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‘We have a major problem’: Investigation finds ‘pervasive racism’ against Indigenous people in B.C. health care

Jul 26, 2021 , , , , by shlf

VICTORIA—The Métis leader whose warning initiated what’s being touted as the first complete review of racism in a Canadian health-care system is now calling on the rest of the country to follow British Columbia’s lead.

Daniel Fontaine, chief executive officer of the Métis Nation British Columbia, says he’s not surprised that a report released Monday has found pervasive, systemic racism against Indigenous people in his province.

The groundbreaking report has the potential to initiate a Canada-wide reckoning on something Indigenous people have known their whole lives: that health-care racism and discrimination is hurting them and their health.

“It may be the first, but I daresay it won’t be the last of its kind in Canada,” Fontaine said of B.C.’s investigation. “It has national significance. Every province and territory in the country should be looking at it to ask them some tough questions.”

Racism is hurting the health of Indigenous people and leaving them more harshly affected by health crises, including the opioid crisis and the , the independent, groundbreaking probe released Monday in B.C. found.

The report details harrowing accounts shared with the investigative team from dozens of Indigenous people who describe forms of racism and discrimination that hindered their ability to access health care, and exposed them to damaging stereotypes and assumptions.

There was a case of an 11-year-old girl whose doctors did not seem to trust her word that she had not been drinking. A woman living on the Downtown Eastside was detained under the mental health act when she was mistakenly assessed as suicidal. One 57-year-old Indigenous man, later diagnosed to have two cracks in his pelvis after a fall, reported being ridiculed by two nurses and told he was fine.

When the man argued, security was called, and he spent the night in jail, instead of getting treatment.

What these examples illustrate, said Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, who led the investigation at the province’s request, is a health-care system that is unsafe for Indigenous people and that regularly paints them with a number of stereotypes instead of treating them with dignity and proper care.

“What it looks like are abusive interactions at the point of care; verbal and physical abuse; denial of service,” said Turpel-Lafond, a well-known Indigenous lawyer and former B.C. advocate for children and youth. “We have a major problem with Indigenous-specific racism and prejudice in B.C. health care.”

Turpel-Lafond said her team’s recommendations could provide a blueprint for the rest of the country for rooting out racism and discrimination.

The B.C. probe was initiated in June, after Fontaine alerted deputy health minister Stephen Brown about allegations that health-care workers in an emergency room had played a game they called “Price is Right.” That involved them guessing the blood-alcohol level of mainly Indigenous patients before they received treatment, and about a swath of complaints by health-care workers of alleged racist incidents against Indigenous people.

The meeting prompted B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix to call the investigation..

Turpel-Lafond said the investigation did not find evidence of an organized “Price is Right” game, but that it unearthed an even more insidious picture of a system rife with racism and prejudice that is making the B.C. health-care system an unsafe place for Indigenous people.

The report, called , is based on input from 9,000 people, including Indigenous people and health-care workers.

“It is shocking but not surprising to read those incidents throughout the … report and to ask: Why did it take Métis nation to trigger this report a number of months ago?” Fontaine said Monday.

He said clues to answer that question lie within a theme of Turpel-Lafond’s recommendations, which outline an urgent need to have Indigenous people at the table in health-care authorities and political bodies making decisions about health.

“Where we get vindication around bringing this up is in this report. It raises the spectre of systemic racism throughout the entire health-care system,” he said.

Now that the Turpel-Lafond report is out there, he said there’s no way people in positions of authority can deny how widespread and deep-rooted racism is in health care — across Canada.

Turpel-Lafond said a second report, a data analysis of Indigenous-specific health outcomes, will be released in the next month.

The report’s 24 recommendations deal with implementing systems and cultural expectations to root out implicit and explicit racism in B.C.’s health-care system, including the creation of a B.C. Indigenous officer of health and an associate deputy minister of Indigenous health at the provincial government.

Dix on Monday offered an “unequivocal” apology for the findings of racism in the report, and vowed to implement recommendations immediately, including by introducing new Indigenous health liaisons in each of the province’s health authorities.

Indigenous leaders were quick to express their support for the recommendations, saying they were especially urgent in view of the pandemic.

“There is no time to wait; the current COVID-19 pandemic necessitates constant engagement by First Nations with the health-care system, and we categorically demand a safe health-care system for our people at this time and going forward,” reads a portion of a statement by the First Nations Leadership Council.

The in hospital earlier this year also served to highlight the barriers Indigenous people face to getting care.

Joyce Echaquan, an Atikamekw mother of seven, died soon after she filmed herself from her hospital bed in late September while she was in clear distress and pleading for help. Toward the end of the video, which was streamed live, two female hospital staff enter her room and are heard making degrading comments, including calling her stupid and saying she’d be better off dead.

The video has sparked widespread indignation, several inquiries and a lawsuit from Echaquan’s family against the hospital in Joliette where she died.

With files from Bayleigh Marelj and The Canadian Press

Alex McKeen is a Vancouver-based reporter for the Star. Follow her on Twitter:

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How do tech giants like Google and Facebook get and use your personal data?

Jul 23, 2021 , , , , by shlf

It’s no secret that Facebook and Google have been dominating the digital ad sphere for quite some time.

Their success, in large part, comes from the tech giants’ ability to monetize their users, collecting information about their likes and dislikes, and targeting them with ads.

But how is this done, and to what extent? How can Canadians control the amount of personal information that is out there for public use?

Privacy experts Michael Geist, a professor from University of Ottawa who specializes in technology law, and Andrew Clement, professor emeritus and faculty of information co-ordinator at University of Toronto, weigh in on the platforms and how they collect and use personal data.

HOW DO FACEBOOK AND GOOGLE OBTAIN PERSONAL DATA?

The first thing, Geist noted, is that these platforms both operate on different models.

In the case of Facebook, he said, much of the information is supplied to the company directly by users who typically consent to this as part of a user agreement.

“As you engage in certain activities on the platform, Facebook is able to see that and both rely on the information you directly provided and develop inferences based on what kind of activity you engage in,” he said. “So once you’ve consented to that kind of information or provided it directly, Facebook has access to it.”

As well, Clement said, third parties providing apps and services through Facebook are able to access users’ personal information, as was demonstrated in the 2016 Cambridge Analytica scandal, through which the data agency used Facebook to try to shape political opinions ahead of the U.S. election.

When it comes to Google, data collection works a little bit differently, Clement said.

Unlike Facebook, Google doesn’t have certain abilities such as seeing what you “like” or who your friends are, however, users who are logged into Google through a Gmail account, will give the platform more specific information about themselves.

“There’s nobody necessarily reading your emails, but (Google) is using their analytic techniques to put you into categories, which then become the basis as to how they sell your attention to advertisers,” he said.

Clement added that another notable source of information for Google is via Google Maps.

“If you have that app … they’re getting a constant stream of information about where you are,” he said.

WHAT IS THE DATA COLLECTION PRIMARILY USED FOR?

The primary motive of data collection by Facebook and Google is to target users with relevant ads, Geist said.

He added that there is often misinformation that circulates about tech giants selling users’ information to third parties who then create lists and target those users themselves.

