The latest coronavirus news from Canada and around the world on Friday. This file will be updated throughout the day. Web links to longer stories if available.
6 a. M. The Greek alphabet reached the world stage and the everyday lexicon riding the waves of the new coronavirus when the World Health Organization began naming variants in the Glagolitic script.
As the variants mutated, from Alpha to Delta and then Omicron, people began to take note of the 24 Greek letters. Omicron is the fifteenth letter of the Greek alphabet. Omega is the last.
In June, an expert committee led by a World Health Organization task force announced that they would use the Greek alphabet to name the variants.
“These will be easier to remember and more practical to use than alphanumeric designations,” the document said.
Read more from The Canadian Press.
05:30 am New public health restrictions in Alberta announced earlier this week to help slow the spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant will go into effect today.
Places that can accommodate more than 1,000 people will be limited to half capacity, a restriction that includes the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames hockey games and the upcoming youth hockey world championships in Edmonton and Red Deer.
Venues with a capacity of between 500 and 1000 people cannot have more than 500 people.
Masking is mandatory at these events and no food or drink may be consumed in the seats.
Pubs and restaurants that have signed the province’s vaccine passport form should limit guests to 10 people per table and not allow interactive social activities like billiards, darts, or dancing.
5:20 am On the eve of the Christmas holidays, COVID-19 booster injections and rapid test kits top many Canadians’ wish lists as case numbers soar to record levels across much of the country.
Fueled by the explosive growth of the Omicron variant, Quebec reported 9,397 cases Thursday and Ontario 5,790, while coronavirus cases in British Columbia surpassed 2,000 for the first time.
In Montreal, one of the main health authorities, Dr. Mylène Drouin, confirmed that one in five tests to detect the virus was positive, that 60% of positive cases corresponded to people between 18 and 44 years old and that 90 % of the new infections involved the Omicron variant.
Records of COVID cases were also broken in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.
Most provinces, except Saskatchewan, have responded by reinstating stricter public health measures, including, in some cases, limits on social gatherings, capacity limits for many venues, and closings of some businesses.
People have been lining up, often for hours, to receive much-sought-after booster shots, as well as rapid test kits to try and ensure that Christmas gatherings are as safe as possible.
5:15 am As COVID-19 infections in Ontario hit record levels Thursday, some health experts say the actual number of new cases is likely much higher than reported, raising concerns about the development of a local variant. .
Ontario hit a record 5,790 reported cases Thursday and Toronto followed suit with its highest daily count of 2,309, but experts say these numbers no longer tell the full story.
They say the actual number of infections has likely become unknowable and far beyond what is reported in daily case counts.
The province’s PCR laboratory testing network, which is how case counts are reported, is strained and cannot test everyone who may have the virus.
Read more about Ben Cohen and David Rider from Star.
5:10 am Hundreds of City of Toronto employees face layoff in less than two weeks unless they can prove they have received at least two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Among them is Scarlett Martyn, an advanced care paramedic who has been speaking publicly about her opposition to the city’s strict vaccination mandate.
“I’m sure what awaits me is firing from the city,” said Martyn, a 23-year-old employee and mother of four who has been laid off without pay since Nov. 8. driven down this road “.
Martyn, who has received other vaccinations, believes she has natural protection against COVID-19 detected at work early in the pandemic, wants more time to assess safety, and says she is willing to pay for her own daily tests.
About 100 Toronto paramedics who privately shared their concerns about the mandate have waned, but the holdouts facing layoff are mostly “senior staff,” whose loss could affect the level of care for the service, she says.
Read more on Star’s David Rider.
5 am Officials in the United States have relaxed rules requiring healthcare workers to be out of work for 10 days if they test positive for COVID-19, fearing that a new wave could overwhelm hospitals with a shortage of drugs. personal.
Those workers will now be allowed to return to work after seven days if they test negative and have no symptoms. Isolation time can be reduced if there is a severe staff shortage, according to the new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“As the healthcare community prepares for an anticipated surge in patients due to omicron, the CDC is updating our recommendations to reflect what we know about infection and exposure in the context of vaccination and booster doses,” he said CDC Director Rochelle Walensky in a statement.
Isolation is designed to keep infected people away from uninfected people, to prevent further spread of the virus.
4:45 am It’s starting to look a lot like … last year.
Holiday parties, gift exchanges, and winter fun with loved ones will be canceled or limited as COVID-19 sweeps Canada for the second holiday season in a row, the highly communicable Omicron variant drives with greater caution.
Still, some are moving forward with plans to celebrate, weighing the risk of contracting the disease or relying on vaccines to provide safety.
“Literally last Christmas, we kept all the blinds closed because we didn’t want anyone to see that we were having dinner because we weren’t allowed to,” Patricia MacDowell said by phone from her home in Montreal as she tucked in a turkey in preparation for Christmas Eve dinner.
MacDowell is not vaccinated against COVID-19. He said he is taking over his mother, his nephew and his partner, who are all vaccinated.
With the Omicron variant generating large numbers of cases across the country, MacDowell said she is not concerned because she is in good health.
Read more from The Canadian Press.
4:45 am The biblical city of Bethlehem is gearing up for its second consecutive Christmas Eve hit by the coronavirus, with small crowds and gloomy gray weather clouding Friday celebrations at Jesus’ traditional birthplace.
The ban on nearly all inbound air traffic by Israel, the main entry point for foreign visitors heading to the occupied West Bank, kept international tourists away for the second year in a row. The ban is aimed at curbing the spread of the highly contagious omicron variant that has rocked Christmas celebrations around the world.
Instead, the local authorities were counting on the small Christian community of the Holy Land to lift their spirits.
Bethlehem Mayor Tony Salman said the city was optimistic that 2021 would be better than Christmas last year, when even local residents stayed home due to closure restrictions. Belén planned the return of its traditional marching band parades and street celebrations.
Read more from The Associated Press.
4:40 am Thousands of vulnerable long-term care residents, and the workers who care for them, have not received a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, raising fears that they may be hit the hardest again as cases of the disease rise. COVID in the province.
Health experts say giving more restraints to those living and working in long-term care is essential to protect immunosuppressed residents and prevent staff shortages, which can lead to social isolation and neglect of residents.
“The biggest concern right now is what happens when these workers have mild cases (of COVID) and then they have to isolate them, presumably all in a very short period of time,” said Vivian Stamatopoulos, long-term care researcher and professor. associated. Professor at the Ontario University of Technology. “Who will be in charge of the residents?”
Read more from Isabel Teotonio de Star.
4:30 am Revelers will still ring in the new year in New York’s Times Square next week – there just won’t be as many as usual under the new COVID-19 restrictions.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday that viewing areas that normally house about 58,000 people will be limited to about 15,000 to allow for further distancing.
The additional precautions for New Year’s Eve in Times Square were fueled by the rapid spread of the Omicron variant in the Big Apple, where lines for testing have moved around the blocks in recent days.
Reference-www.thestar.com