Today's coronavirus news: Ontarians who received AstraZeneca can book second dose today; Canada pushing to procure additional Moderna vaccines from U.S. instead of Europe - 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.

9:05 a.m. Statistics Canada says the economy lost 68,000 jobs in May as lockdowns to slow the spread of COVID-19 continued.

The unemployment rate was 8.2 per cent in May, little changed from the 8.1 per cent in April because the number of unemployed people in Canada overall stayed relatively steady.

What changed is that more people dropped out of the labour force in May, including workers who simply got discouraged and gave up looking for work.

Statistics Canada says the unemployment rate would have been 10.7 per cent in May had it included in calculations those people who wanted to work but didn't search for a job.

May's job losses put the country about 571,100 jobs, or three per cent, below pre-pandemic levels seen in February 2020.

8:40 a.m. Mississauga council voted June 2 to reduce licence fees for businesses in the city that were ordered to close fully or partially under Ontario’s COVID-19 rules.

Here’s three takeaways about the relief program aiming to help businesses impacted by the pandemic.

8:20 a.m. Roberta Timothy remembers when she was growing up, prior to a trip to the doctor’s, her mother would make sure the kids’ outfits were put together.

“You would think you were going to high tea,” Timothy laughs. But after over 30 years working in community health spaces, Timothy understands what her mom was reacting to.

“If her children didn’t look a particular way, right, then there was a chance to call CAS (Children’s Aid Society),” the University of Toronto professor said. A system where Indigenous children and Black children are far overrepresented.

Over years of working in public health, Timothy has seen the ways anti-Black racism has gone unaddressed in the health-care system, and the real impact it has on Black Canadians.

Read the full story from the Star’s Angelyn Francis

8:05 a.m. Just how many schools will end up planning outdoor graduations and year-end celebrations for every grade is up in the air, with the Ontario Principals’ Council sending a particularly strong rebuke to the government for promoting the idea.

“With only a few weeks left until the academic year ends, schools have already made plans to celebrate their graduates,” the council said in a statement. “It is unrealistic and disrespectful to Ontario educators to expect such a considerable shift in planning at this point in the school year.”

On Wednesday, when Premier Doug Ford announced that schools would remain closed for in-person learning until September. Ontario is the only province in the country to do so. He also said he was encouraged by a young neighbour, named “Arthur,” to urge outdoor graduations or celebrations for every grade in June.

Read the full story from the Star’s Kristin Rushowy

7:50 a.m. Business is, unfortunately, booming for an Ontario peer support organization for first responders.

Calls are way up to the 160 volunteers at Boots on the Ground who offer an ear to first responders struggling with their mental health, said the charity's founder, Dave McLennan.

Those calls are set to increase even further now that the charity has started offering its services to nurses, who've been under immense pressure during the pandemic.

"A lot of times people feel so much better just getting things off their chest and talking," said McLennan.

The organization is made up of active or retired police officers, firefighters, paramedics, correctional officers, dispatchers and nurses who answer a helpline.

The small charity has answered 135 calls in the last three months compared to 74 for the same period last year, McLennan said.

"I think it's because the pandemic is wearing on and the unprecedented stress the first responders are under right now," he said. "We want to make sure people are aware we're out there to help."

Lynn Findlay, a registered practical nurse, said the time has come for a peer-support program for her profession.

"Nurses are struggling in the pandemic, there's a lot of stress that hasn't been there before," she said.

"You hope your PPE is working, you don't know who you're seeing, you don't know if you're bringing the virus home, it all just adds up."

7:40 a.m. June often comes with a buzz in the school hallways, with students excited about outdoor excursions, class parties, or end-of-year events like prom and graduation.

But with classes remaining online in Ontario for the last weeks of the year, many students are burned out and teachers are noticing their attendance rates dropping, even more than usual in the warmer months.

“They’re struggling to get up and get going with schoolwork and engaging with the curriculum,” said Jennifer Reid, a Grade 3 teacher at Tecumseh Public School in the Halton District School Board. On some days, she estimates 50 children are absent from classes at the school.

Read the full story by the Star’s Olivia Bowden and Maria Sarrouh

7:20 a.m. On a Sunday afternoon in early January, Edwin Ng drove to a vaccination clinic for health-care workers near his home in Barrie, pulled up the sleeve of his blue scrubs and got his first dose of protection against COVID-19. Then he went straight to work. The 48-year-old rarely missed a shift at Roberta Place, the nursing home where he’d been a personal support worker for nearly 20 years. He didn’t get sick often.

That night at home, Edwin started to feel strange. He was tired. His breathing was heavy. He slept in a room away from his family, to be safe.

It’s probably just side effects from the vaccine, he thought. But his wife, Samantha Ng, was uneasy.

Within weeks, Edwin would be among the sickest COVID patients in the province. He needed new lungs, and a miracle.

Read the full story from the Star’s Amy Dempsey

6 a.m.: Ontarians who received Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines have the choice to book a second dose of the same vaccine or an mRNA vaccine like Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna starting today.

The province updated its guidance on second doses of that vaccine this week.

Second-dose bookings are available at pharmacies as of today for people who received an AstraZeneca vaccine 12 weeks ago.

People can book AstraZeneca second doses by contacting the pharmacy or primary care provider where they received their first shot.

Those opting for an mRNA vaccine can schedule through a participating pharmacy offering Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.

The province says AstraZeneca recipients can book second shots of a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine through the provincial booking system or local health units starting next week.

