The latest coronavirus news from Canada and around the world Thursday. This file will be updated throughout the day. Web links to longer stories if available.
10:52 a.m. Madrid and its suburbs prepared Thursday to enter a soft lockdown that restricts trips and out of the Spanish capital following a weeks-long political turf fight that experts say has prevented an effective response to the coronavirus in Europe’s latest infection hot spot.
Regional President Isabel Díaz Ayuso said she would implement new national health regulations that impose restrictions on movement and business and social activity in large Spanish cities with high infection rates while Madrid also mounts a legal challenge to the national government order requiring the measures.
The Spanish Health Ministry’s new standards give the country’s 19 regions two days to cap social gatherings to a maximum of six people and limit shop and restaurant hours in large cities that have recorded a 2-week infection rate of 500 cases per 100,000 residents or above. The regulations also mandate restrictions on entering and leaving such cities.
10:37 a.m. (updated) Ontario is reporting 538 new cases of COVID-19 today and three new deaths from the illness. Health Minister Christine Elliott says 229 cases are being reported in Toronto, 101 cases in Peel Region, 66 in Ottawa, and 43 in York Region.
She says 60 per cent of the new cases are among people under the age of 40. In total, 162 people are hospitalized in Ontario due to COVID-19, including 36 in intensive care. The province conducted 39,646 tests since the last daily report.
10:18 a.m. The NFL postponed Sunday’s Pittsburgh Steelers game at Tennessee until later in the season after one additional Titans player and one personnel member tested positive for COVID-19.
The announcement Thursday came one day after the league said it hoped to play the game on Monday or Tuesday. The NFL said a new game date would be announced “shortly.”
“The decision to postpone the game was made to ensure the health and safety of players, coaches and game day personnel,” the league said. “The Titans facility will remain closed and the team will continue to have no in-person activities until further notice.”
On Tuesday, the Titans (3-0) placed three players on the reserve/COVID-19 list, including key players defensive captain and lineman DaQuan Jones and long snapper Beau Brinkley. Outside linebacker Kamalei Correa became the fourth on that list Wednesday.
With the two new cases, the Titans’ total is now 11: five players and six other organization members. That doesn’t include outside linebackers coach Shane Bowen whose positive result came back last Saturday, preventing him from travelling with Tennessee to Minnesota for a 31-30 win.
10:07 a.m. South Africa has reopened to international flights, ending a more than six-month ban on international travel that was part of its restrictions to combat the spread of COVID-19.
A Lufthansa plane from Germany was the first international flight to arrive Thursday morning at Johannesburg’s O.R. Tambo International Airport. Flights from Kenya, Zambia, and Zimbabwe quickly followed. Airports in Cape Town and Durban have also resumed international traffic.
Travellers arriving on international flights must provide a negative COVID-19 test issued no more than 72 hours before their departure.
South Africa still maintains restrictions on international travel. Tourists are not permitted from a list of more than 50 countries, including Russia, Britain and the U.S, which are deemed high risk because of their levels of COVID-19 cases. The list will be reviewed every two weeks.
Travellers must also have proof of travel insurance to cover a COVID-19 test and quarantine costs, should they have symptoms during their visit.
9:40 a.m. Unemployment rose for a fifth straight month in Europe in August and is expected to grow further amid concern that extensive government support programs won’t be able keep many businesses hit by coronavirus restrictions afloat forever.
The jobless rate increased to 8.1 per cent in the 19 countries that use the euro currency, from 8 per cent in July, official statistics showed Thursday. The number of people out of work rose by 251,000 during the month to 13.2 million.
While Europe’s unemployment rate is still modest compared with the spike seen in many other countries, economists predict it could hit double digits in coming months as wage support programs expire. A resurgence in infections in many countries has meanwhile led to new restrictions on businesses and public life may that may have to be broadened and could lead to more layoffs.
European governments have approved trillions of euros to help businesses, setting up or bolstering programs to keep workers on payrolls.
9:13 a.m. Managing through this next phase of the pandemic, when the adrenalin of the initial crisis has long worn off and there’s no finish line yet in sight, is going to take a new level of adjustment for families.
