Today’s coronavirus news: Premier Doug Ford to hold update on COVID-19 vaccine rollout; Quebec restaurant patios to reopen as curfew lifts and backyard gatherings permitted - Toronto Star

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

10:07 a.m. Ontario is shortening the interval between doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, starting with adults aged 80 and older next week.

The province says it's able to make the move because 65 per cent of all adults have at least one shot and Ontario now has a steady vaccine supply.

Ontario has been administering COVID-19 shots four months apart with some exceptions.

The province says the shortened interval could be as small as 28 days for the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines in the coming months, depending on supply.

Those who got a first shot of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine will be offered a second dose after 12 weeks, though it could be a different vaccine depending on awaited federal guidance.

Moving up the second dose is optional and people will keep their original appointments if they don't re-book for an earlier shot.

Ontarians aged 80 and older can start booking their second doses next week, while those aged 70 and older will become eligible for second shots in the week of June 14.

After that, the province says residents will become eligible for second shots based on when they got their first dose.

Those between the ages of 12 and 25 will become eligible in early August.

9:35 a.m. Malaysia's prime minister says a total coronavirus lockdown will be imposed in the country, with all business and economic activities to be halted for two weeks to contain a worsening outbreak.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced that the decision to implement the lockdown starting June 1 came after new infections breached 8,000 on Friday for the first time, sparking fears the disease could spiral out of control.

The government earlier this month imposed a near lockdown until June 7, stopping short of shutting down businesses to prevent a possible economic catastrophe. But new infections have climbed since the recent Muslim Eid festival, crossing 6,000 on May 19 for the first time and soaring to 8,290 on Friday.

This raised the country’s total cases to 549,514. The health ministry also reported another 61 deaths Friday, pushing the tally to 2,552 — nearly 40% recorded this month alone. Malaysia's total cases and deaths have jumped nearly five-fold compared to all of last year.

Only essential economic and services sectors will be allowed to operate, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement on Friday. The government will consider aid packages for companies and people affected by the lockdown, which will last till June 14, it said.

9:30 a.m. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas says the government is taking “a very close look” at the possibility of vaccine passports for travel into and out of the United States.

As head of the Department of Homeland Security, Mayorkas oversees the Transportation Security Administration, which safeguards the nation’s transportation systems.

Mayorkas told ABC on Friday that one of his guiding principles throughout the coronavirus pandemic has been “the value of diversity, equity and inclusion and making sure that any passport that we provide for vaccinations is accessible to all and that no one is disenfranchised.”

The European Union, some Asian governments and the airline industry are scrambling to develop COVID-19 vaccine passports to help kickstart international travel. They’re working on systems that would allow travelers to use mobile phone apps to prove they’ve been vaccinated, helping them avoid quarantine requirements at their destinations.

Mayorkas says the underlying point is: “Everyone should get vaccinated.”

9:23 a.m. York Region is celebrating a “significant milestone” in the fight against COVID-19.

As of May 26, more than 70 per cent of York Region’s adult population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

This fulfils the vaccination requirement for Step Two of the province’s Roadmap to Reopen.

On May 20, the Ontario government released it’s three-step plan to gradually lift public health measures based on vaccination rates and other key health indicators.

8:50 a.m. 2,063,923 vaccine doses have been administered in Toronto as of May 28.

8:45 a.m. It’s been more than seven months of pandemic lockdown in Peel, and it would be a massive understatement to say everyone is tired.

After months of physical and social isolation, of cancelled plans and postponed goals, the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Peel Dufferin CEO David Smith says that setting goals and making plans might be the best thing to do right now, mental health-wise.

“It’s very, very powerful to have a goal,” Smith said, explaining that the feeling of being stalled, of “languishing” through the early months of 2021 affected the mental health of many in Peel.

A recent nation-wide survey by the CMHA showed that 77 per cent of adults are reporting negative emotional effects related to the pandemic.