“Facebook is not interested in selling that information; they’re interested in using that information as an edge to generate more accurate ads,” he said. “The information they have about their users, much of it supplied by the users themselves — that’s their secret sauce. That’s how they are able to provide a more compelling ad product.”

HOW IS THIS PROBLEMATIC?

“I think it hits home that your activities are being captured,” Geist said. “Now, there are billions of users, so they’re not interested in you per se, but they want to know about you to provide that information and certainly there’s, I think, a creep factor associated with it.”

Clement argued that the problem stems far beyond the creep factor.

“They monetize your personal information by using that to predict and shape your behaviour and that is extremely dangerous,” he said.

WHAT CAN YOU DO ABOUT IT?

First and foremost, users shouldn’t be sharing information that they’re not comfortable with being used, Geist said. “If you share it, it is likely to be used. It may not affect you directly but you should know that that’s the reality,” he said.

Clement agreed.

“Think about what you post and look for alternatives and don’t assume that it’s all benign if you just leave it with these companies,” he advised.

Big tech users should also be aware of their privacy options while using these platforms on a regular basis.

“For users that haven’t taken the time to take a look at the privacy tools that are offered by these companies to allow them to shape some of those choices, they ought to do so, because in the broad world of data that could be collected, it’s a pretty wide range of stuff,” Geist added.

Something as simple as logging out of Gmail is a good way to prevent Google from identifying a specific user on the search engine, for example.

HOW CAN THESE MODELS BE CHANGED IN THE FUTURE?

Clement said one possibility would be to scale back tech giants to allow users to continue to enjoy the benefits of social media through some other form of payment that wouldn’t allow for the monetization of personal information.

And while these tech companies are large players when it comes to personal data collection, citizens should note that they are not the only ones. Companies and governments, too, have information about you.

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‘It does not fit’: Barrie council defers decision on ‘excessively tall’ SmartCentres four-tower waterfront proposal

Jul 22, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Barrie council is taking a bit more time to decide whether to allow the largest development in the city’s history to proceed.

On Dec. 7, councillors deferred back to staff SmartCentres’ request for zoning bylaw and official-plan amendments for a large mixed-use project on the 3.5-hectare lot at 51-75 Bradford and 20 Checkley streets. Council wants staff to see whether the developer is willing to lower the height of the project.

The matter will likely be dealt with again by councillors early in the new year.

“This is a really important piece of property,” Coun. Clare Riepma said. “We are going to live with whatever our decision is for another century. It’s important we get it right.”

SmartCentres has pitched four buildings ranging from 25 to 46 storeys.

Riepma said he hopes the final design can more closely mirror a nearby development on Toronto Street, in terms of property line setbacks and staggered height. He also pushed for an ‘arbitrary’ 35-storey tower cap; though other councillors suggested that could lead to wider buildings.

“We’ve been working diligently with staff and the conservation authority to process the application; there’s been a lot of changes since the first submission,” SmartCentres representative Paula Bustard said. “We’re very pleased with the application before us now; the technical studies justify the height and density.”

About 1,700 residential units, 3,500 square metres of ground-floor commercial space and 145 hotel rooms would be built. Public corridors would link to natural features, such as the Bunker’s Creek eco-park and the Kempenfelt Bay shoreline.

This site is between Bradford and Lakeshore Drive.

Several people made deputations during the council meeting, mostly concerning building height.

“The (planning) process seems to be merely lip service,” resident Rod Burns said. “Residents (in) the area are not against high rises. However, in this case, the height and density is excessive. It does not fit within the context of the neighbourhood.”

This property was once owned by Fortress Real Developments. Fortress bought the Harmony Village land in November 2016. Initial plans had included six residential towers, townhouses and ground-floor retail.

However, Fortress ran into legal issues in recent years, mostly related to its syndicated mortgage investors.

“The majority of residents understand the need for growth,” resident Cathy Colebatch said. “These amendments clear the way for excessively tall buildings that would detract from out cohesive waterfront. This is the largest development in our history. This proposal has its merits, but Barrie’s waterfront is unique. We need to develop responsibly with the vision to protect our waterfront.”

Some councillors expressed disappointment at the delay, noting staff support the proposal.

“We need to let our staff do their job,” Coun. Sergio Morales said. “This is going to do nothing. It has no leverage. All the concerns I had about giving false hope … are just déjà vu. Our staff very politely said, ‘make a decision on this one’. Are we really going to ask (SmartCentres) nicely to go to 35 (storeys)? ‘Do you mind cutting off a couple million dollars’ profit, please?’”

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Man impersonating a police officer attempted to pull over a woman in Tay Township: OPP

Jul 16, 2021 , , , , by shlf

A man allegedly impersonated a police officer and attempted to pull over a woman in Tay Township on Sunday. 

The incident happened on Hwy. 12 near Park Street in Tay Township at 2:08 p.m., states Southern Georgian Bay OPP. 

The woman said a man driving a black cargo van had been following her for 15 minutes. According to police, when she was westbound on Hwy. 12 from Hwy. 400, the man activated a flashing red and blue light bar and attempted to force her to stop by aggressively driving up close; nearly colliding with her.

The woman called OPP and the suspect vehicle turned southbound on Newton Rd. in Tay Township, police said. 

The suspect’s vehicle is an older model black van with side sliding doors and no rear windows. The front of the van has a licence plate holder, but no licence plate. The front windshield is cracked from the driver’s side to the middle of the windshield. There is a red and blue light bar in the lower front windshield.

The suspect is described as being male with a mostly covered face.

If someone Is attempting to pull you over and you are suspicious of whether it’s a real police officer, call 911 — when it is safe to make a call — to verify, OPP said. 

Anyone with further information about this incident is asked to contact the OPP at , or  or by calling Crime Stoppers at .

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‘Extraordinary demand’: Barrie’s RVH drive-thru COVID-19 testing clinic only takes pre-booked appointments now

Jul 15, 2021 , , , , by shlf

The early bird may get the COVID-19 swab at Barrie’s Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) drive-thru testing clinic.

RVH has stopped unscheduled testing at the new site — moving instead to a same- and future-day booking system.

Clinic hours remain 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days per week, with the same-day online appointment portal opening at 6 a.m. daily. RVH says it keeps about 400 same-day slots open each morning — 300 online and 100 by phone reservation.

The portal will close when all available time slots for that day are full.

Ontario’s new guidelines aim to improve turnaround times and prioritize testing for those at greatest risk, RVH spokesperson Liz Ferguson said.

“RVH was already providing pre-booked appointments through online and phone booking,” she said. “To ensure we can continue to meet the extraordinary demand for testing, we have created a same-day appointment booking option. Moving to an appointment-based system only will help people avoid long waits during this time of year when the weather is so unpredictable. Pre-booking appointments is a convenient way for people to ensure they are tested and receive their results in a timely fashion.”

Simcoe.com visited the online booking site Monday afternoon, and it shows there are no future appointments available until Wednesday after 5 p.m.

In November, the Sperling Drive clinic will become a full COVID-19 assessment centre. People with symptoms that require investigation beyond a COVID-19 test can be seen inside Sperling by a team of clinicians.

People should only seek testing at an assessment centre if they have symptoms, were notified of exposure to a confirmed case by the health unit or COVID Alert app, live or work in an outbreak setting, travelled or are in a high-risk demographic.

