madu.
British Columbia reported 911 new COVID-19 cases — a new provincial record — and 11 more deaths on Friday.
The latest update also includes a new record of 301 patients in hospital with COVID-19, including 69 in critical care.
Earlier Friday, the Vancouver International Airport announced a pilot project in which volunteer travellers are enlisted to take COVID-19 rapid tests before departing on their domestic flights.
What's happening around the world
From The Associated Press and Reuters, last updated at 7 p.m. ET
As of Friday evening, there were more than 61.5 million cases of COVID-19 recorded worldwide, with more than 39.2 million of those considered recovered or resolved, according to a coronavirus tracking tool maintained by Johns Hopkins University. The global death toll stood at more than 1.4 million.
In the Americas, Los Angeles County announced a new stay-at-home order Friday as coronavirus cases surge out of control in the United States' most populous county.
The three-week order takes effect Monday. It came as the county confirmed 24 more deaths and 4,544 new cases of COVID-19. The five-day average of new cases was 4,751. Nearly 2,000 people in the county are hospitalized.
The order, which is more modest than a statewide closure order in the spring, advises residents to stay home "as much as possible" and to wear a face covering when they go out. It bans people from gathering with people who aren't in their households, whether publicly or privately.
However, exceptions are made for church services and protests, "which are constitutionally protected rights," the county Department of Public Health said in a statement.
Businesses are allowed to remain open but with limited capacity, and the same is true of nail salons and other personal care services. Beaches, trails and parks also will remain open, with safety requirements.
The number of COVID-19 patients being treated in hospitals across the United States reached 90,000 on Friday after nearly doubling in the last month, just as holiday gatherings are expected to propel the next wave of infections.
The rate of hospitalizations — now at the highest level since the pandemic began — has pushed some hospitals beyond capacity, and comes after weeks of rising infection rates across the country. That is likely to increase as people who mingled with relatives and friends over Thanksgiving gradually get sick, health experts say.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, meanwhile, said he will not take a vaccine, while the governor of Sao Paulo state floated the idea of rolling out one without approval from the national health regulator.
In Europe, Ireland will allow shops, restaurants, gyms and pubs serving food to reopen next week, and permit travel between counties from Dec. 18, to facilitate a "different but special" Christmas, Prime Minister Micheal Martin said on Friday.
Ireland became one of first European countries to reimpose tough COVID-19 constraints six weeks ago when the government shut non-essential retail and limited pubs and restaurants to takeaway service under its highest level of restrictions.
Beginning Tuesday, however, the economy will be one of the most open across Europe after a sharp cut in the 14-day COVID-19 incidence rate per 100,000 people to below 100, behind only Finland and Iceland across the continent.
Meanwhile, Germany hit another grim milestone in the coronavirus pandemic, reporting a total of more than one million confirmed cases of COVID-19.
The country's disease control centre said Friday that Germany's 16 states reported 22,806 cases overnight for a national total of 1,006,394 since the start of the pandemic.
However, Germany has reported fewer virus-related deaths than many other European countries: 15,586 compared with more than 50,000 in Britain, Italy and France.
The country is almost a month in to a so-called "wave-breaker" shutdown instituted Nov. 2 after daily cases rose to new record highs. Officials say the new measures have succeeded in halting the surge.
But Chancellor Angela Merkel and state governors decided earlier this week to extend the shutdown well into December and add more restrictions to try to bring the numbers down to below 50 cases per 100,000 inhabitants each week.
In the Asia-Pacific region, South Korea's daily coronavirus tally is above 500 for a second straight day and the country's prime minister is urging the public to stay at home this weekend to contain a viral resurgence.
Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said Friday that people should avoid social gatherings and refrain from going out in public this weekend. South Korea has seen a spike in fresh infections since it eased tough physical distancing rules last month.
Authorities reported 569 newly confirmed infections over the past 24 hours, raising the country's total to 32,887 for the pandemic, with 516 deaths. The 583 new cases reported Thursday was the first time that South Korea's daily tally had exceeded 500 since March.
In the Middle East, Iran on Friday announced that all government offices will effectively close and operate with only essential staff, further tightening coronavirus measures as the country struggles to contain its most widespread wave of infection yet.
Starting this Saturday — the first day of Iran's workweek — state TV said "only those employees who need to be present will be at work" in government offices. Managers will make the call on who must still come to work. The report did not specify how long the closures would last, but asked Iranians to postpone any planned visits to government offices.
Infections have soared in recent months, and on Friday, Iran again set a record for new virus cases in a single day with 14,051 cases, bringing the total to 922,397.
Iran has also recorded more than 400 daily virus deaths since last Saturday, the same day new tightened restrictions went into effect. Health Ministry spokesperson Sima Sadat Lari said the death toll on Friday reached 47,095, after 406 people died since Thursday.
In Africa, mass vaccination against COVID-19 is unlikely to start until midway through next year and keeping vaccines cold could be a big challenge, the continent's disease control group said on Thursday.
Clarifications
- An earlier version of this story said there were nine new cases reported in Nova Scotia on Friday. The province later issued a news release to say there was an error in the daily case release and, in fact, eight new cases of COVID-19 should have been reported.Nov 30, 2020 2:22 PM ET
With files from The Associated Press, The Canadian Press and Reuters
