Update on the Coronavirus Outbreak on June 4

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On Friday, racers appeared at the Epsom Derby Festival, which is arguably the number one event on the British horse racing calendar. (Alan Crowhurst/PA Photos/Getty Images)

The UK virus cases have surged because the experience of its delta variant may be a precursor to Canada

The UK has recorded more than 6,000 new cases of COVID-19 infection for the first time since March on Friday. This is a worrying development as the country is going through various stages of its reopening plan, which is in the wake of successful vaccination. Driven by activities.

It is believed that the rapidly spreading coronavirus variant known as the delta variant or B.1.617.2 has made a significant contribution to the increase in cases. The variant was originally discovered in India and is believed to have arrived in the UK by air passengers.

Ravi Gupta, a biologist at the University of Cambridge, who is a member of the British government’s vaccine advisory group, believes that the damage caused by this variant may not be as serious as the alpha variant first discovered in the UK in November 2020, when the vaccine had not yet been vaccinated. get on.

“The problem is, as far as our health system is concerned, morale is already very low,” Gupta Tell CBC London reporter Renée Filippone“People are exhausted, even a quarter of what they used to be, it’s still too much.”

Canada-delta not yet selected-needs to be aware of this development. For example, officials in Newfoundland and Labrador and Peel, Ontario have commented on recent cases in these areas caused by delta mutations.

Dr. Deepti Gurdasani is a clinical epidemiologist and senior lecturer in machine learning at Queen Mary University of London. Tell CBC dose In view of the experience of the United Kingdom, Canada’s focus is “to reduce community transmission to zero or close to zero and keep it at that level for as long as possible until the majority of the population is protected by the vaccine.”

Two doses of the approved COVID-19 vaccine appear to provide strong protection against this variant. Based on preprint research It has not been peer reviewed. However, in this study of more than 1,000 people, researchers from the Department of Public Health of the United Kingdom found that Pfizer BioNTech and AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccines are only about 33% effective for symptomatic diseases three weeks after the first dose. .

Dr. Zain Chagla, an associate professor of medicine at McMaster University and an infectious disease expert at Hamilton St. Joseph Medical Center, told dose This delta may cause trouble for Australia, Taiwan, Singapore and other countries where vaccination activities are still in the early stages.

“This variant seems to be an effective way to find unvaccinated people,” he said.

Chagla said Canada is in a better position than these countries, but it needs to make “a huge effort” to launch the second dose as soon as possible.

Federal health officials said on Friday that 65% of all eligible Canadians (12 years and older) had at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Only 6.5% of the population is fully vaccinated, although it seems that most Canadians who receive the first dose have already booked the second dose and known dates in some provinces. Including Quebec, Due to the stable supply of vaccines, it provides an opportunity to shorten the interval between the first dose and the second dose.

From Nationwide

The long wait for the COVID-19 vaccine in many countries is fueling the trend of going somewhere for vaccination. Some places, including New York City, are encouraging it. 1:55

Letter

The economy lost 68,000 jobs in May, and the unemployment rate rose slightly to 8.2%

The Canadian labor market laid off 68,000 jobs last month because many areas of the country continued to implement stricter public health restrictions to slow the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Statistics Canada’s labor force survey data released on Friday showed that Ontario and Nova Scotia were the only provinces with a decline in total employment. According to the report, the extension of the Ontario stay-at-home order is the main reason for the decline in employment. The decline in Nova Scotia was mainly due to the province entering a lockdown at the end of April.

More than three-quarters of the unemployed (54,000) are part-time jobs. Manufacturing has experienced its first monthly decline since the impact of the pandemic in April 2020 first took effect in Canada. The investigation found that the construction industry reported nearly 16,000 lob losses, mainly due to pandemic-related restrictions imposed by Ontario on April 17.

The report stated that 49,700 people wanted to work but did not find a job in April, “because of business conditions or because they thought there was no work available.”

Sri Thanabalasingam, senior economist at TD Economics, said that “the decline in participation rates this month is worrying”, but the accelerated rollout of vaccines in Canada may provide employers with more confidence and promote recruitment plans.

“As the number of people participating in the labor market decreases, Canada may face a labor shortage because labor demand is recovering faster than supply. This will be an area of ??close attention in the coming months,” he said.

This seems to be happening in the United States, where vaccination efforts have largely avoided the major restrictions on the coronavirus in May. Employers added 559,000 jobs in May, U.S. Department of Labor Report on FridayThis is higher than the revised total of 278,000 in April, but still far below employers’ demand for labor.