The Sperling building was used as the city’s police headquarters until earlier this year, when the department moved into the new Barrie-Simcoe Emergency Services Campus on . 

Sperling clinic appointments can be booked at , or by calling  between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.

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Wasaga Beach will back YMCA for six months to keep it in the black

Jul 14, 2021 , , , , by shlf

The town will be contributing to the financial fitness of Wasaga’s YMCA.

Council’s co-ordinated committee has recommended the municipality support the Y through its first six months of being open following its lengthy closure as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, to the tune of nearly $50,000.

According to a report from director of recreation, events and facilities Chris Roos, the amount was settled upon following discussions with the Y, and an analysis of the facility’s financial statements by the town’s treasurer.

“We have an accurate model that works within the ceiling of the recommendation ($49,147),” Roos told the committee.

Y officials had initially requested the town provide financial support for its operational budget for the next two years — up to $900,000 — or until the facility reached a break-even point.

Roos said the expectation is the Y should see a return of 50 per cent of its membership by June, which would put the facility in the black.

However, he added, there is no certainty how many Y members — there were 3,300 members of the Wasaga facility prior to the pandemic — might come back.

“It is a much-condensed program offering, and the hours are reduced … but it models against the number of participants they have, so they are in a break-even situation by the end of the six month(s),” Roos said.

The Wasaga Y is expected to open on Jan. 4.

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Today’s coronavirus news: Alberta orders businesses to close, imposes mask order; Ontario reports 1,676 cases, 10 deaths; COVID-19 deaths in U.S. soar to more than 2,200 a day on average

Jul 2, 2021 , , , , by shlf

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

12:30 a.m.: Deaths from COVID-19 in the U.S. have soared to more than 2,200 a day on average, matching the frightening peak reached last April, and cases per day have eclipsed 200,000 on average for the first time on record, with the crisis all but certain to get worse because of the fallout from Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s.

Virtually every state is reporting surges just as a vaccine appears days away from getting the go-ahead in the U.S.

The virus is blamed for more than 285,000 deaths and 15 million confirmed infections in the United States.

Many Americans disregarded warnings not to travel over Thanksgiving and have ignored other safety precautions, whether out of stubbornness, ignorance or complacency. On Saturday night, police in Southern California arrested nearly 160 people, many of them not wearing masks, at a house party in Palmdale that was held without the homeowner’s knowledge.

9:50 p.m.: Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute will be closed to students and staff as of Wednesday, as advised by Toronto Public Health, Toronto District School Board said in a tweet on Tuesday.

This is the third TDSB school to declare a COVID-19 outbreak and shut down.

According to the, 14 new student cases were confirmed at Marc Garneau CI, as of Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. No staff cases have been reported.

9:35 p.m.: Florida’s Department of Health on Tuesday confirmed 7,985 additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the state’s known total to 1,073,770. Also, 96 new resident deaths were announced, bringing the statewide resident toll to 19,378.

Two new non-resident deaths were also announced, bringing the non-resident toll to 249.

Florida’s total case count is the third highest in the country, after California and Texas, according to The New York Times database of U.S. cases.

9:04 p.m.: The federal government says the largest mass immunization effort in Canadian history could begin as early as next week.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Ottawa expects to receive up to 249,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and German partner BioNTech. Its approval is said to be imminent.

The second vaccine in line for approval in Canada is from Moderna. The Canadian military will have a role to play in vaccine distribution.

Various provinces have started spelling out their plans as well.

8:53 p.m.: British Columbia has, which the provincial health officer and health minister say is the “start of encouraging trends” in the progression of the virus.

However, Dr. Bonnie Henry and Adrian Dix say the number of new cases and hospitalizations due to serious illness are still high, requiring health orders and restrictions to stay in place.

They say 352 people with the illness are being treated in hospital, with 74 of them in intensive care.

Sixteen more people have died, for a total of 543 fatalities in the province.

Premier John Horgan that about 4,000 high-risk people in B.C. will be immunized by the end of next week.

Henry is set to provide details of B.C.’s vaccine rollout plan on Wednesday.

8:45 p.m.: Canada’s top public health officials said Tuesday that the most vulnerable long-term-care residents, those who are not mobile, might not be first to get inoculated despite topping the priority list. Only those who can get to the initial 14 centralized distribution sites at hospitals identified by provinces will get early doses.

Most Canadians still face waiting up to six months — according to a timeline the prime minister offered last week — before a vaccine will be widely available, and that’s “optimistic” according to public health officials.

And provinces have still uncertain vaccine rollout plans, with details quickly evolving.

Read the full story by reporter Tonda MacCharles here:

8:26 p.m.: The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un lambasted South Korea’s foreign minister for questioning the North’s claim to be coronavirus free, warning Wednesday of potential consequences for the comments.

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said over the weekend that it’s hard to believe North Korea’s claim that there has been no virus outbreak on its soil. She added that the North has been unresponsive to South Korea’s offer for co-operation to jointly tackle the pandemic.

The North Korean leader’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, responded in a statement carried by state media.

“It can be seen from the reckless remarks made by her without any consideration of the consequences that she is too eager to further chill the frozen relations between North and South Korea,” she said.

7:23 p.m.: India’s Health Ministry has announced that some COVID-19 vaccines are likely to receive licenses in the next few weeks and outlined an initial plan to immunize 300 million people.

Health officials said Tuesday that three vaccine companies have applied for early approval for emergency use in India: Serum Institute of India, which has been licensed to manufacture the AstraZeneca vaccine, Pfizer Inc., and Indian manufacturer Bharat Biotech.

“Some of them may get licensed in the next few weeks,” federal Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said.

India says its initial immunization plan revolves around three priority groups: 10 million health care workers, 20 million front-line workers such as the police and military, and 270 million other people either above age 50 or who have diseases that make them more vulnerable to COVID-19’s effects.

7:08 p.m.: For weeks, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has preached personal responsibility as COVID-19 cases in his province have climbed.

On Tuesday, it was a question about whether he would take responsibility — for Alberta’s pandemic situation — that drew his ire.

“That sounds a lot more like an NDP speech than a media question,” Kenney said, speaking to Sammy Hudes, a reporter from the Calgary Herald. “I reject the entire premise of your question.”

The question, about whether Kenney would take ownership of an approach that seems not to have worked from a health perspective, came at the tail end of an announcement by the premier of new public health measures in a province that has long-resisted them. It prompted an irritated-looking Kenney to recount his early calls to close the borders, and provide the free masks through .

His approach has been “balanced,” Kenney said, at a time when “folks … are doing drive-by smears on Alberta.”

6:35 p.m.: Reporters and join “This Matters” to discuss what the cases reveal about COVID spread in Toronto, why lockdowns are a “blunt instrument” of containment and why some health experts argue paid sick leave is key to solving the problem.

Listen to this episode and more at “” or subscribe at , , or wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts.

See more here:

6:30 p.m.: A senior official with the Saskatchewan Health Authority says the province’s health-care system won’t be able to cope if the recent growth in COVID-19 cases continues.

Dr. Julie Kryzanowski’s presentation to more than 100 physicians at a virtual town hall last week has been posted online.

She told the town hall that in the last week officials had recorded exponential growth in infections, outbreaks, hospitalizations and deaths.