5:45 a.m.: Earlier this week, when Premier Doug Ford announced that schools would remain closed for in-person learning until September. Ontario is the only province in the country to do so. He also said he was encouraged by a young neighbour, named “Arthur,” to urge outdoor graduations or celebrations for every grade in June.

Directors of education quickly pointed out that they had told the ministry of education some time ago this was not feasible, and a number of schools, including Humberside Collegiate in Toronto, have already told parents it can’t happen.

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The principals’ council said that “in consultation with, and using guidelines provided by, local public health units, schools (have) developed plans that were approved by boards. Students were also involved in developing these plans” such as drive-throughs, virtual grads or “other events that do not involve large social gatherings.”

“This is simply not possible or practical.”

Read the full story from the Star’s Kristin Rushowy.

5:30 a.m.: Procurement Minister Anita Anand says Canada is trying to negotiate a deal to start getting doses of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine from the United States instead of Europe.

All 5.7 million doses delivered to Canada from Moderna so far have come from their production lines in Europe. but the company's shipments to Canada have been spotty and small since April 1.

As of Friday, Moderna has delivered or scheduled less than half of the 12.3 million doses initially promised for the second quarter.

In April, Moderna said Canada's spring shipments might get cut by about one-sixth, citing vague human resource and material problems delaying production in Europe.

Deliveries from the company's U.S.-based production facilities weren't to be harmed, but all those doses are contracted to stay in the U.S. for now.

Pfizer began shipping doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine from its U.S. production facilities in May and Anand is trying to convince both the U.S. government and Moderna to do the same for Moderna.

"Our government also continues to work with Moderna and the United States government to ensure that a more stable delivery schedule can be established and maintained, including by pressing for deliveries from the company's U.S. facilities," said Anand in a statement to The Canadian Press.

5:20 a.m.: Before Susie Goulding fell ill with COVID-19 in March 2020, her life was full of action.

An avid skier, she often spent winters on the slopes as a volunteer ski patrol. She was also a cyclist, a violinist, gardener and full-time florist.

But contracting the virus changed the Oakville woman’s life forever. What started as a mild sore throat, she said, progressed into digestive and heart issues. By last June, her symptoms became more brain-based, and she began experiencing what’s commonly referred to as “brain fog.”

“Think of an Alzheimer’s patient,” the 53-year-old said. “That’s brain fog.”

For a time, Goulding thought she was alone in her battle with cognitive long-haul COVID symptoms. But a new survey of more than 1,000 Canadians, including those from an online support group Goulding has since started for long-haulers like herself, indicates that enduring brain-based symptoms are common among the majority of those with long-haul effects of the virus.

Read the full story from the Star’s Nadine Yousif.

5:15 a.m.: France is putting itself back on the menu as a destination for international tourists who have had coronavirus jabs. The government announced Friday that it is removing the need for coronavirus tests for vaccinated Europeans and allowing vaccinated tourists from most of the rest of the world, including the United States, to also come back, provided they have a negative test.

The relaxed rules will kick in from Wednesday, offering a boost for France’s tourism sector. Tourism will not be possible, however, from countries wrestling with virus surges and worrisome variants. This “red list” for the moment has 16 countries, including India, South Africa and Brazil.

Outside of Europe, most of the rest of the world is classed as “orange” in the new travel rulebook released Friday by the French government.

Vaccinated visitors from “orange” countries — including the United States and Britain — will no longer need to quarantine on arrival and will no longer have to justify the reasons for their trip to France. They will, however, still be asked for a negative PCR test no older than 72 hours or a negative antigenic test of no more than 48 hours.

4:10 a.m.: As COVID-19 vaccine supplies ramp up across the country, most provinces and territories have begun planning to give second doses in the coming weeks.

More than 24.5 million people across Canada have now had at least one dose of a vaccine. Nationwide, 2,263,622 people or 6.0 per cent of the population has been fully vaccinated.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says by the summer, Canada will have enough vaccines so that every eligible resident will have gotten their first dose, and by September, it will have enough doses for everyone to be fully vaccinated.

The National Advisory Committee on Immunization says people who got the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for the first dose can be offered either Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna for the second.

The advice affects more than two million Canadians who received the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine before provinces stopped using it for first doses last month as it is potentially linked to a rare but serious blood clotting syndrome.

NACI said it is basing their advice on the risk of the syndrome, and emerging evidence that mixing and matching different types of vaccines is not only safe but may produce a better immune response.

The advisory panel has also recommended that Canada turn toward the ultimate goal of fully immunizing the population, now that supplies of COVID-19 shots are increasing.

4:00 a.m.: In Canada, the provinces are reporting 410,178 new vaccinations administered for a total of 24,924,312 doses given. Nationwide, 2,402,628 people or 6.3 per cent of the population has been fully vaccinated. The provinces have administered doses at a rate of 65,764.611 per 100,000.

There were 16,380 new vaccines delivered to the provinces and territories for a total of 28,000,824 doses delivered so far. The provinces and territories have used 89.01 per cent of their available vaccine supply.

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

There are 1,387,445 confirmed cases in Canada.

_ Canada: 1,387,445 confirmed cases (27,790 active, 1,334,011 resolved, 25,644 deaths).*The total case count includes 13 confirmed cases among repatriated travellers.

There were 2,172 new cases Thursday. The rate of active cases is 73.12 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 16,376 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 2,339.

There were 32 new reported deaths Thursday. Over the past seven days there have been a total of 235 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is 34. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.09 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 67.47 per 100,000 people.

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2021-06-04 12:04:01Z
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