The most common emotions reported were feeling worried, stressed, anxious, sad, lonely and bored.

8:36 a.m. Regulators on Friday authorized another coronavirus vaccine for use in the U.K. amid concerns about rising COVID-19 cases as a variant of the virus first identified in India spreads around the country.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said the single-dose vaccine made by Johnson & Johnson met "the expected standards of safety, quality and effectiveness."

The authorization takes the number of vaccines in the U.K.'s armory to four following earlier approvals for the two-dose regimens developed by Pfizer/BioNTech, AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, and Moderna.

The regulator said the vaccine developed by J&J subsidiary Janssen has been shown to be 67 per cent effective overall in preventing COVID-19 infection and 85 per cent effective in preventing severe disease or hospitalization. It can be be stored at refrigerator temperatures of 2 to 8 degrees Celsius which the regulator said makes it “ideal for distribution to care homes and other locations."

The U.K. has rapidly rolled out vaccines since December. Nearly 58 per cent of the population has received at least one dose and around 35 per cent has gotten two shots.

8:20 a.m. Entering the real estate market has always come with a layer of stress for new buyers. Add in a red hot market that favours sellers and the process becomes a lot more complicated.

Buyers have had to up the ante on their offers in recent months in hopes of standing out. Amid this competitive market and soaring prices, the Star asked real estate agents how to stand out and snag the home you’ve been eyeing.

Read the full story from the Star’s Jenna Moon

8:10 a.m. With more children now able to get their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, many kids are beginning to receive basic protection from the virus — but that doesn’t mean the risk is eliminated.

Parents of children who have received the first jab may want to know when they can start letting their child return to a level of normalcy, especially with a chance of returning to school looming and given the number of kids who have faced mental health challenges throughout the pandemic.

“The last year has been particularly hard on kids and we have to keep reminding ourselves of that,” said Donna Koller, professor in early childhood studies at Ryerson University. “If we don’t acknowledge what they’ve been through and we don’t appreciate that it’s been very, very difficult for a lot of kids and preteens, then we’re less likely to get them to where we want them to be.”

Read the full story from the Star’s Irelyne Lavery

7:50 a.m. A Mississauga boxing gym that city and regional officials criticized for operating amid spiking COVID-19 cases and an Ontario-wide shutdown of fitness facilities, has passed inspection and is now permitted to open through an exemption in provincial reopening rules.

Mississauga’s director of enforcement Sam Rogers said May 26 that Huf Gym “is now considered compliant with all provincial regulations,” following inspections by both city bylaw and Peel Public Health authorities last week.

Rogers said there was no one using the gym while the inspections took place and that it was the first time Huf had opened its door to enforcement officers in a long while.

Huf Gym, which did not respond to interview requests for this story, has been operating under an exemption in the Reopening Ontario Act allowing fitness facilities to open only for use by someone with a recognized disability, such as a physical impairment, mental disorders and injuries requiring insurance benefits.

7:45 a.m. Netherlands goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen will not travel with the national team to a pre-European Championship training camp in Portugal after testing positive for COVID-19, the Dutch soccer association said Friday.

The Valencia goalkeeper is symptom-free and medical staff are closely monitoring his condition.

“As soon as it is medically responsible, he will join the team,” the association said.

Frank de Boer is taking his squad to Lagos, Portugal, on Saturday for a training camp, including a friendly against Scotland on June 2.

The Netherlands opens its Euro 2020 campaign in Amsterdam on June 13 against Ukraine in the Group C game.

7:36 a.m. Premier Doug Ford will meet with reporters at 10:30 a.m. Friday to discuss the next stage of the vaccination rollout — it may be a two-dose summer — and whether schools will reopen.

7:35 a.m. National Bank of Canada beat expectations as it reported a second-quarter profit of $801 million, more than double compared with a year ago at the start of the pandemic.