“We do know that with this rate of growth it’s not sustainable for our health system and continues to stress our capacity,” doctors heard, hours after the health authority announced it was diverting up to 60 staff to respond to the surge.

5:39 p.m.: North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper unveiled a modified stay-at-home order on Tuesday that requires the state’s roughly 10.5 million residents to remain off the streets between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.

The executive order set to take effect on Friday orders bars, restaurants, entertainment venues and personal care businesses closed by 10 p.m., though grocery chains and some retailers that sell groceries will be allowed to operate within the seven-hour window.

On-site alcohol sales at bars must end by 9 p.m.

Travel to and from work between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. is still permitted, as is travel to get food, gas, medical care or social services.

Cooper hinted at further restrictions if spread does not slow.

The order will remain in effect until Jan. 8.

5:21 p.m.: Canada’s chief public health officer says are likely to be given only to people who can physically be at one of the 14 delivery sites identified by provincial governments for the first arrivals of the vaccine.

Dr. Theresa Tam said at a briefing Tuesday that it is a “rapidly evolving situation” but acknowledged this will make it difficult to get long-term care residents vaccinated first.

“It’s true you cannot move residents very easily from a long-term care centre to a vaccine site,” she said. “That’s just the reality.”

It is not clear how this jibes with some provincial plans, including in Quebec, where the health minister said Monday the government intends to ship its first vaccine doses to two long-term care homes.

The Pfizer vaccine, being produced in partnership with Germany’s BioNTech, is in the final stages of review by Health Canada, which is expected to issue a decision this week. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday if the approval comes as expected, Canada will receive the first doses next week, and up to 249,000 doses by the end of the month.

5:20 p.m.: Ontario will give people who complete their proof of vaccination in case they need it to travel, to work or to go to the movies, Health Minister Christine Elliott says.

With the first vaccine shipment expected this month, Elliott promised a new public communications campaign to educate people on all aspects of the vaccinations, including why it’s important to get them and potential side effects.

There will also be a system to keep track of who gets the first primer shot to make sure they return for the booster a few weeks later.

While the vaccine will be voluntary, Elliott said Ontarians should be aware it may become a requirement for travel on airplanes, employment and other activities where there is close contact with others, given the highly contagious nature of the virus.

Read the full story by Toronto Star reporter Rob Ferguson here:

5:10 p.m.: There is extremely high public awareness of the upcoming COVID-19 vaccines, but governments must do more to explain the medications, a new poll suggests.

The found 92 per cent of Ontarians knew about at least one of the vaccines.

Four-fifths — 82 per cent — had heard of both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines while eight per cent had just heard about Pfizer’s and two per cent about Moderna’s with just seven per cent not knowing about either.

“Awareness is high. Almost everybody is tuned in to the fact the vaccines are coming,” Campaign Research principal Nick Kouvalis said Tuesday.

Campaign Research polled 1,001 people across Ontario from last Tuesday through Thursday using Maru/Blue’s online panel.

It is an opt-in poll, but for comparison purposes, a random sample of this size would have a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Read the full story here by the Toronto Star’s Queen’s Park Bureau Chief Robert Benzie:

5:05 p.m.: As Quebec deals with rising COVID-19 cases and increased pressure on its health-care system, Premier François Legault said Tuesday his government isn’t ruling out implementing further restrictions.

Legault told reporters the province is continuing to discuss the situation daily with public health officials, but no firm decisions have been made on stronger lockdown measures.

“We follow the situation every day,” Legault said. “We don’t exclude any additional measures, but I don’t want to speculate on what those measures could be.”

The province reported 1,564 new COVID-19 cases and 36 additional deaths linked to the novel coronavirus Tuesday. A dozen of those deaths occurred in the past 24 hours while 22 occurred in the first six days of December, according to the province’s Health Department.

Hospitalizations increased by 17 to reach 835, with nine more patients in intensive care for a total of 114. There are currently 14,853 active COVID-19 cases in the province.

4:56 p.m.: The Saskatchewan government has delayed the release of its vaccination distribution program because of a power outage.

Premier Scott Moe and health officials were set to detail how and when residents could start getting inoculated against COVID-19.

Moe has said his province is ready to receive Pfizer’s vaccine, pending approval from Health Canada.

He has said among the first to be vaccinated would be health workers and residents living in long-term care.

4:50 p.m.: Nova Scotia unveiled a broad outline of its COVID-19 vaccine plan Tuesday, as the number of new cases from an ongoing outbreak remained in the single digits.

Dr. Robert Strang, chief medical officer of health, said Nova Scotia would receive 1,950 doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for an initial test run beginning next Tuesday.

“We will be using these first almost 2,000 doses to immunize front-line acute care health-care workers in the central zone (Halifax) who are most directly involved in the COVID response,” Strang told reporters at a briefing in Halifax.

He said that included people who work with patients in intensive care units and emergency rooms, hospital COVID units and long-term care regional care units.

2:23 p.m.: Manitoba health officials are reporting 245 new COVID-19 cases and 13 additional deaths.

The five-day test positivity rate remains high at 13 per cent.

Chief public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin says restrictions on public gatherings and many business activities must continue.

2:10 p.m.: The Manitoba government is loosening some of its COVID-19 restrictions on public gatherings and businesses.

Starting Saturday, drive-in services at churches and other venues will be allowed, as long as people attend only with members of their household and remain in their vehicles.

A Winnipeg church filed a Charter of Rights and Freedoms challenge against the ban on drive-in services last week, and lost a bid for a temporary lifting of the rule until the case could be heard.

The province is adding thrift stores and acupuncture services to the list of essential businesses that can operate.

It has also added school supplies and seasonal holiday decorations to essential goods that can be sold in-store instead of through curbside pickup or online.

2:03 p.m.: Nova Scotia is reporting seven new cases of COVID-19 today, and now has 78 active cases.

Health officials say two cases are in the western health zone and are close contacts of previously reported cases, while one is in the northern zone and is related to travel outside of Atlantic Canada.

Four cases are in the central zone, which includes Halifax — two are close contacts of previously reported cases, one is connected to Shannon Park Elementary School in Dartmouth and one is under investigation.

No one is currently in hospital.

1:52 p.m.: Public health officials in New Brunswick are reporting five new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday.

Four of the cases are close contacts of previously confirmed cases and are self-isolating.

They involve a person in their 30s in the Saint John zone, two people under 19 in the Fredericton area and a person in their 40s in the Fredericton area.

The fifth case is a person in their 70s in the Fredericton zone related to international travel and is self-isolating.

1:50 a.m. The NFL says there were 18 new confirmed positive COVID-19 tests among players and 27 among other personnel in the latest round of testing, which concluded Saturday.

The weeklong program included 16,475 tests administered to 2,427 players and 25,194 given to 4,585 team personnel.

Since testing began in August, 173 players and 297 other personnel have been confirmed positive cases out of more than 757,000 tests given.

1:45 p.m.: Premier Jason Kenney is to speak to Alberta’s COVID-19 situation later Tuesday following his chief medical officer of health saying that recent restrictions to contain the skyrocketing spread of the novel coronavirus are failing.

The mayors of the two largest cities have already warned that they will use whatever emergency powers they have to bring in their own added measures if the province fails to act.

