Coronavirus: What’s happening in Canada and around the world on Tuesday | CBC News

Schoolchildren had been learning remotely since the end of the holiday break amid high COVID-19 transmission across the provinces.

Students are required to wear a mask at all times while indoors, and they will have access to rapid tests.

Meanwhile, Quebecers starting today will need to show proof of vaccination to enter liquor and cannabis stores. The vaccine passport will be extended to big box stores next week.

Quebec on Tuesday reported 3,417 COVID-19 hospitalizations. According to an update posted online, 289 people were in intensive care units. The update came as the province reported 89 additional deaths and 5,143 additional lab-confirmed cases.

Meanwhile, in Ontario, some students were back in class on Tuesday while others — including students in the Greater Toronto Area — were either learning remotely or out of school on a snow day after the major storm. 

Ontario’s COVID-19 dashboard on Tuesday showed 4,183 hospitalizations, with 580 people in intensive care. The province also reported 37 additional deaths and 7,086 additional lab-confirmed cases.

In both Quebec and Ontario, access to lab-based PCR tests is extremely limited, which means the true case numbers in both provinces are believed to be significantly higher than the posted figures.

-From The Canadian Press and CBC News, last updated at 11:10 a.m. ET

What’s happening across Canada

WATCH | Omicron brings hopeful signs of pandemic’s end with plenty of caveats: 

Omicron brings hopeful signs of pandemic’s end with plenty of caveats

There is some optimism the Omicron wave could signal the beginning of the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, but experts also point out many caveats because it’s unclear how long immunity lasts and if it will protect against future variants. 5:01

With lab-based testing capacity deeply strained and increasingly restricted, experts say true case counts are likely far higher than reported. Hospitalization data at the regional level is also evolving, with several provinces saying they will report figures that separate the number of people in hospital because of COVID-19 from those in hospital for another medical issue who also test positive for COVID-19.

For more information on what is happening in your community — including details on outbreaks, testing capacity and local restrictions — click through to the regional coverage below.

You can also read more from the Public Health Agency of Canada, which provides a detailed look at every region — including seven-day average test positivity rates — in its daily epidemiological updates.

In Atlantic Canada, health officials in Nova Scotia on Monday reported four additional deaths and said 73 people were in hospital receiving care in a COVID-19 unit, including 13 in intensive care.  The province also reported an additional 495 lab-confirmed cases.

In New Brunswick, two deaths were reported on Monday. The province, which is currently under tight restrictions aimed at controlling the spread of COVID-19, reported a total of 113 hospitalizations — including 16 people receiving intensive care. The provincial dashboard also showed an additional 405 lab-confirmed cases.

Prince Edward Island hospitals were treating seven people in hospital for COVID-19, the province reported Monday, including one in ICU.  Health officials on the island also reported an additional 231 new lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19.

In Newfoundland and Labrador, an update posted Monday said there were 15 people in hospital because of COVID-19, including three in critical care. Health officials also reported 239 new lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19.

In the North, the Northwest Territories on Monday reported another COVID-19 death — the first in the territory since the current Omicron-driven wave began. The territory has seen a total of 13 COVID-19 related deaths, according to health officials.

In neighbouring Nunavut, the chief public health officer on Monday announced changes to isolation rules for people exposed to COVID-19.

Yukon, meanwhile, reported an additional 82 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Monday.

In the Prairie provinces, health officials in Manitoba on Monday reported 20 COVID-19 related deaths since the last posted update on Friday. Hospitalizations in the province rose to 601, with 47 people with COVID-19 receiving intensive care. 

As Manitoba students returned to in-class learning yesterday, the Winnipeg School Division said it was still waiting for some of the promised pandemic prevention supplies. The province has promised more masks and rapid tests, and asked schools to create more space so students can stay distanced from each other.

There were no new deaths reported in Saskatchewan on Monday. The province said total COVID-19 hospitalizations stood at 167, with 13 people in intensive care units. According to a news release from health officials, there were 1,347 additional lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19.

In Alberta, the number of people in hospital with COVID-19 exceeded 1,000 patients for the first time since last fall. Provincial figures show there were 1,007 people in hospital, with 94 patients receiving intensive care. The reported death toll rose by 23 people over a period of three days, the province reported.

Meanwhile, the province’s health minister, Jason Copping, said on social media that he tested positive on a rapid test after displaying mild symptoms last week and is isolating at home. 

In British Columbia, the top doctor has extended a COVID-19 order that will keep gyms and fitness centres closed before providing more details on Tuesday. That’s when restrictions were set to expire, but Dr. Bonnie Henry said last week that they believed COVID-19 hospitalizations were expected to spike after cases within the community had peaked. Restrictions on gatherings and events will stay in place.

Health officials in B.C. on Monday reported 22 additional deaths since Friday. COVID-19 figures from the province showed 819 people in hospital, with 99 in intensive care units. The province also reported an additional 5,625 new cases of COVID-19 over a three-day period.

-From CBC News and The Canadian Press, last updated at 11:10 a.m. ET

What’s happening around the world

As of early Tuesday morning, roughly 331.3 million cases of COVID-19 had been reported worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University’s coronavirus tracker. The reported global death toll stood at more than 5.5 million.

In the Asia-Pacific region, Hong Kong authorities said they will kill about 2,000 small animals, including hamsters, after several tested positive for the coronavirus at a pet store where an employee was also infected. They said the city will also stop the sale of hamsters and the import of small mammals.

The pet shop employee tested positive for the Delta variant on Monday, and several hamsters imported from the Netherlands at the store tested positive as well. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said animals do not appear to play a significant role in spreading the coronavirus. But Hong Kong authorities said they are not ruling out transmission between animals and humans.

Meanwhile, in Japan, the governors of Tokyo and surrounding prefectures agreed to request further measures from the central government to help counter rising infections.

In the Middle East, the United Arab Emirates on Monday reported 2,989 additional cases of COVID-19 and four deaths.

In Africa, health officials in South Africa on Monday reported 1,691 new cases of COVID-19 and 87 additional deaths — though officials noted that the majority of those deaths had not occurred in the past 48 hours.

In the Americas, Mexico’s health ministry on Monday reported 59 new deaths from COVID-19, bringing the official death toll in the country since the pandemic began to 301,469.

In Europe, Romania reported 16,760 new cases, more than double on the day and the biggest single-day rise since October.

-From Reuters, The Associated Press and CBC News, last updated at 11:20 a.m. ET