The latest coronavirus news: N.B. delays reopening due to cluster of new COVID-19 cases linked to doctor

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A New Brunswick doctor who travelled to Quebec and broke self-isolation rules when he returned has sparked a new COVID-19 outbreak, derailing the reopening plans of a province that hoped it had stamped out the virus.

Eight people have tested positive so far, including the doctor’s elderly father and his six-year-old son, according to the mayor of Campbellton, the northern New Brunswick town where the doctor has a family practice and works shifts at the local emergency department.

The fallout of the doctor’s excursion has spread far beyond his own family, underlining how one person can affect the course of an entire province’s fight against the coronavirus.

The emergency department at the Campbellton Regional Hospital has been closed and elective surgeries postponed. Two people connected to the outbreak are in the intensive-care unit.

Every resident and employee at a long-term care home in nearby Atholville is being tested because one of the home’s workers is among the infected. People with relatives in the home, called La Vallée Manor, were saying prayers on Facebook for mothers and fathers, and other relatives.

In the area around Campbellton, the government reimposed restrictions that had just been lifted, forcing barbershops, spas and tattoo parlours to close their doors and individuals to retreat to bubbles of no more than two households.

Elsewhere in the province, the next phase of reopening – which was supposed to begin Friday and would have permitted pools, gyms, bowling alleys and small church services to start up – was postponed by a week, until June 5.

-Kelly Grant and Erin Anderssen

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What is the reopening plan in my province? A guide

9:00 p.m. EDT

COVID-19 stress pushing more paramedics to seek mental-health support in B.C.

British Columbia’s paramedics sought mental-health support in April at almost twice the rate of the previous year, a spike in calls for help that reflects the heightened stress of a job that has required emergency responders to assume their patients have COVID-19.

Data from BC Emergency Health Services, an agency that manages paramedic operations, said it had tracked an 80-per-cent increase in calls from paramedics, dispatchers and other staff to its critical-incident stress program, from 130 calls last April to 235 calls in the same month this year. The organization said much of this increase was the result of outreach, and most cases are linked to the pandemic.

The agency said 142 calls have come in May, which is more consistent with a monthly average of about 135.

B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix said in a statement that B.C. Emergency Health Services is monitoring the increase in the use of the critical incident stress program closely.

“We will work to ensure all paramedics have access to the support they need and encourage paramedics and all members of our province’s health care team to use these services at their disposal and reach out for help when they need it,” he said.

The Ambulance Paramedics of B.C., the union for the province’s 4,500 to 5,000 paramedics, released data that confirm the increase in requests for counselling.

-Ian Bailey

8:00 p.m. EDT

Toronto paints circles on park lawns in hopes of maintaining physical distancing

The circles were a response to last Saturday’s boisterous gathering that drew an estimated 10,000 people to the park, many mingling in groups much larger than five. The crowding prompted condemnation from Ontario Premier Doug Ford and a warning from Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi. ”Don’t be like Toronto,” he told Calgarians.

As pandemic restrictions loosen and the weather warms, urban parks in Toronto and elsewhere are drawing lockdown-weary residents eager to revel in old freedoms. The challenge facing city officials is how to control crowds and maintain physical-distancing measures to limit new COVID-19 outbreaks.

Physical-distancing circles, which had already been tested in select New York and San Francisco parks this month, may be implemented at other parks in Toronto if city staff deem them successful at Trinity Bellwoods. Toronto Mayor John Tory said at a briefing that the circles are meant to “help to illustrate proper physical distancing and help with the measurements, but also help to ensure a compliance in a place where we simply have to do better.”

Mr. Tory himself was photographed closely interacting with crowds and not properly wearing his mask, during a visit to the park to check on the crowd. Police received reports of public drinking by park-goers, urinating and defecating in nearby alleys.

-Alex Cyr

7:00 p.m. EDT

Universities raise tuition despite moving online due to COVID-19

Some Canadian universities are raising tuition for the fall term despite shifting most classes online during the pandemic. The fee increases have upset student leaders who question whether online education at a higher price provides value for money.

Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia said tuition will rise by 3 per cent this year for domestic students. A science student with Canadian citizenship at Dalhousie would be charged $10,424 in tuition and other fees, according to the university’s online calculator.

The University of Calgary said it is raising tuition by 5 per cent for returning domestic students and by 7 per cent for new students, to a little more than $7,000 in tuition and fees for a Canadian studying science. The University of Manitoba is increasing tuition by an average of 3.75 per cent, to roughly $5,400 for a domestic science student. The University of Alberta is raising fees by an average of 7 per cent.

“Students have been very clear that they don’t think remote learning is worth paying as much for as in-person instruction,” said Erica Seelemann, a vice-president at the Dalhousie Student Union. “Students are mad. They don’t understand why the university won’t make more financial compromises when they’ve heard how students are struggling. They’re not listening and students are frustrated.”

Many universities are facing revenue shortfalls because of an expected drop in the number of international students, who typically pay significantly higher fees than Canadians. In some provinces, government cuts have also hit university operating budgets.