Kenney introduced somewhat tighter public-health orders two weeks ago to try to rein in the number of COVID-19 cases, but kept stores, waterparks, bars, casinos and restaurants open.

He did ban extended gatherings in private homes.

On Monday, Dr. Deena Hinshaw said the measures have stopped the numbers from getting worse, but have failed to bend the curve downward, so tougher restrictions are needed.

Alberta has more than 20,000 active cases with 609 people in hospital — 108 of them receiving intensive care — and daily death counts in the double digits for much of the last week.

1:40 p.m.: The Manitoba government is loosening some of its COVID-19 restrictions on public gatherings and businesses.

Starting Saturday, drive-in services at churches and other venues will be allowed, as long as people attend only with members of their household and remain in their vehicles.

A Winnipeg church filed a Charter of Rights and Freedoms challenge against the ban on drive-in services last week, and lost a bid for a temporary lifting of the rule until the case could be heard.

The province is also adding thrift stores and acupuncture services to the list of essential businesses that can operate.

It has also added school supplies and seasonal holiday decorations to essential goods that can be sold in-store instead of through curbside pickup or online.

Other rules, including a five-person limit on public gatherings and restrictions on visitors in private homes, remain in place.

Chief public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin says Manitoba’s ongoing high number of daily COVID-19 cases and their effect on the health- care system require that restrictions continue.

The new rules are to last until early January — Roussin says an exact date has not yet been set.

1:33 p.m.: Yukon is reporting a new case of COVID-19 and it’s the only active case outside Whitehorse.

Chief public health officer Dr. Brendan Hanley says the infection is related to a Whitehorse case and there is no risk to the public.

Hanley also extended the territory’s state of emergency for another 90 days, allowing ministerial orders to continue that support the health, safety and economic well-being of Yukoners.

The latest order issued says all Yukon residents visiting bars and restaurants in the territory must sign in with their name and contact information to help with contact tracing.

Premier Sandy Silver also says officials are working on vaccine storage and distribution.

Silver says he is scheduled to speak with the prime minister later this week for more details on Yukon’s vaccination plan.

There are 10 active cases of COVID-19 in Yukon.

1:30 p.m.:

The Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox and Addington Public Health unit says there are nine cases directly linked to Third Day Worship Centre.

Dr. Kieran Moore, the health unit’s medical officer, says there are 15 additional cases involving close contacts of the initial cases.

The health unit says it continues to investigate the outbreak and is taking steps to prevent further transmission.

It says it has contacted members of the church deemed high risk, and those exposed are isolating at home.

The church says in a statement that it has moved to online services until further notice.

1:17 p.m.: There is one new case of COVID-19 in Newfoundland and Labrador and officials say the infection is related to travel.

The patient is a man in his 50s who returned to the province from work in the Northwest Territories.

Meanwhile, health officials are still trying to chase down the source of an infection announced over the weekend.

The case affects a person in the central region of the province, where the town of Harbour Breton has been on partial lockdown since Sunday.

1:15 p.m. Health officials on Prince Edward Island say they are ready to administer the COVID-19 vaccine when the first shipment of the vaccine arrives next week.

Chief medical officer of health Dr. Heather Morrison says — pending approval by Health Canada — the province will begin to administer the Pfizer vaccine to priority groups, including residents and staff of long-term care homes, health-care workers and adults in Indigenous communities.

Morrison says she expects to receive 1,950 doses in the first shipment, and the clinic will have to be held at the storage location because the Pfizer vaccine must be kept frozen.

She says they’ll be able to start administering the doses the day after the vaccine arrives.

Morrison says shipments of the Moderna vaccine — which is easier to transport across the province — should arrive in a few weeks.

There were no new cases of COVID-19 in Prince Edward Island reported Tuesday, and there are currently 13 active cases in the province.

12:53 p.m. The Canadian junior hockey team says it will resume its selection camp on Tuesday after completing a 14-day quarantine.

The camp was suspended on Nov. 26 after two players and one non-core staff member tested positive for COVID-19.

The world junior hockey championship is scheduled to start on Dec. 25.

The nine other international teams are scheduled to arrive by charter flight Dec. 13. Exhibition games are planned for Dec. 20-23.

Hockey Canada’s vice-president of events, Dean McIntosh, insists stringent protocols and testing required for international players to enter Edmonton’s “bubble” will make the world junior championship safe to proceed.

12:45 p.m.: The first doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine will only be where the doses are initially being delivered.

Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, says the plan is to move the doses as little as possible.

She acknowledged that will make it more difficult to vaccinate residents of long-term care homes, who cannot easily be moved to other sites.

Pfizer’s vaccine against the virus that causes COVID-19 has to be stored at extraordinarily cold temperatures with specialized boxes and equipment.

12:35 p.m.: Canada’s chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says the average number of COVID-19 deaths in Canada each day in the last week topped 92 people, up from a seven-day average of 87 deaths a day on Monday.

There are also now nearly 2,700 people in hospital being treated for COVID-19, and one in five of them are in intensive care.

12:24 p.m. Premier Doug Ford is disputing an independent watchdog’s report that found Ontario is sitting on $12 billion in cash — money that opposition parties say should be used to fight the pandemic.

The province’s Financial Accountability Office said the government had $12 billion that was not allocated at the end of the second quarter Sept. 30, but Ford countered that all but $2.6 billion has now been earmarked.

It is available in the event of unexpected expenses, particularly as the COVID-19 vaccine is about to be distributed and administered to millions of Ontarians in the coming weeks and months, the premier said.

“We actually have some money in contingency … because as we went through this pandemic we’ve seen things pop up,” he told the legislature’s daily question period.

12:22 p.m. As Quebec deals with rising COVID-19 cases and increased pressure on its health-care system, Premier François Legault said Tuesday his government isn’t ruling out implementing further restrictions.

Legault told reporters the province is continuing to discuss the situation daily with public health officials, but no firm decisions have been made on stronger lockdown measures.

“We follow the situation every day,” Legault said. “We don’t exclude any additional measures, but I don’t want to speculate on what those measures could be.”

The province reported 1,564 new COVID-19 cases and 36 additional deaths linked to the novel coronavirus Tuesday. A dozen of those deaths occurred in the past 24 hours while 22 occurred in the first six days of December, according to the province’s Health Department.

12 p.m.: The new COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna seem to be remarkably good at preventing serious illness. But it’s unclear how well they will curb the spread of the coronavirus.

That’s because the Pfizer and Moderna trials tracked only how many vaccinated people became sick with COVID-19. That leaves open the possibility that some vaccinated people get infected without developing symptoms and could then silently transmit the virus — especially if they come in close contact with others or stop wearing masks.

If vaccinated people are silent spreaders of the virus, they may keep it circulating in their communities, putting unvaccinated people at risk.

11:50 a.m.: U.S. health regulators say in their initial review that the vaccine from Pfizer is 95 per cent protective against COVID-19.

The review posted online Tuesday by the Food and Drug Administration offers the world the first detailed look at the evidence behind the shot, which was co-developed with BioNTech.

The FDA review comes before a Thursday meeting where a panel of independent experts will scrutinize the data and vote on whether to recommend use of the vaccine. The vote isn’t binding but the FDA usually follows the group’s guidance. A U.S. decision to allow use of the vaccine is expected within days.