Although companies are eager to add workers in the United States, many unemployed people are looking for better jobs than before the pandemic, still lacking affordable childcare services or worrying about contracting COVID-19.

“There is a gap between the economy and the labor market,” said Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP, a payroll processing company.

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Ottawa gets more Pfizer injections because the focus shifts to injecting the second dose into the weapon

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday that the 48 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines currently ordered by Canada are expected to be delivered by August.

Similarly, the federal government has ordered 3 million vaccines for this product, which means that Canada is expected to get enough doses from Pfizer to vaccinate 25.5 vaccines. Ten thousand people.

Trudeau said: “We will continue to ensure the safety of the goods until everyone can be vaccinated.” “According to the pace of our progress, this goal is completely achievable.”

Canada also received 5.7 million doses of Moderna’s vaccine, but since April 1, shipments from the American company have been uneven or lower than expected. Moderna has delivered or scheduled half of the 12.3 million doses of vaccine originally promised for the second quarter.

As mentioned earlier in the newsletter, 65% of all eligible Canadians have at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, but only 6.5% of the population is fully vaccinated

Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, Dr. Theresa Tam also provided an update on the number of COVID-19 cases on Friday. The country now reports an average of 2,300 new infections a day, which is lower than the peak of 9,000, but those who are hospitalized are facing prolonged hospitalization-the number of intensive care admissions has fallen more slowly than the number of cases since April , A decrease of 31%.

Leaders of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization and WHO say Canada should provide excess doses to poorer countries

In the aforementioned interview conducted before Pfizer announced Trudeau’s announcement, two well-known officials of the Global Coronavirus Response Center called on Canada and other developed countries to share vaccine doses to help combat the spread of mutations and the unfairness of global vaccination efforts.

Former Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Manuel Barroso told CBC News Power and politics On Thursday, although he understood that the government was focused on protecting its citizens when the pandemic began, they now have a greater responsibility to the world.

Barroso said he believes that the COVAX vaccine sharing plan has fallen behind some expected timelines, and if rich countries donate excess vaccines, it can catch up.

“People say that only everyone is safe, otherwise no one is safe. This is not a slogan, because the longer the virus spreads, the greater the possibility of mutations, and there may also be new variants that are more easily transmitted and more dangerous,” It is said that Barros is the chairman of the vaccine alliance Gavi, which co-leads COVAX.

Maria Van Kerkhove, the head of technology at the World Health Organization and an American, also urged Canada to donate doses to the COVAX program.

“We really need to share the dose through the COVAX mechanism,” she told host David Common. “Now is the time for countries to donate usable doses.”

Earlier this week, developed countries stepped up to provide additional funding of US$2.4 billion, but this was only after the request of WHO and other agencies. Most countries, including Canada, choose to provide cash donations to help countries purchase more vaccines instead of providing doses.

Barroso does thank Canada for its support of COVAX so far. He said, “Of course, every government has the right to define” the time they think they have a surplus-“but we believe that the sooner the better.”

The United States has pledged to share 80 million doses of vaccines worldwide, most of which are through COVAX. On Thursday, it provided more details on the first 19 million collected through COVAX, with a focus on countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Watch the full version Power and politics Interview

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Jillian Stoyles has been emotionally excited by the prospect of returning to St. John for the first time in an interview with CBC News. (Terry Roberts/CBC)

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Waiting for that “warm blanket”: Those with connections to Newfoundland will pay attention to the expected calendar to return home

Jillian Stoyles has lived in Calgary for the past seven years, but she was born and raised in St. John’s, where most of her family still lives.

Stoyles started crying when she told CBC News that she would go home every Christmas, but because Newfoundland and Labrador prohibits non-essential non-resident travel, she has not seen her family since the pandemic began in early 2020 .

“The province is like home to me. It is like a warm blanket, waiting to hug me, making me feel welcome, accepted, loved and embraced,” Stoyles said.

But Stoiles has made a plan to return to St. John in August after being in the province. A plan was outlined earlier this week Open borders to non-essential travel. There will be a lot of news to catch up, including her own engagement.

Barbara Hutton, owner of St. John’s Executive Travel, told CBC News that since the province announced its reopening, her phone has been ringing, with most callers planning to return to Newfoundland and Labrador.

Lisa Bragg, director of business development and marketing for the St. John’s International Airport Authority, said that airlines still have work to do and are waiting to once again ensure a direct route between St. John’s and Toronto.

However, Prague said, “Everywhere there are stories where people are so excited about going home.”

Sarah Williams lives in Halifax with her husband and two daughters, but has not returned to Corner Brook for two years.

“Everyone feels it. My parents are no longer young, so any time with them is great,” Williams said.