We’ve hit what Aisha Ahmad, a University of Toronto associate professor of international security described in a viral Twitter thread as “the six-month wall” — just as we levelled up the uncertainty of COVID-19 living with our kids returning to school.
Drawing on experience living in disaster zones while conducting field research in places such as Afghanistan and Somalia, Ahmad defined the six-month wall as a slump she inevitably hit when her desire to escape or “make it stop” was overwhelming. Inevitably, however, it passes after a few weeks, she explained. The key is to be gentle with ourselves while we do some resetting that will get us through the months ahead.
“Just don’t expect to be sparklingly happy or wildly creative in the middle of your wall,” she wrote. “Right now, if you can meet your obligations and be kind to your loved ones, you get an A-plus.”
Read the full story from Brandie Weikle
9:02 a.m. On his first day of school this month, nine-year-old Lionel was nervous and excited — a combination as old as time when September rolls around. Excited, because he wanted to know who his teacher would be for the fourth grade. But his nerves weren’t about new classmates, harder lessons or other typical adjustments to a new school year.
“I felt nervous because I didn’t want to get COVID-19,” Lionel wrote in a journal entry during his first week back to class. He described, on the page, the things that had changed since last year. “We have to wear masks, some of my friends left and when we go to the classroom we can’t go straight to our chair, we have to go in a circle wash my hands and then go to our seat.”
The main target of his ire was wearing a mask during school hours, evident in all capital letters: “I DO NOT LIKE IT AT ALL!!!”
But other frustrations showed through, too: “I have a hard time social distancing because I want to play with my friends.”
Lionel is one of more than a thousand children living in Toronto’s shelter system during the pandemic. Following a Star story in August, where families and kids in shelters revealed their struggles keeping up with online learning this spring, the Star invited Lionel and several other kids living in shelters to keep journals of their first week back to class.
Read the full story from the Star’s Victoria Gibson
8:48 a.m. The Italian league soccer match between Genoa and Torino on Saturday has been postponed because 15 players and staff at Genoa tested positive for the coronavirus. Local health authorities in Genoa have banned the team from training. The league did not immediately set a new date for the game.
Genoa already had last weekend’s game at Napoli postponed for several hours while players awaited test results.
8:46 a.m. Turkey stopped announcing all of its coronavirus cases months ago and has instead been disclosing only the number of “patients” who test positive and show symptoms.
Health Minister Fahrettin Koca acknowledged the change on Wednesday, as he responded to an opposition lawmaker’s claims that the government has been vastly understating the number of COVID-19 infections. His remarks outraged medical groups who have accused the government of fueling the country’s outbreak.
The decision to stop counting people who are infected but don’t need treatment was made because of the high number of asymptomatic cases detected by widespread testing, according a person with direct knowledge of the matter. It was made shortly before the ministry on July 29 tweaked the wording in its COVID-19 updates to report new “patient” numbers instead of new “cases,” the person said.
8:40 a.m. Russian health officials reported nearly 9,000 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, one of the largest increases in months.
The 8,945 cases are almost twice as many as health officials were registering in late August. The new cases brought the country’s total to more 1.18 million, fourth highest in the world. There have been 20,796 confirmed deaths — 12th highest globally — according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
Despite the increases, authorities have repeatedly dismissed a second lockdown or other major restrictions. However, Moscow officials last week asked the elderly to stay at home, and employers to allow people to work from home. The mayor of Moscow also extended school holidays that start Oct. 5 to two weeks.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday urged Russians to remain vigilant.
8:39 a.m. Elora’s annual Monster March Halloween parade has been cancelled, but the downtown monster displays are still going up and other events are moving forward.
Kirk McElwain, chair of Sensational Elora who own and manage the displays, confirmed the Monster March parade is cancelled and are trying to develop an alternative virtual event but nothing is finalized yet.
However, Tim Murton’s Twilight Zoo sculptures are still going up and McElwain said it will be a bigger and better display than usual.
“We normally charge local businesses for putting up the monster on their building,” McElwain said, explaining that it covers storage and repairs.
