Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world on Sunday
Israel in final phase of easing lockdown measures after ambitious vaccine campaign
The latest:
- N.B. moving back to the less-restrictive yellow recovery phase at 11:59 p.m. AT.
- P.E.I premier open to sending vaccine supply to harder-hit provinces.
- Sask. reports province's 1st death of someone under the age of 19.
- Vaccine bookings for B.C. seniors not living in care homes to start on Monday.
- Some Ont. businesses set to reopen on Monday as stay-at-home order lifts.
Israel has opened most of its economy as part of its final phase of lifting coronavirus lockdown restrictions, some of them in place since September.
Bars and restaurants, event halls, sporting events, hotels and all primary and secondary education may reopen to the public on Sunday, with some restrictions on entry and capacity. The move comes after months of government-imposed shutdowns.
The Israeli government approved the easing of limitations Saturday night, including the reopening of the main international airport to a limited number of incoming passengers each day.
Most large public activities, including dining at restaurants, are available to people vaccinated against the coronavirus. Israel has sped ahead with its immunization campaign. More than 52 per cent of its population has received one dose and almost 40 per cent have had two doses of the Pfizer vaccine, one of the highest rates in the world.
Meanwhile, Canada's chief public health officer pointed to the country's accelerating vaccine campaign as a reason for optimism, but she also warned against complacency.
Dr. Theresa Tam said in a statement on Saturday that more than 2.2 million vaccine doses have been administered across Canada as of Friday and that cases have "levelled off" after experiencing a decline from mid-January through mid-February.
But she noted that these encouraging signs don't mean pandemic challenges have ended, and she urged Canadians to continue following public health guidance and practising individual precautionary measures.
In an interview with CBC's Rosemary Barton Live on Sunday, Tam said it's important to "just hang on in there for a bit longer" so that vaccines can be provided "to as many people as possible" and Canadians can "break the most severe consequences, the crisis phase of this pandemic."
WATCH | What still worries Dr. Theresa Tam a year into the COVID-19 pandemic:
Canada is expanding its stockpile of shots to protect against COVID-19, prompting provinces to accelerate their vaccine rollouts.
Health Canada approved the one-dose vaccine from Johnson & Johnson on Friday, making it the fourth to be approved for use in the country. Meanwhile, the manufacturer of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is ramping up shipments ahead of the summer.
The National Advisory Committee on Immunization has also recommended that time between doses of COVID-19 vaccines can be changed from three weeks to four months, which would allow provinces to at least partially inoculate as many people as quickly as possible.
What's happening in Canada
As of 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, Canada had reported 886,279 cases of COVID-19, with 29,969 cases considered active. A CBC News tally of deaths stood at 22,239.
In British Columbia, health authorities across the province will start booking vaccination appointments for seniors not living in care homes starting on Monday.
Saskatchewan announced 116 new COVID-19 cases and two new deaths on Sunday. One of the fatalities involves an individual younger than 19, the first reported death in the province of someone in the 19-and-under age bracket.
Manitoba confirmed 56 new infections and two more fatalities..
Ontario reported 1,299 new cases and 15 additional deaths.
The COVID-19 hot spots of Toronto and Peel Region — which have been under stay-at-home orders since Dec. 26 — will move into the less strict grey zone of Ontario's reopening framework, starting Monday. Non-essential retail will be allowed to reopen with strict capacity limits. Stay-at-home orders are also being lifted in North Bay-Parry Sound, and the region will return to the framework's red-control level.
WATCH | Mississauga teen among youngest in Ontario to be vaccinated:
Quebec registered 707 new cases and seven new deaths.
Quebec provincial police handed out 36 tickets of $1,500 to a group of people who gathered in a chalet in Stoneham, outside Quebec City, on Saturday night. Police say neighbours called them about an illegal gathering at a rented chalet.
Police say most of the people came from outside of the Capitale-Nationale region, which is slated to go from being a designated red zone to a less-restrictive orange zone on Monday.
In New Brunswick, all regions of the province are expected to move back to the less-restrictive yellow recovery phase at 11:59 p.m. AT Sunday. The loosened restrictions come as the province announced two more cases.
Newfoundland and Labrador added one new infection. The new case, a man between 20 and 39 years old, is related to international travel, according to a Department of Health media release.
Nova Scotia saw two new cases on Sunday. In a news release, Premier Iain Rankin said the low numbers were "encouraging" and thanked people for being vigilant.
Seeing a low number of cases today is encouraging. Let’s keep up our efforts and continue to follow all public health measures, including wearing a mask, washing your hands, physical distancing, staying home if unwell, self-isolating when required – and getting tested regularly.
—@IainTRankinPrince Edward Island announced two new cases on Sunday, bringing the province's total number of active cases to a record 26.
Meanwhile, Premier Dennis King said he's "open to any conversation" about the province sending some of its COVID-19 vaccine supply to harder-hit provinces.
Nunavut recorded four new cases. The territory now has 25 active cases, all of which are in the community of Arviat.
What's happening around the world
As of Sunday, more than 116.6 million cases of COVID-19 had been reported around the world, with more than 65.9 million of the cases listed on the Johns Hopkins University tracking site as resolved. The global death toll stood at more than 2.5 million.
In Europe, British children are gearing up to return to school on Monday after a two-month closure. As part of the plan, millions of high school and college students coming back to U.K. classrooms will be tested for the first few weeks.
In Asia, Sri Lanka has received its first batch of COVID-19 vaccines under the COVAX program. It received 264,000 doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine, which will be given to the most vulnerable people over 60 in the most high-risk areas.
In the Americas, theatres in Argentina have reopened after more than a year as the country slowly eases some lockdown restrictions. Authorities have also eased restrictions allowing restaurants and bars to stay open later and to include indoor dining.
In Africa, the continent has seen more than 3.9 million confirmed cases and more than 105,000 deaths. South Africa leads the continent on both counts, having reported more than 1.5 million infections and more than 50,000 deaths.
With files from CBC News, The Canadian Press and Reuters
