Today’s Coronavirus News: New Collection Limits Go into Effect in Quebec as Cases Rock in Canada; Toronto continues Christmas vaccination campaign

The latest coronavirus news from Canada and around the world on Sunday. This file will be updated throughout the day. Web links to longer stories if available.

7:15 am The goal was overwhelming, seemingly unattainable: to vaccinate 90 percent of Ontario’s population, more than 13 million people, against COVID-19.

The double doses would help protect our family and neighbors, reduce our own risk of getting sick, and overcome the pandemic that has disrupted daily life and killed more than 10,000 people in the province.

Thousands took on the monumental task. Health service providers. Community leaders. Public health workers. Experts in logistics. Pharmacists. Countless volunteers.

Here are 20 people who took on the biggest job in the pandemic and helped Ontario get its vaccinations.

6:30 a.m France has recorded more than 100,000 virus infections in a single day for the first time since the pandemic struck, and COVID-19 hospitalizations have doubled in the past month as the rapidly spreading Omicron variant complicates government efforts. to avoid a new blockage.

More than 1 person in 100 in the Paris region tested positive in the past week, according to the regional health service. Most of the new infections are related to the Omicron variant, which government experts predict will dominate France in the coming days.

Meanwhile, a spike in Delta variant infections in recent months is driving up hospital admissions. More than 1,000 people in France with the virus died in the past week, bringing the total death toll to more than 122,000.

Read more from The Associated Press.

6:15 am Prior to receiving his COVID-19 booster shot on Christmas Day, Keyvan Csullog presented Tim Horton’s gift cards to staff who volunteered to work the holidays at a vaccination clinic run by the city of North York.

“It’s the least I can do for them by taking personal time to help us,” Csullog said Saturday after rolling up the sleeve of his red and white Christmas sweater for their third dose at Mitchell Field Community Center.

She downplayed the inconvenience of being hit on a holiday. “This is one of those things, leave that time on the couch or in your pajamas to do something important for yourself and others.” It’s “a little problem at lunchtime, then you come home and spend it with the family.”

Located at 89 Church Ave., east of Yonge Street and roughly midway between Sheppard and Finch Avenues, the center was one of two Toronto COVID-19 team vaccination clinics operating on Christmas Day while the highly contagious variant Omicron continues to circulate and the COVID-19 case count increases in Ontario. The other vaccination clinic open at Christmas was at the Thorncliffe Park Community Center. Both will run again on Boxing Day.

Read more from Betsy Powell from Star

6:05 am Christmas came around the world on Saturday amid a surge in COVID-19 infections that separated many families, overwhelmed hospitals and curbed religious observances as the pandemic was about to spread into a third year. However, there were homilies of hope as vaccines and other treatments become more available.

Pope Francis used his Christmas address to pray for more vaccines to reach the poorest countries. While rich countries have inoculated up to 90 percent of their adult population, 8.9 percent of Africa’s population is completely punctured, making it the least vaccinated continent in the world.

Only a few thousand supporters attended his noon address and blessing, but even that was better than last year, when the Christmas closure in Italy forced Francis into the house for the annual “Urbi et Orbi” (” For the city and the world “). speaks.

“Give health to the sick and inspire all men and women of good will to seek the best possible ways to overcome the current health crisis and its effects,” said Francis from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica. “Open hearts to ensure that necessary medical care, and vaccines in particular, are provided to the people who need them most.”

6 a. M. Ontario reached a grim COVID-19 milestone on Christmas Day as the province reported more than 10,000 confirmed cases of the virus for the first time during the pandemic, according to data Posted by Public Health Ontario on Saturday.

The public health agency reported 10,412 cases and four more deaths on Saturday. There have been 687,336 confirmed cases of the virus since the start of the pandemic.

Almost half of those confirmed to have the virus on Saturday were between the ages of 20 and 39.

Read more from Star’s Joshua Chong.

5:45 am Australia’s most populous state reported a record number of new COVID-19 cases on Sunday and a sharp increase in hospitalizations as thousands of people isolated themselves at home after contracting the virus or coming into contact with someone who had it.

A major laboratory in Sydney, which is located in New South Wales, said that 400 people who had been informed a day before that they had tested negative for COVID-19 had tested positive. The laboratory’s medical director said those people were being contacted to inform them of the error.

“An emergency response team is investigating the cause of this error, which is believed to be due to human error. We sincerely apologize, ”said SydPath Medical Director Anthony Dodds.

Doctors and pharmacists in New South Wales have said they are running out of vaccine doses amid a flood of injections fueled by concern about the Omicron variant.

05:30 am Airlines continued to cancel hundreds of flights on Saturday due to COVID-19-related staffing issues, disrupting Christmas celebrations during one of the busiest travel times of the year.

FlightAware, a flight-tracking website, noted nearly 1,000 canceled flights entering, departing, or within the US on Saturday, up from 690 canceled flights on Friday. More than 250 flights have already been canceled for Sunday. FlightAware does not say why the flights are canceled.

Delta, United and JetBlue had said Friday that the omicron variant was causing staffing problems leading to flight cancellations. United spokeswoman Maddie King said staff shortages continued to lead to cancellations and it was unclear when normal operations would return. “This was unexpected,” he said of omicron’s impact on staffing. Delta and JetBlue did not respond to questions Saturday.

Read more from The Associated Press.

5 am New public health restrictions go into effect in Quebec today as the COVID-19 case count skyrockets across the country.

The province limits private gatherings to six people or two family bubbles, after reporting more than 10,000 coronavirus cases on Friday and another 9,206 yesterday.

The highly infectious Omicron variant of the virus has been driving an increase in COVID-19 cases across much of Canada in recent weeks.



Reference-www.thestar.com

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