“This year we’re doing it all for free just as a thank you to the businesses because of COVID and how it may have affected some businesses.”
This resulted in many businesses willing to go ahead with having the displays on their building or property.
All of October would normally be packed with events in Centre Wellington for Monster Month but many have also been cancelled this year.
8:31 a.m. India on Thursday reported 86,821 new coronaviruses cases and another 1,181 fatalities, making September its worst month of the pandemic.
The Health Ministry’s update for the past 24 hours raised India’s total to more than 6.3 million people infected and 98,678 dead from COVID-19. India added 41 per cent of its confirmed cases and 34 per cent of fatalities in September alone.
India is expected to become the pandemic’s worst-hit country within weeks, surpassing the United States, where more than 7.2 million people have been infected.
The government announced further easing of restrictions to start Oct. 15. Cinemas, theatres and multiplexes can open with up to 50 per cent of seating capacity, and swimming pools can also be used by athletes in training.
The government also said India’s 28 states can decide on reopening of schools and coaching institutions gradually after Oct. 15. However, the students will have the option of attending online classes.
International commercial flights will remain suspended until Oct. 31. However, evacuation flights will continue to and from the United States, Britain, Australia, Canada, France, Japan and several other countries.
8:14 a.m. Health Canada has given the green light to a rapid test for coronavirus, but experts say people shouldn’t expect the testing backlog — and lineups — will disappear anytime soon.
“It’s sort of sold as reducing the backlog,” Dr. Zain Chagla, an infectious disease specialist with McMaster University, said about the newly approved ID Now test. “I’m uncomfortable with this. I don’t think this is going to significantly reduce the backlog by any means.
“It is nice to have another tool to get people tested, but this is probably not the test that’s going to change the provincial testing queues altogether.”
Ottawa announced Wednesday it approved the test developed by Abbott Laboratories, which can deliver results in less than 15 minutes of a patient being swabbed, without having to first send the sample to a lab for processing.
Read the full story from the Star’s Nicholas Keung and May Warren
8:03 a.m. The Canadian economy faces a long, slow recovery from COVID-19, and some industries are never bouncing back to where they were, according to a new forecast from a business think tank.
The prediction, from the Conference Board of Canada, says things won’t get back to anywhere close to normal until there’s a vaccine to battle COVID-19, likely sometime next June.
“Until we’re seeing COVID fully behind us, it’s going to be a rough ride. We won’t see a complete recovery until there’s a vaccine and this has been brought under control. The biggest risk is if a vaccine ultimately isn’t found,” said Conference Board chief economist Pedro Antunes in an interview.
Read the full story from the Star’s Josh Rubin
8:02 a.m. Touted as one of the only things that could finally bring the pandemic to heel, anticipation for a COVID-19 vaccine is building.
But while Canadians wait, thousands of drug company employees, government officials and front-line workers in China are reportedly already rolling up their sleeves.
To back up a step, or 10, there are serious questions about the safety of those vaccines and the willingness of the test subjects. But with several Chinese companies claiming their vaccines could clear clinical testing as early as year’s end the question is being asked. Could China win the vaccination race and, if so, what does that mean for Canada and the rest of the world?
Read the full story from the Star’s Alex Boyd
8 a.m. In what’s being called a “shocking” misuse of personal health information, Ontario police services made unauthorized searches of the province’s COVID-19 first-responder data portal — including querying entire postal codes to find active cases of the virus, according to documents obtained by two civil rights groups.
In a memo addressed to all police chiefs in June, Ontario’s Ministry of the Solicitor General said an audit of the COVID-19 database — a controversial and now-shuttered portal for first responders — revealed “many” searches violating the province’s directive that the tool be used cautiously and with precision.
The audit raised “concerns that the portal is being used beyond the express purpose that the government intends,” wrote Richard Stubbings, assistant deputy minister of the public safety division, in a June 11 letter.
Among the unauthorized searches listed: “broad-based” municipal searches with no specific address, including queries of postal codes or of another municipality, and searches of a specific name unrelated to an active call for service.