The Montreal-based bank said Friday the profit amounted to $2.25 per diluted share for the quarter ended April 30, up from a profit of $379 million or $1.01 per share in the same quarter last year.

"Our solid results once again reflect the fact that we have made the right strategic choices and have built a strong, diversified and agile franchise,'' National Bank CEO Louis Vachon said in a statement.

Provisions for credit losses in the quarter fell to $5 million compared with $504 million in the same quarter last year when the pandemic crashed the economy.

Revenue totalled nearly $2.2 billion, up from $2.0 billion in the same quarter a year ago.

On an adjusted basis, National Bank says it earned $2.25 per diluted share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of $1.01 per diluted share in the same quarter last year.

7:30 a.m. The promise of herd immunity through COVID vaccines has become a symbol for the hope of a return to normal life. A tiny light at the end of the tunnel for many during the darkest days of the pandemic, often mentioned by public health officials, as a key part of getting back to more precedented times.

But now that shots are here, and lots of people are getting them, how close are we to achieving that? And if we don’t get there, is it hopeless? (hint: no).

Read the full story from the Star’s May Warren

7:16 a.m. Volunteer staff at a downtown Toronto pop-up vaccine clinic are in shock after they were harassed for hours Wednesday by hundreds of angry people demanding second doses of the coronavirus vaccine.

They are not the only clinic this has happened to recently; crowds of ineligible people, insisting they be vaccinated early, have laid siege to clinics all over the city.

The pop-up clinic in Chinatown’s Cecil Community Centre was only vaccinating people who live or work in the surrounding area who had yet to receive a COVID-19 shot.

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There was good reason for this: Kensington-Chinatown is Toronto’s least vaccinated neighbourhood.

Read the full story from the Star’s Ben Cohen

6:55 a.m.: The president of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee hinted Friday that even local fans may be barred from venues when the games open in just under two months.

Fans from abroad were ruled out months ago as being too risky during a pandemic.

The prospect of empty venues at the postponed Olympics became more likely when the Japanese government decided Friday to extend a state of emergency until June 20 as COVID-19 cases continue to put the medical system under strain.

The state of emergency was to have been lifted on Monday. The extension in Tokyo, Osaka and other prefectures raises even more questions if the Olympics can be held at all.

Organizers and the IOC are insistent they will go ahead despite polls in Japan showing 60-80% want them called off.

“We would like to make a decision as soon as possible (on fans), but after the state of emergency is lifted we will assess,” organizing committee president Seiko Hashimoto said at her weekly briefing.

Hashimoto promised to decide on local fans by April, then put it off until early June. Now the deadline is within a month of the July 23 opening date.

6:17 a.m.: Facebook says it will no longer remove claims that COVID-19 is man-made or manufactured from its apps.

The change comes “in light of ongoing investigations into the origin of COVID-19 and in consultation with public health experts,” Facebook says.

The company based in Menlo Park, California, has long battled a tide of coronavirus-related misinformation. It said in December it would remove vaccine-related misinformation.

“We’re continuing to work with health experts to keep pace with the evolving nature of the pandemic and regularly update our policies as new facts and trends emerge,” said Guy Rosen, Facebook’s vice president of integrity, in a statement Wednesday.

Facebook doesn’t usually ban misinformation outright on its platform, instead adding fact-checks by outside parties, which includes The Associated Press, to debunked claims. The two exceptions have been around elections and COVID-19.

U.S. President Joe Biden recently ordered U.S. intelligence officials to “redouble” their efforts to investigate the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, including any possibility the trail might lead to a Chinese laboratory.

6:17 a.m.: Employers aren’t allowed to refuse paid sick days if people feel ill after getting a dose of the vaccine, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said..

Cuomo said the state’s labour department will issue guidance that makes it clear that employees can take a paid sick day to recover from rare but potential side effects from the COVID-19 vaccine.

Federal health officials say the vaccine is safe and that side effects aren’t unusual. Some people have reported fever, chills, nausea, a sore arm, fatigue or headache after receiving a dose.