- Joe Friesen

5:00 p.m. EDT

Quebec reports 61 more COVID-19 deaths as hospitalizations creep lower

The chief executive of the Vitalite health network in northern New Brunswick says the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak is a worst-case scenario in a region with underlying health issues and an older population.

Gilles Lanteigne says a male professional health-care provider has been suspended from work after coming into contact with more than 100 people.

The province has said the man recently travelled to Quebec and returned to work without self-isolating.

Lanteigne declined to confirm the man’s professional title, citing privacy concerns in the small community.

The health authority has ramped up testing for people who came into contact with the worker and is providing tests to any community members who ask.

More than 200 people were tested Thursday evening and Lanteigne says elective surgeries have been suspended.

The cluster that grew to six confirmed cases yesterday has led to the adjournment of the provincial legislature and the rollback of reopening measures in the northern region known as Zone 5.

-The Canadian Press

12:30 p.m. EDT

Quebec reports 61 more COVID-19 deaths as hospitalizations creep lower

Quebec is reporting 61 additional COVID-19 deaths today, bringing the provincial total to 4,363.

There were 530 new cases of the virus confirmed in the past 24 hours for a total of 50,232 since the pandemic began.

The provincial government says 66 fewer people are in hospital with COVID-19, marking 10 consecutive days of reductions in the number of hospitalized patients.

Six fewer people are in intensive care, for a total of 172.

The epicentre of the disease remains the Montreal area, which passed the 25,000-case mark on Friday.

The health department reported that it analyzed over 14,700 tests.

- Canadian Press

11 a.m. EDT

Ontario reports 344 new COVID-19 cases, 41 more deaths

Ontario is reporting 344 new COVID-19 cases today, and 41 more deaths.

That brings the provincial total to 27,210 cases, which is an increase of 1.3 per cent over the previous day.

It includes 2,230 deaths and 20,983 cases that have been resolved.

Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. David Williams, has said new cases from a round of long-term care testing earlier this month are still coming in, so he’s not sure yet what percentage of the new cases are from the community.

The number of people in hospital with COVID-19 and in intensive care dropped, but the number of people on ventilators rose from 94 to 100.

There were 18,525 tests completed in the previous day, and Ontario is set to reveal a new phase in its COVID-19 testing strategy today.

- Canadian Press

10:15 a.m. EDT

Large cruise ships barred from Canadian waters until end of October: Garneau

The cruise-ship season in Canada is all but dead as Ottawa extends a ban on ships in Canadian waters until the end of October.

Transportation Minister Marc Garneau says passenger ships with overnight accommodations for more than 100 passengers can’t operate in Canadian waters until at least Oct. 31.

In March the government barred ships with more than 500 passengers until July 1 but Garneau is expanding that ban today.

He says he understands that this will have a big economic impact on the tourism industry and that the government is looking at what to do about that.

Last year 140 cruise ships brought more than two million visitors to Canadian ports.

Garneau says smaller passenger ships are also banned from Arctic waters until Oct. 31 but after July 1 can operate elsewhere with the approval and guidelines of local health authorities.

-The Canadian Press

9:30 a.m. EDT

Ontario to reveal new COVID-19 testing strategy to gauge phased reopening

Ontario will reveal a new phase in its COVID-19 testing strategy today, as it tries to perform more tests to gauge the province’s phased reopening.

Officials including the president and CEO of Ontario Health, the head of Ontario’s testing approach, and the chief of medical microbiology at the Public Health Ontario lab are set to hold a briefing on the new strategy.

Ontario has struggled on several occasions to meet its daily testing goals.

Most recently, the province had said it would do 16,000 tests per day in May, but has met that goal less than half of the time.

Levels dropped sharply once a blitz of nearly all long-term care residents and staff was completed over the long weekend, but they have picked up again in recent days after Ontario relaxed criteria for members of the public to be tested.

Anyone concerned they may have been exposed to COVID-19 can now get tested, whether or not they have symptoms.

-The Canadian Press

6 a.m. EDT

B.C. to reopen some playgrounds and outdoor recreation

Some outdoor recreation facilities and playgrounds are reopening across the Lower Mainland, with physical distancing and other measures in place to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The Vancouver Park Board says it will begin opening skate parks today, while sports fields, playgrounds, basketball and volleyball courts will open in a phased approach wrapping up on Monday.

The Tri-Cities of Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody, as well as Delta and New Westminster, have also said many playgrounds are set to reopen Monday.

Provincial Health Officer Doctor Bonnie Henry says playgrounds are important for children, but the reopening has to be done with small numbers of people, physical distancing and adequate cleaning.

-The Canadian Press, CHNL

6 a.m. EDT

Alberta preschools permitted to reopen

Alberta’s children’s services minister says preschools in the province can reopen Monday if they follow certain guidelines.

Rebecca Schulz says the government has been working with the chief medical officer on how it will work.

She says there are about 12,000 kids across the province enrolled in licensed preschool programs.

Schulz says because most preschools have morning and afternoon groups, it will give staff time in between to properly sanitize facilities.

-The Canadian Press

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