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Read the full story from the Star’s Wendy Gillis
7 a.m. The U.S. government will provide its latest picture Thursday of the pace of layoffs which have remained high as some sectors of the economy have rebounded since the viral pandemic erupted in March while others remain depressed.
The still-elevated number of people seeking unemployment benefits each week reflects an economy that has recovered only about half the 22 million jobs that were lost to the pandemic. Many employers, especially small retailers, hotels, restaurants, airlines and entertainment venues, are still struggling. And millions of Americans are facing unemployment with vastly diminished aid since the expiration of a $600-a-week federal benefit this summer.
At the same time, some newly laid-off people are facing delays in receiving unemployment benefits as some state agencies intensify efforts to combat fraudulent applications and clear out backlogged claims. California, the largest state, has stopped processing new applications for two weeks as it seeks to reduce backlogs and pursue suspected fraud.
6:31 a.m.: The U.S. government will provide its latest picture Thursday of the pace of layoffs in the country, which have remained high as some sectors of the economy have rebounded since the viral pandemic erupted in March while others remain depressed.
The still-elevated number of people seeking unemployment benefits each week reflects an economy that has recovered only about half the 22 million jobs that were lost to the pandemic. Many employers, especially small retailers, hotels, restaurants, airlines and entertainment venues, are still struggling. And millions of Americans are facing unemployment with vastly diminished aid since the expiration of a $600-a-week federal benefit this summer.
At the same time, some newly laid-off people are facing delays in receiving unemployment benefits as some state agencies intensify efforts to combat fraudulent applications and clear out backlogged claims. California, the largest state, has stopped processing new applications for two weeks as it seeks to reduce backlogs and pursue suspected fraud.
5:25 a.m.: The Israeli government has approved a measure to limit protests and worship to within a kilometre (mile) of a person’s home, a controversial step to curb the spread of the coronavirus that critics say is aimed at quashing weekly protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Cabinet also approved late Wednesday a three-day extension of the country’s nationwide lockdown, imposed Sept. 18, until Oct. 14.
Defence Minister Benny Gantz defended the protest measure in an interview with Israel Radio, saying that at the moment there was “a need for a postponement” in the demonstrations to halt the spread of the disease. He said the lockdown would likely remain for several more weeks.
Israel has seen a major increase in the number of new confirmed COVID-19 cases in recent weeks, and reached a new daily high of nearly 9,000 on Thursday.
5:23 a.m.: Rolls-Royce Holdings plans to raise 2 billion pounds ($2.6 billion) by selling shares to existing investors after airlines around the world cut flights in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, slashing revenue for the jet-engine maker.
The London-based company said Thursday it also plans to raise at least 1 billion pounds by selling bonds, and it may increase borrowing by up to 2 billion pounds.
The financing package comes after the company earlier this year announced plans to cut at least 9,000 jobs and reduce costs by up to 1.3 billion pounds by the end of 2022. About 4,800 people had left the company by the end of August.
Chief Executive Warren East says, “the capital raise announced today improves our resilience to navigate the current uncertain operating environment.”
5:19 a.m.: Singapore will allow entry to travellers from Vietnam and Australia, excluding its coronavirus hot spot Victoria state, from Oct. 8.
The tiny city-state last month welcomed visitors from Brunei and New Zealand, and is cautiously reopening its borders after a virus closure to help revive its airport, a key regional aviation hub. The aviation authority has said there is a low risk of virus importation from the two countries.
Travellers must undergo a virus swab test upon arrival, travel on direct flights without transit and download a mobile app for contact tracing. Singapore’s move is not reciprocated by the other four countries.
5:14 a.m.: India on Thursday reported 86,821 new coronaviruses cases and another 1,181 fatalities, making September its worst month of the pandemic.
The Health Ministry’s update for the past 24 hours raised India’s total to more than 6.3 million people infected and 98,678 dead from COVID-19. India added 41% of its confirmed cases and 34% of fatalities in September alone.
India is expected to become the pandemic’s worst-hit country within weeks, surpassing the United States, where more than 7.2 million people have been infected.
The government announced further easing of restrictions to start Oct. 15. Cinemas, theatres and multiplexes can open with up to 50% of seating capacity, and swimming pools can also be used by athletes in training.