“I want to be crystal clear — no New Yorker will miss a day’s pay because of getting the vaccine,” Cuomo said Thursday.

New York has a paid sick leave law on the books, and another state law allows employees to use up to four hours of excused leave per COVID-19 vaccine dose. That time can’t be charged against any other leave the employee has earned or accrued.

About 46% of New York’s 20 million residents are fully vaccinated, according to federal data. That’s above the national average of 40%.

6:15 a.m.: Member countries of the World Health Organization have approved an “ambitious increase” in the budget for the UN health agency at a meeting, with some noting that WHO’s chronic underfunding cripples its ability to protect global health.

Delegates at the World Health Assembly on Thursday approved a 16% increase to WHO’s proposed budget for the next two years, setting it at about $6.1 billion.

More than 90% of WHO’s funding is tied to specific health issues, and the agency often struggles to respond to urgent crises. Dr. Michael Ryan, WHO’s emergencies chief, said there is currently a 70% funding gap, which has “left the organization in real and imminent danger of being unable to sustain core functions for urgent priorities.”

A commissioned review of the WHO in the wake of its global handling of the COVID-19 pandemic suggested the agency could have acted faster and more aggressively to stem the spread of the coronavirus, but also said it lacked power and money.

6:11 a.m.: Officials in Ontario will provide an update on the province’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout today.

Task force member Dirk Huyer says the group has been carefully working on its plan for second doses.

Ontario is currently administering COVID-19 shots four months apart with some exceptions for people with specific health conditions and other groups.

Huyer says the second-dose plan will consider clinical reasons for shortening the interval between doses, supply and allocations across the province.

The top doctor for York Region says he’s already heard that the province plans to shorten the interval between doses for those aged 80 and older.

Dr. Karim Kurji says the health unit is working through the logistics of making the change.

6:10 a.m.: Quebec’s curfew — in place since Jan. 9 — will be lifted this evening as the province begins relaxing measures aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19.

The curfew was originally set at 8 p.m. and more recently had been moved to 9:30 p.m., with violators subject to fines starting at $1,000 plus $550 in additional fees.

Restaurant patios across the province will also be permitted to reopen today after being closed in some parts of the province, including Montreal, since Oct. 1.

Some patio restrictions will remain, and in regions under the province’s two highest alert levels, groups will be limited to occupants of a single residence, or two adults with their minor children.

The new regulations will also allow outdoor gatherings of up to eight people on private property, and large venues will be able to host up to 2,500 people, though they will have to be divided into sections of 250 people with separate entrances and washrooms.

The new measures come as COVID-19 hospitalizations in Quebec have declined to their lowest level in more than six months.

4 a.m.: The latest numbers on COVID-19 vaccinations in Canada as of 4:00 a.m. ET on Friday, May 28, 2021.

In Canada, the provinces are reporting 408,034 new vaccinations administered for a total of 22,346,755 doses given. Nationwide, 1,806,609 people or 4.8 per cent of the population has been fully vaccinated. The provinces have administered doses at a rate of 58,963.539 per 100,000.

There were 594,840 new vaccines delivered to the provinces and territories for a total of 25,985,034 doses delivered so far. The provinces and territories have used 86 per cent of their available vaccine supply.

4 a.m.: The latest numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Canada as of 4:00 a.m. ET on Friday, May 28, 2021.

There are 1,371,073 confirmed cases in Canada (42,104 active, 1,303,558 resolved, 25,411 deaths). The total case count includes 13 confirmed cases among repatriated travellers.

There were 2,969 new cases Thursday. The rate of active cases is 110.78 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 23,634 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 3,376.

There were 51 new reported deaths Thursday. Over the past seven days there have been a total of 300 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is 43. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.11 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 66.86 per 100,000 people.

There have been 34,449,561 tests completed.

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2021-05-28 13:17:04Z
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