Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world on Thursday

The latest:

• U.S. projected to see nearly 100,000 more COVID-19 deaths by Dec. 1.
• Canadian travellers to U.K. not required to quarantine starting Monday.
• Conservatives call for investigation into halt of COVID-19 briefings.
• Alabama reports 5,000 cases in school-age children in one week.
• CHSLD Herron, one of Quebec's hardest-hit long-term care homes, won't face criminal charges over COVID-19 deaths.
• B.C. sees big jump in vaccination bookings after announcing vaccine passport.
• Ontario health units could launch their own vaccine passports, leading doctor says.
• Security experts say Quebec's vaccine passport is safe and a model for the country.

COVID-19 vaccinations in Africa tripled over the past week, though protecting even 10 per cent of the continent by the end of September remains "a very daunting task," the Africa director of the World Health Organization (WHO) said Thursday.

Meanwhile, the continent saw 248,000 new confirmed cases over the past week, with at least 24 countries seeing a surge in infections driven by the delta variant.

"This is a preventable tragedy if African countries can get fair access to the vaccines," Matshidiso Moeti told reporters.

• See the full briefing from Africa CDC director John Nkengasong
• INTERACTIVE | Where is the coronavirus pandemic getting better or worse?
• What do we know about breakthrough COVID-19 cases? Experts break down the science

The WHO Africa director said 13 million doses were administered in the past week, three times more than the number of shots given in the previous week as donations of doses increased from developed countries. But that remains a drop in an ocean on the continent home to 1.3 billion people, where the Africa CDC says only 2.4 per cent are currently vaccinated.

Africa's brutal resurgence driven by the delta variant is further stretching already strained health systems across the continent. As African countries struggle, the United States and other high-income countries are talking about booster shots.

WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus recently said it was "unconscionable" that some countries are now offering booster shots "while so many people remain unprotected."

-From The Associated Press, last updated at 8:15 p.m. ET

What's happening across Canada

WATCH | Waning immunity sparks debate about need for COVID-19 booster shots: 

Waning immunity sparks debate about need for COVID-19 booster shots

3 years ago

Duration 2:03

Recent studies show a drop in effectiveness for COVID-19 vaccines, but the lack of information about how severe breakthrough cases were has sparked a debate about whether booster shots are necessary.

• Albertans got more federal support per capita than any other province, report says.
• Parents, kids and teachers begin another uncertain school year in Montreal.
• Sask. chief medical health officer addresses vaccination rates, climbing hospitalizations.
• Nova Scotians vaccinated outside province say they can't get health records updated.
• Manitoba business owners prepare for launch of vaccine passport system.
• Vaccines, experience making the difference at Alberta care homes under COVID-19 outbreaks.
• Alberta reports 1,112 new cases.
• Naheed Nenshi calls for province to do more as Alberta's numbers surge. 
• N.W.T. COVID-19 cases grow by 20, 3rd dose of vaccine offered to long-term care residents.
• Yukon government to end state of emergency.
• Cases in Medicine Hat, Alta., continue to rise, with 533 active.

What's happening around the world

As of Thursday evening, more than 214.4 million cases of COVID-19 had been reported worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University's COVID-19 tracking tool. The reported global death toll stood at more than 4.4 million.

In Europe, Russia reported a one-day record of 820 coronavirus deaths on Thursday. The national coronavirus task force says the number of new daily infections reached 19,630. That follows a consistent decline since the beginning of the month when 22,800 cases were reported.

Travel measures for England and Scotland were tweaked on Thursday, with eased restrictions for passengers from Canada, Denmark and Switzerland.

In Denmark, Health Minister Magnus Heunicke says 80 per cent of people over age 12 have been vaccinated. He called it a "new, grand vaccine milestone."

Workers at public hospitals in Greece held a five-hour work stoppage on Thursday to protest a government decision making vaccination against COVID-19 mandatory for all health-care workers in the public and private sectors. About 300 hospital workers rallied outside the Health Ministry in Athens to protest the measure, which goes into effect on Sept. 1.

In France, Prime Minister Jean Castex has announced plans to give COVID-19 booster shots to people over age 65 and those living in nursing homes starting next month.

In the Middle East, Iran's health officials reported 665 additional deaths on Wednesday, a day after reporting a record high of 709 COVID-19 related deaths in 24 hours. 

• Q & A | Things are so dire in Kentucky, hospitals may put COVID-positive nurses back to work

In the Americas, General Motors Co. said on Thursday it would require all U.S. salaried employees to report if they have received COVID-19 vaccinations.

In Alabama, the state is seeing a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases in school-age children, with more than 5,000 cases reported last week — an increase officials say is likely fuelled by the delta variant and is causing some schools to temporarily switch to remote learning.

In Arkansas, the state medical board is investigating reports that inmates at a county jail were prescribed the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin to combat COVID-19 even though it hasn't been approved to treat the coronavirus.

In Illinois, health-care workers and educators from kindergarten through college will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or submit to weekly testing, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Thursday, in announcing new safety protocols that also include a fresh statewide mandate for masks to be worn indoors.

In the state of New Mexico, top health officials are warning that the state is about a week away from having to ration medical care as coronavirus infections continue to climb.

In the Asia-Pacific region, Moderna Inc. said it has withheld supply of about 1.63 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine in Japan after a report of contamination of vials with particulate matter, which it suspects involves a production line in Spain.

New Zealand has reported 68 new community cases of the coronavirus, the largest daily increase since April of last year as an outbreak of the delta variant continues to grow. The government put the nation into a strict lockdown last week as it tries to stamp out the outbreak, which has grown to a total of 277 infections.

-From The Associated Press, Reuters and CBC News, last updated at 8:30 p.m. ET