If given the green light, the first recipients would be health care workers and nursing home residents, according to plans laid out by each state.

11:50 a.m.: India’s Health Ministry announced Tuesday that some COVID-19 vaccines in the next few weeks and outlined an initial plan to immunize 300 million people.

Health officials said three vaccine companies have applied for early approval for emergency use in India: Serum Institute of India, which has been licensed to manufacture the AstraZeneca vaccine, Pfizer Inc., and Indian manufacturer Bharat Biotech.

“Some of them may get licensed in the next few weeks,” federal health secretary Rajesh Bhushan said.

India says its initial immunization plan revolves around three priority groups: 10 million health care workers, 20 million front-line workers such as the police and military, and 270 million other people either above age 50 or who have diseases that make them more vulnerable to COVID-19’s effects.

The Health Ministry has previously set a target of August 2021 for immunizing these people.

India’s population is nearly 1.4 billion.

11:40 a.m.: Nova Scotia will receive 1,950 doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for an initial test run next week.

In an emailed statement, Health Department spokeswoman Marla MacInnis says the province will also be participating in a dry run this week with the federal government, Dalhousie University and the vaccine manufacturer.

The exercise is to test shipping, delivery, tracking and storage but will not include actual vaccine.

MacInnis says the idea is to prepare the province in advance of getting its initial allotment next week.

She says much of the planning for the vaccine remains in the early stages of development, and the department is encouraging Nova Scotians to continue to adhere to public health protocols.

Last week, chief medical officer of health Dr. Robert Strang said that so far, Nova Scotia has one ultralow-temperature freezer to store the vaccine at the tertiary care teaching hospital complex in Halifax.

Strang said the freezer has been validated and cleared and is ready to accept the initial shipment of vaccine from the federal government.

He said the province was also getting another through Ottawa that will operate out of a central depot for vaccines at the public health office in Halifax.

Premier Stephen McNeil also said that the province had identified other freezers in the private sector and was in the process of procuring them.

11:25 a.m.: As Quebec deals with rising COVID-19 cases and increased pressure on its health-care system, Premier François Legault says his government isn’t ruling out implementing further restrictions.

Legault told reporters today the province is continuing to discuss the situation daily with public health officials, but no firm decisions have been made on stronger lockdown measures.

The province introduced limits for the number of shoppers allowed in stores and malls last week.

Legault is urging companies to allow for work from home, noting that when the government announced its now cancelled holiday gathering plan, many companies agreed to allow for remote work between Dec. 17 and Jan 4.

Also, elementary and high schools will switch to distance learning next week as previously announced.

Nearly 65 per cent of active outbreaks in the province are in schools or the workplace, with elder care homes also a problem area.

11:16 a.m.: A vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca Plc provided protection against severe COVID-19 in a peer-reviewed study, though more analysis will be needed to see how well it works in older people, among those at highest risk in the pandemic.

The 10 cases of hospitalization seen in the trial all occurred among those given a placebo, suggesting the shot prevents the worst symptoms, according to the results published Tuesday in The Lancet medical journal. Yet the vaccine’s efficacy couldn’t be assessed in older age groups because there weren’t enough infections, the data show.

Because older adults were recruited to the studies later than younger ones, “they’ve had less time for cases to accrue in those age groups and for us to be able to measure an efficacy signal,” said Andrew Pollard, director of the Oxford Vaccine Group. “The evidence we have so far on the immune response very much suggests that it’s likely to be similar levels of protection across the ages.”

The report sheds more light on the strengths and shortcomings of the inoculation following weeks of confusion surrounding the late-stage trial, but still leaves unanswered questions about its potential role fighting a contagion that has killed more than 1.5 million people. Still, even if the vaccine can’t match the efficacy delivered by front-runners Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc., it is expected to be cheaper and easier to deploy far and wide.

11:12 a.m.: Business, Paul Greco admits, has been booming.

In the month or so since Pfizer announced the world’s first successful , sales of the ultra-low-temperature freezers needed to store it have taken off.

“We basically sold as many in the two weeks after Pfizer’s announcement as we would all year. We’re sold out and waiting for our next shipment,” said Greco, president of Schomberg-based 360 Medical, the Canadian distributor of Haier Biomedical, a Chinese manufacturer of medical devices.

11:10 a.m.: Quebec is reporting 1,564 new COVID-19 cases and 36 additional deaths linked to the novel coronavirus.

The provincial health department says 12 of those deaths occurred in the past 24 hours while 22 occurred in the first six days of December.

Hospitalizations increased by 17 to reach 835, with nine more patients in intensive care for a total of 114.

Given the rising indicators, Premier François Legault told reporters today the province hasn’t ruled out stricter lockdown measures and urged Quebecers to follow public health rules.

11:07 a.m.: In Ontario’s long-term care homes, 673 residents currently have COVID-19 and five new deaths have been reported today.

The province says 116 of its 626 long-term care homes are experiencing an outbreak.

11:05 a.m.: A long-term-care home in Etobicoke is working to contain a COVID-19 outbreak that caused 117 residents and 58 staff members to test positive for the virus, .

Twelve residents of Westside Long Term Care Home at 1145 Albion Rd. in the Thistletown neighbourhood have died of the virus since Toronto Public Health declared a virus outbreak at the Revera Inc.-operated home on Nov. 12.

“We offer our most sincere condolences to the families and friends of the people we have lost to the pandemic,” Dr. Rhonda Collins, Revera’s chief medical officer, said in a Dec. 4 statement.

As of Friday, 81 residents and 50 staff members have active cases of COVID-19 at the 242-bed home, Revera reported.

“The residents are in isolation in their rooms. The staff members are in self-isolation at home,” Dr. Collins said in a statement.

10:40 a.m.: Ontario is reporting an additional 333 cases in public schools across the province, bringing the total in the last two weeks to 1,581 and 5,736 overall since school began.

, the province reported 278 more students were infected for a total of 1,306 in the last two weeks; since school began there have been an overall total of 3,813.

The data shows there are 55 more staff members infected for a total of 274 the last two weeks — and an overall total of 835.

There are 853 schools with a reported case, which the province notes is 17.67 per cent of the 4,828 public schools in Ontario.

Eleven schools are closed because of an outbreak, one more than the previous day, and the highest number to date. The data doesn’t indicate where they are.

There is a lag between the daily provincial data at 10:30 a.m. and news reports about infections in schools. The provincial data on Tuesday is current as of 2 p.m. Monday. It doesn’t indicate where the place of transmission occurred.

The Toronto District School Board updates its information on current COVID-19 cases throughout . As of 5 p.m. on Monday, there were 421 students infected, 85 staff and 562 resolved cases.

The Toronto Catholic District School Board also updates its information . As of 8:10 a.m. Tuesday, there were 80 schools with at least one active case. There are 115 active student cases and 18 staff.

Epidemiologists that the rising numbers in the schools aren’t a surprise, and that the cases will be proportionate to the amount of COVID that is in the community.

10:24 a.m. Ontario’s fiscal watchdog says the province had $12 billion in unspent reserve funds by the end of September.

The Financial Accountability Officer says in a report today that the money was earmarked for three contingency funds, including two related to pandemic spending.

