The province of Ontario's soon-to-be chief doctor believes the COVID-19 epidemic will reach "an endemic condition, where we can try to return back to normal" this fall.
Dr. Kieran Moore stated on Thursday that the government intends to resume basic public health functions that were suspended during the pandemic, while also continuing to track down contacts of new cases of the virus, identify emerging variants, and respond to outbreaks in schools, jails, long-term care facilities, and other congregate settings. Moore took questions with Dr. David Williams, who will hand the torch to Moore as chief medical officer of health on Saturday.
The two praised Ontario's vaccination record while cautioning citizens not to relax their guard too quickly. More than 76 percent of participants have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 immunization, and around 29 percent have received both doses, according to the researchers.
These rates are greater than the benchmarks set by the government for Ontario to enter Stage 3 of its reopening plan. However, the province will begin Stage 2 on June 30, two days sooner than scheduled. On Thursday, Ontario officials announced six deaths and 296 new cases of COVID-19.
Canada had reported 1,411,652 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of 8:25 p.m. Thursday, with 9,349 considered active. According to CBC News, the total number of deaths was 26,192. Five additional instances were recorded in Nova Scotia. On Thursday, New Brunswick reported two new instances, while Newfoundland and Labrador reported none. As of late Thursday, P.E.I. had not reported any instances.
On Thursday, Nova Scotia's top doctor defended his decision to keep the border with New Brunswick closed, which prompted demonstrators to blockade the key border crossing for nearly 24 hours. Dr. Robert Strang believes that by opening to visitors from the rest of Canada, New Brunswick is taking a risk that Nova Scotia is not ready to take.
In Quebec, where a coroner's inquest investigating COVID-19 deaths in long-term care is underway, health officials recorded 96 new cases and four additional deaths on Thursday, albeit none occurred in the preceding 24 hours. Manitoba, one of the Prairie provinces, reported two deaths and 106 new cases on Thursday.
Saskatchewan reported 52 additional instances on Thursday, as the province expanded second-dose eligibility to everyone who had the first treatment at least 28 days ago. Health officials in Alberta reported 73 new cases and one fatality, while British Columbia reported 75 new COVID-19 cases and three deaths.
There were no new cases recorded in Nunavut or the Northwest Territories across the North, but Yukon reported 18 new cases on Thursday. According to data supplied by the Johns Hopkins University coronavirus tracking program as of late Thursday afternoon, more than 179.7 million cases of COVID-19 have been reported worldwide. The global death toll was reported to be more than 3.8 million.
In Europe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the continent is "on thin ice" in its fight against COVID-19, as EU leaders agreed to speed up vaccinations to combat the extremely contagious delta strain.
Also on Thursday, Britain added 17 countries and territories to its "green" list of safe travel destinations, including Malta, the Balearic Islands, and Madeira, in response to demand from airlines and tourism businesses to reduce restrictions. Travelers to those locations will no longer be required to self-isolate for 10 days upon their return.
Coronavirus infections continue to rise in Russia, with authorities reporting 20,182 new cases and 568 deaths on Thursday. Both of these totals are the highest since late January. Danish health officials are encouraging soccer fans who attended Denmark's Euro 2020 match against Belgium in Copenhagen on June 17 to be tested after finding at least three people who later tested positive for the delta variant.
Officials in Africa indicated Thursday that the region is facing a disastrous recurrence of COVID-19 infections, the peak of which will exceed that of previous waves. "The third wave is gathering momentum, spreading faster, and striking harder," warned Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa.
The delta variety "may have had a very important role" in the third wave in at least 20 African countries, according to John Nkengasong, head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More and more health centers are reporting overcrowding, and African countries urgently require immunizations to combat the disease, he said.
In the Middle East, Israel's government has postponed the scheduled reopening of the nation to vaccinated tourists due to fears about the spread of the infectious delta version of the coronavirus. After being mainly closed during the pandemic, Israel was poised to reopen its borders to vaccinated tourists on July 1.
However, because of an increase in illnesses, the administration has decided to postpone that date to August 1. Mexico will donate approximately 400,000 AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses to the so-called Northern Triangle Central American nations of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador on Thursday, according to the Mexican foreign ministry.
Officials promised on Thursday that Haiti would soon receive its first vaccine doses, as the country of more than 11 million people grapples with a surge in coronavirus cases and COVID-19 deaths that have clogged hospitals.
In the Asia-Pacific area, Australia's most populous state, New South Wales, reported a double-digit increase in new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 for the third day in a row, as officials battle an epidemic of the highly contagious delta strain. Thursday had the highest daily spike in cases in Indonesia, with 20,574 new infections.