The latest coronavirus news from Canada and around the world on Saturday. This file will be updated throughout the day. Web links to longer stories if available.
9:57 am: A former politician who called for the overthrow of the French government was charged with terrorism in connection with what authorities have said was a far-right plot to attack vaccination centers, a Masonic lodge and other targets.
Rémy Daillet-Wiedemann has already been charged with plotting the international QAnon-style kidnapping of a girl on behalf of the boy’s mother, who had lost custody. He was jailed in eastern France in that case when new allegations surfaced involving many in the same far-right circle as his supporters.
During the search for the girl, who was eventually recovered safely in Switzerland, counter-terrorism investigators realized that the kidnapping involved many people they had placed under surveillance for unrelated far-right extremism. Daillet’s lawyer, Jean-Christophe Basson-Larbi, described his client as a political prisoner.
9:13 am: Canadian ski resorts that rely heavily on international workers are bracing for a labor shortage this winter as the federal government’s visa approval process slows due to the pandemic.
With the reopening of international borders for vaccinated travelers and vaccine passports allowing for increased guest capacity, Paul Pinchbeck, CEO of Ski Canada, said the long-awaited ski season is “creating an enigma” for resorts. of all country.
“We have significant demand for our products, exemplified by early season travel bookings and season pass sales, but we have just a few thousand employees across the country and that is going to hamper our ability to deliver their services this year, “he said. said.
8:31 am: The refusal of federal conservatives to reveal how many of their elected members are fully vaccinated makes them atypical in the Canadian political sphere.
Most federal and provincial parties are open about the immunization status of their members, although not all legislatures have adopted a rule that requires members to be fully vaccinated.
All members of the government and mainstream opposition in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Quebec, and Newfoundland and Labrador say they are fully vaccinated.
In Ontario, where Prime Minister Doug Ford made vaccination a requirement for participation in his group of progressive conservatives, two of his MPPs say they are medically exempt. All opposition MPPs are fully vaccinated.
A spokesman for New Brunswick Prime Minister Blaine Higgs says all members of the ruling Conservative Progressive group are fully vaccinated except for one who is on cancer treatment and had to delay his second vaccination until the end of this month.
All but two MLAs in Manitoba’s progressive conservative government say they are fully immunized. The two refuse to reveal their vaccination status.
Mandatory vaccination rules have also been announced for admission to the Nova Scotia Province House and the Quebec National Assembly.
A similar policy was unveiled at the federal level this week by the internal economy board, the multi-party governing body of the House of Commons. He announced a double vaccination requirement to enter buildings on the Commons compound, including the chamber of the House of Commons itself.
Nothing has been decided yet for the Senate, which sets its own rules.
8:28 am: Russia reports a record number of coronavirus infections and COVID-19 deaths as the country approaches a week of non-working days aimed at halting the sharp increase in cases.
The national coronavirus task force said Saturday that 1,075 people had died from the virus the day before and that 37,678 new infections were counted, the most of the pandemic in a single day.
The daily death toll is roughly 33% higher than that recorded at the end of September, and infection cases have increased by roughly 70% in the last month.
Only about a third of Russia’s 146 million people have been vaccinated, frustrating officials and putting pressure on the country’s health system.
Faced with widespread resistance to vaccination, President Vladimir Putin has responded to the worsening situation by ordering Russians to stay away from work between October 30 and November 7.
8:26 am: Coronavirus infections and deaths in Ukraine hit record highs for the second day in a row on Friday, in a growing challenge for the country with one of the lowest proportions of people vaccinated in Europe.
Health authorities in Ukraine reported 23,785 new confirmed infections and 614 deaths in the last 24 hours.
Authorities in the capital Kiev closed schools for two weeks starting Friday, and similar measures were ordered in other areas with high levels of contagion.
Authorities have attributed the rise in infections to the slow rate of vaccination in the nation of 41 million people. Ukrainians are free to choose between the Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Sinovac vaccines, but only about 15% of the population is fully vaccinated, the lowest level in Europe after Armenia.
Overall, the country has recorded more than 2.7 million infections and around 63,000 deaths.
8:25 am: Unvaccinated people in Austria could face new lockdown restrictions if the number of coronavirus cases continues to rise, Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said late Friday.
The news came after a Friday night meeting between Schallenberg and state leaders to discuss their response to the rapidly increasing number of cases.
“The pandemic is not yet in the rearview mirror,” Schallenberg said. “We are about to run into an unvaccinated pandemic.”
Schallenberg announced that if the number of COVID patients in intensive care units reaches 500, or 25 percent of the country’s total ICU capacity, entry to businesses such as restaurants and hotels will be limited to those who are vaccinated. or recovered from the virus.
If the number reaches 600, or a third of the ICU’s total capacity, the government plans to impose restrictions on unvaccinated people. In this case, they would only be allowed to leave their homes for specific reasons.
Currently, the number of COVID patients in ICU is 220.
8:25 am: Sri Lanka on Saturday announced plans to offer booster shots to frontline workers, followed by the elderly, as the island nation prepares to further ease COVID-19 restrictions.
Starting November 1, workers in the health, security, airport and tourism sectors will begin receiving a third dose of the vaccine, said Channa Jayasumana, state minister of pharmaceutical production, supply and regulation.
Pfizer’s booster shots will include those over 60, he said.
So far, 59% of the 22 million inhabitants have been vaccinated and the Health Ministry expects the rate to increase to 70% in three weeks.
The launch of the reinforcement comes ahead of the government’s plans to lift months-long travel restrictions between provinces on November 1. The government also announced that the train service that has been stopped for almost two months will restart next week.
Saturday 8:21 am: Federal regulators first evaluated the safety and efficacy of a coronavirus vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 on Friday, saying the benefits of avoiding COVID-19 with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine generally outweigh the risks of more concerning possible side effects. in that age group.
The analysis was conducted on the same day that the Food and Drug Administration released data from Pfizer showing the vaccine had a 90.7% efficacy rate in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 in a clinical trial of children ages 5 to 5. 11 years.
The findings could prompt FDA clearance of the pediatric dose on an urgent basis, perhaps as early as next week, opening up a long-awaited new phase of the nation’s vaccination campaign. The agency’s committee of independent vaccine experts is scheduled to vote Tuesday on whether to recommend authorization.
In an informational document posted on the FDA website, the agency said it had weighed the dangers of hospitalization, death, or other serious consequences from COVID-19 with the risk of myocarditis. A rare condition that involves inflammation of the heart muscle, myocarditis has been linked to the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, especially among young men.
“The overall analysis predicted that the number of clinically significant COVID-19-related prevented outcomes would clearly exceed the number of vaccine-associated cases of excessive myocarditis,” the regulators wrote.
Read the coronavirus news on Friday.
Reference-www.thestar.com