The FAO says the $12 billion is $2.7 billion more than his office said the government had unspent in reserves by Aug 26.

The Ontario budget says that if the money remains unspent in the reserves by the end of the fiscal year it will be used to reduce the deficit and provincial debt.

The government has been criticized by opposition politicians for sitting on billions in reserve funds, which they say it has been slow to spend during the pandemic.

Premier Doug Ford’s office says the provincial budget delivered last month shows that 80 per cent of the reserve funds have been allocated.

10:13 a.m. (updated): Ontario is reporting 1,676 new cases of COVID-19 today, and 10 new deaths due to the virus.

Health Minister Christine Elliott says 588 new cases are in Toronto, 349 in Peel Region, and 141 cases are in York Region.

The province says it has conducted 39,198 tests since the last daily report.

In total, 794 people are hospitalized in Ontario due to COVID-19, including 219 in intensive care.

The province is also reporting that 132 people are on ventilators in hospital.

The latest figures bring the total of COVID-19 cases in Ontario to 130,910, with 3,808 deaths, and 110,951 cases resolved.

10 a.m. The Dutch public health institute on Tuesday reported a “worrying rise” in the number of coronavirus infections in the last week, as the government prepared to announce whether it will allow any relaxations over the Christmas holidays of its partial lockdown.

The health institute said the number of new confirmed COVID-19 cases rose by more than 9,000 to 43,103 in a week. More people were tested in the last week due to a change in the rules for access, but the percentage of positive tests also rose from 11.1 per cent to 11.6 per cent.

In the same week, the number of confirmed COVID-19 deaths dropped from 406 to 338. The nationwide death toll since the pandemic first swept into the Netherlands is approaching 10,000.

The number of nursing homes with at least one confirmed COVID-19 case also rose, with 100 homes recording a confirmed case over the last week, up from 77 the week before.

The Netherlands has been in a partial lockdown since mid-October, when the country was recording some of Europe’s highest infections rates. The closures of all bars and restaurants along with restrictions on the number of people who could gather at home and outdoors brought the infection rate down, but the decline has stagnated in recent weeks.

8:40 a.m. The coronavirus vaccine made by Pfizer and BioNTech provides strong protection against COVID-19 within about 10 days of the first dose, according to documents published Tuesday by the Food and Drug Administration before a meeting of its vaccine advisory group.

The finding is one of several significant new results featured in the briefing materials, which span 53 pages of data analyses from the agency and from Pfizer. Last month, Pfizer and BioNTech announced that their two-dose vaccine had an efficacy rate of 95 per cent after two doses administered three weeks apart. The new analyses show that the protection starts kicking in far earlier.

What’s more, the vaccine worked well regardless of a volunteer’s race, weight or age. While the trial did not find any serious adverse events caused by the vaccine, many participants did experience aches, fevers and other side effects.

On Thursday, FDA’s vaccine advisory panel will discuss these materials in advance of a vote on whether to recommend authorization of Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine.

Pfizer and BioNTech began a large-scale clinical trial in July, recruiting 44,000 people in the United States, Brazil and Argentina. Half of the volunteers got the vaccine, and half got the placebo.

New coronavirus cases quickly tapered off in the vaccinated group of volunteers about 10 days after the first dose, according to one graph in the briefing materials. In the placebo group, cases kept steadily increasing.

The vaccine’s swift impact could benefit not just the people who get it but the country’s strained hospitals, curbing the flow of new patients into intensive care units.

8:30 a.m. Toronto residents are tired of the constraints imposed by , but still strongly support public health restrictions needed to control the spread of the virus, according to a poll conducted for Toronto Public Health.

The Ipsos Reid online survey of 1,201 people conducted during the last week of October, before the second lockdown took effect on Nov. 23, found that 56 per cent of respondents reported being tired of COVID-19 precautions and 39 per cent were angry/frustrated.

Despite that, 43 per cent strongly supported the idea of a second lockdown and 40 per cent were somewhat supportive, putting total support for continuing restrictions at 83 per cent.

8 a.m. As cases of continue to rise in hot spots in the province, experts are once again warning that hospitals may have to cancel elective surgeries in order to cope.

There are parts of the province — Mississauga, Etobicoke and North York — where nearly 25 per cent of patients in intensive care have COVID-19, said Anthony Dale, president and CEO of the Ontario Hospital Association.

Although hospitals still have beds available, Dale said the province’s intensive care units typically operate close to capacity, which means a surge of COVID-19 patients might push them over the edge and threaten elective surgeries once again, similar to what occurred during the first wave.

If elective surgeries are cancelled, “it’s people who need cancer and cardiac care and other kinds of elective activity that risk paying a price here,” he said.

7:45 a.m. Under pressure to remove Belarus as co-host of next year’s men’s world championship, the International Ice Hockey Federation said Tuesday a working trip to Minsk was cancelled because its top two officials have become infected with COVID-19.

The governing body said president René Fasel and general secretary Horst Lichtner both tested positive for the virus ahead of travelling to meet Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

Lukashenko has described hockey as “an ideology” in Belarus, and has played the sport with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The authoritarian leader of Belarus was suspended by the IOC on Monday from Olympic activities, including the Tokyo Games, during an investigation into athletes’ claims they have faced discrimination for protesting against his re-election.

The Belarus Olympic Committee, led by Lukashenko since the 1990s, seemed to have violated the Olympic Charter, the IOC said.

The IOC urged stakeholders to follow its decision to break off talks with Belarus about hosting sports events and meetings.

In a statement Tuesday, Fasel referred to “safety issues that are affecting preparations” for the 2021 hockey worlds, which are set to open in May in Belarus and Latvia.

The Latvian government called on the Zurich-based IIHF to move games from Minsk after Lukashenko’s disputed election win in August. However, Fasel said the planned meeting with Lukashenko was to explore “what steps are being taken to ensure that the tournament can be held safely and in co-operation with co-hosts Latvia.”

7:35 a.m. Less than 20 days from Christmas and two weeks into a lockdown, Toronto’s top doctor was not certain about the current measures being lifted even after the holidays.

Dr. Eileen de Villa continued implore residents to stay apart through December and New Year’s and not gather for dinners, parties and other celebrations — apart from those that already live together, and for those that live alone, one exclusive household.

“In our own lives, risky in-home festivities will easily make things worse and already I’m as worried now by what may happen in January as I am about the rest of this month,” de Villa told reporters Monday at a regular briefing.

7:30 a.m. It’s only going to get worse for Canadians who are already feeling stretched at the grocery store, with food prices set to rise in 2021 due in no small part to

The 11th annual Food Price Report, a collaboration between Dalhousie University, the University of Guelph, the University of Saskatchewan and the University of British Columbia, predicts that food prices will rise by three to five per cent next year, outpacing general inflation.

The annual cost of groceries for the average Canadian family will go up by five per cent in 2021 — by almost $700, the largest dollar increase the report has yet predicted. That figure doesn’t include restaurant spending and groceries purchased through e-commerce.

5:54 a.m.: The federal government says the largest mass immunization effort in Canadian history could begin as early as next week.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Ottawa expects to receive up to 249,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and German partner BioNTech.

Its approval is said to be imminent. The second vaccine in line for approval in Canada is from Moderna.