The government also said India’s 28 states can decide on reopening of schools and coaching institutions gradually after Oct. 15. However, the students will have the option of attending online classes.
5:07 a.m.: Three Quebec regions face partial lockdown measures starting today after reaching the highest COVID-19 alert level earlier this week.
People living in the greater Montreal, Quebec City and Chaudiere-Appalaches region south of the provincial capital will live with the new restrictions for at least 28 days as the province tries to get COVID-19 cases under control.
Bars, casinos, concert halls, cinemas, museums and libraries are to be shuttered in those regions and restaurants will be limited to takeout.
Private gatherings are prohibited and people cannot have any visitors from another address at their homes with few exceptions, like caregivers or maintenance workers.
Outdoor gatherings are forbidden, masks are mandatory for demonstrations and police have the power to hand out hefty fines to those who flout the rules.
5:03 a.m.: Four major home-care providers are asking the Ontario government to increase support for their sector, saying it would reduce pressure on a health-care system burdened by COVID-19.
The companies — Bayshore HealthCare, Closing the Gap Healthcare, VON Canada, and SE Health — say bolstering home care will allow long-term care homes and hospitals to operate more efficiently.
The group has launched a campaign today on their call for support.
The CEO of Closing the Gap Healthcare says COVID-19 transmission rates in home-care settings are much lower than in congregate care.
Leighton McDonald says by focusing on community-care, the province can help keep more people safe from the virus.
According to provincial data through the height of the first wave of COVID-19 until the end of May, there were 235 virus cases related to home care, compared to 4,518 in long-term care homes.
5 a.m.: Vaccines normally offered in school to Grade 7 students will instead be delivered at community clinics and doctors’ offices in parts of Ontario, meaning parents will have to make arrangements to ensure their children are immunized.
The Ministry of Health says local public health units, which are responsible for immunization programs including those in schools, are working to let residents know where they can access the vaccines.
Students in Grade 7 are typically given vaccines for Hepatitis B, Human Papilloma Virus and Meningococcal disease in school. Some of those shots require more than one dose.
Those programs have been disrupted due to COVID-19, which has seen thousands of students choose virtual lessons over in-person classes.
In Ottawa and Toronto — two regions experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases — public health officials say clinics will prioritize administering the flu vaccine this fall.
But they say vaccination clinics for students will be held in the community at a later date to replace the in-school programs.
4 a.m.: Nearly half of students at public elementary schools in a COVID-19 hot spot west of Toronto are learning online, according to data provided by the school board.
Upwards of 54,600 elementary students have opted for remote learning this year at the Peel District School Board and 57,300 have returned to the classroom.
That compares to roughly 35 per cent of elementary students who are learning online at the Toronto District School Board — the province’s largest.
Meanwhile, the Peel board’s high schools are running on an adapted model, with students who chose in-class learning only attending school half the time to minimize contact with their peers.
Still, the board says 27 per cent of high schoolers — around 11,200 — are learning fully online.
Peel Public Health says it’s seen 9,707 cases of COVID-19 throughout the pandemic, 8,396 of whom have recovered, and 329 deaths.
Wednesday 10:06 p.m.: Fans can take themselves out to the ball game for the first time this season during the National League Championship Series and World Series at new Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
Major League Baseball said Wednesday that approximately 11,500 tickets will be available for each game. That is about 28 per cent of the 40,518-capacity, retractable-roof stadium of the Texas Rangers, which opened this year adjacent to old Globe Life Park, the team’s open-air home from 1994 through 2019.
“Any time there’s fans in the stands there’s maybe a heightened sense of, this is a real game and it might raise everybody’s play,” said Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who lives in the Dallas area during the off-season.
The World Series is being played at a neutral site for the first time in response to the coronavirus pandemic. It has not been played at one stadium since the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Browns at Sportsman’s Park in 1944.
While Texas is allowing up to 50 per cent capacity at venues, MLB did not anticipate having government permission for fans to attend post-season games at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles or Petco Park in San Diego, where American League playoff games are scheduled.