The Canadian military will have a role to play in vaccine distribution. Various provinces have started spelling out their plans as well.

5:52 a.m.: The Saskatchewan government is to reveal today details of its rollout plan for the COVID-19 vaccine.

Premier Scott Moe says the province has ultracold storage in place to receive the Pfizer vaccine, which is pending Health Canada approval, with the first doses expected to arrive next week.

The premier says his Saskatchewan Party government will start vaccinations “as quickly as physically possible.”

He says health-care workers and long-term care residents will be first in line to get a shot.

Moe says vaccinations will happen in phases determined by health officials, as more doses will become available in the new year.

The government says getting a COVID-19 vaccine will not be mandatory, but a communications plan will be part of the distribution.

5:51 a.m.: The Assembly of First Nations is planning to urge the federal Liberal government to do more to deal with the disproportionate impact the COVID-19 pandemic is having on their communities in a virtual version of its annual general assembly today.

Ontario Regional Chief RoseAnne Archibald says the pandemic has hit First Nations communities hard, but they have also long dealt with inequitable treatment in Canada.

She says Canada has an opportunity to take big steps toward improving the situation through programs, services and funding as the country rebuilds its economy.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to address the general assembly, which was originally scheduled to take place in Halifax this summer but put off due to COVID-19.

5:50 a.m.: Germany’s eastern state of Saxony has become the country’s hot spot for coronavirus infections, with the number of newly confirmed cases per 100,000 inhabitants reaching almost 320 in a week.

According to figures published by Germany’s disease control centre Tuesday the nationwide rate is currently less than half that in Saxony, at about 147.

The Saxony-based daily Freie Presse reported that the state government is considering tightening pandemic restrictions from Monday.

5:49 a.m.: Shares in China’s biggest online health care platform rose 50 per cent in their Hong Kong stock market debut Tuesday, reflecting investor enthusiasm for the fledgling industry as the country emerges from the coronavirus pandemic.

JD Health, an arm of JD.Com Inc., China’s biggest online retailer, sells medications, hospital care packages and online consulting by doctors.

Chinese internet companies increasingly offer health services in a society where hospitals are crowded and distribution of drugs and medical supplies outside major cities is uneven. Online consulting with Chinese-speaking physicians is popular with families from China who live in the West or in developing countries.

Other competitors include e-commerce giant Alibaba Group’s Alibaba Health; Baidu Health, run by search giant Baidu.com Inc.; and WeDoctor, run by Tencent Holding, operator of the popular WeChat messaging service.

The coronavirus pandemic has boosted demand for Chinese online platforms.

Investors have “high hopes for this kind of companies to develop in China,” said Jackson Wong, asset management director for Amber Hill Capital Ltd. in Hong Kong.

5:48 a.m.: Should I wipe down groceries during the pandemic?

Experts say it’s not necessary for most people.

The coronavirus spreads mainly through the respiratory droplets people spray when talking, coughing, sneezing or singing. It’s why health experts stress the importance of wearing masks and social distancing.

Experts still recommend cleaning surfaces — especially frequently touched spots that infected people might have recently touched. That will also help reduce risk from other germs that haven’t gone away in the pandemic.

People caring for those at risk for severe illness if infected might also want to take the precaution of wiping down any packages.

But experts say to keep things in perspective. The virus is fragile and doesn’t survive easily outside the body for long, they note. Tests finding it on surfaces might just be detecting traces of the virus, not live virus capable of infecting people. Early studies finding it could linger on surfaces for days were conducted under laboratory conditions; the virus likely couldn’t survive that long in real life.

5:47 a.m.: Australia is extending its ban on international cruise ships and on Australians leaving the country except under exceptional circumstances for another three months until March.

The extension announced Tuesday means the human biosecurity emergency declaration will last for at least a year despite COVID-19 cases declining in the isolated nation.

Australia has imposed some of the most severe border restrictions in the world since the pandemic began, requiring most of its citizens and permanent residents to apply for a permit and prove exceptional circumstances if they need to leave the country.

Australia is a nation of 26 million people. Latest government figures showed on Monday there were only 1,618 active COVID-19 cases, with 30 of those infected in hospitals.

Thousands of Australians have missed out on funerals, weddings and the births of relatives because of the travel ban which is designed to prevent travellers from bringing with virus home.

5:46 a.m.: Before Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine was proved highly successful in clinical trials last month, the company offered the Trump administration the chance to lock in supplies beyond the 100 million doses the pharmaceutical maker agreed to sell the government as part of a $1.95 billion deal over the summer.

But the administration, according to people familiar with the talks, never made the deal, a choice that now raises questions about whether the United States allowed other countries to take its place in line.

While two vaccines, including Pfizer’s, have proved to be highly effective against COVID-19, and a third also appears at least moderately effective, supplies are shaping up to be scarce in the coming months as infections, hospitalizations and deaths surge to new highs. And while Pfizer is now negotiating with the administration to provide more of its vaccine, people familiar with the talks say the company cannot guarantee that it will be able to deliver more than the initial 100 million doses — enough to inoculate 50 million people since its vaccine requires two shots — before perhaps next June.

After it signed its federal contract in late July, Pfizer went on to seal deals with other governments, including the European Union, which last month finalized an agreement to acquire 200 million doses from Pfizer and its German partner, BioNTech. On Tuesday, Britain will begin inoculating its population with the vaccine.

5:45 a.m.: President-elect Joe Biden’s choices for his health care team point to a stronger federal role in the nation’s COVID-19 strategy, restoration of a guiding stress on science and an emphasis on equitable distribution of vaccines and treatments.

With Monday’s announcement of California Attorney General Xavier Becerra as his health secretary and a half dozen other key appointments, Biden aims to leave behind the personality dramas that sometimes flourished under President Donald Trump. He hopes to return the federal response to a more methodical approach, seeking results by applying scientific knowledge in what he says will be a transparent and disciplined manner.

“We are still going to have a federal, state and local partnership,” commented Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the non-profit American Public Health Association. “I just think there is going to be better guidance from the federal government and they are going to work more collaboratively with the states.”

In a sense, what Biden has is not quite yet a team, but a collection of players drafted for key positions. Some have already been working together as members of Biden’s coronavirus advisory board. Others will have to suit up quickly.

By announcing most of the key positions in one package, Biden is signalling that he expects his appointees to work together, and not as lords of their own bureaucratic fiefdoms.

Tuesday 5:41 a.m.: U.K. health authorities are rolling out the first doses of a widely tested and independently reviewed COVID-19 vaccine, starting a global immunization program that is expected to gain momentum as more serums win approval.

The first shot will come Tuesday at one of a network of hospital hubs around the country where the initial phase of the U.K. program will be rolled out on what has been dubbed “V-Day.”

Public health officials are asking the public to be patient because only those who are most at risk from COVID-19 will be vaccinated in the early stages. Medical staff will contact patients to arrange appointments, and most will have to wait until next year before there is enough vaccine to expand the program.

“I think there’s every chance that we will look back on … (Tuesday) as marking a decisive turning point in the battle against coronavirus,” said Simon Stevens, the CEO of England’s National Health Service.

The first 800,000 doses are going to people over 80 who are either hospitalized or already have outpatient appointments scheduled, along with nursing home workers. Others will have to wait their turn.