Justin Trudeau will take a break today and tomorrow from his COVID-19 briefings to spend some long weekend time with his family at the Harrington Lake prime ministerial retreat in Gatineau, Que. Here’s what’s happening across the country.
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The latest:
- Provinces and territories prepare for varying reopening plans.
- New research reveals where you’re most at risk of COVID-19.
- 1st Canadian clinical trials for a potential vaccine now approved.
- Travel spending could drop by nearly 60 per cent this year across Canada.
- Asparagus growers say workforce is down by half due to travel restrictions.
- Amazon ending pandemic-related pay raise for its Canadian warehouse workers.
- British Columbia will allow voluntary return to classrooms on June 1.
- Ontario will begin Stage 1 of reopening on Tuesday, May 19.
- INTERACTIVE | See the latest data on coronavirus cases in Canada.
Justin Trudeau will take a break today and tomorrow from his COVID-19 briefings to spend some long weekend time with his family at the Harrington Lake prime ministerial retreat in Gatineau, Que.
The briefings will resume on Tuesday as some provinces begin loosening restrictions that have locked down their economies for two months to try to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Ontario will enter its first stage of reopening on May 19 by lifting restrictions on certain retailers and the construction industry. Some surgeries will also resume.
WATCH | Canada approves first COVID-19 vaccine trials:
The first Canadian clinical trials for a possible COVID-19 vaccine have been approved by Health Canada. Dr. Scott Halperin, the director of the Canadian Center for Vaccinology, explains the different phases of testing that a potential vaccine would have to go through. 8:56
As part of the province’s reopening plans, retail stores outside of shopping malls with street entrances can begin reopening with physical distancing measures in place.
Pet care services, such as grooming and training, and regular veterinary appointments can also begin again in Stage 1.
British Columbia’s government will allow a partial reopening of the province’s economy starting Tuesday. However, the reopenings are contingent on organizations and businesses having plans that follow provincial guidelines to control the spread of COVID-19.
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While many provincial parks in B.C. are now open for day use, officials are still discouraging unnecessary travel.
In New Brunswick, licensed daycares can begin reopening Tuesday. And while children will not have to wear masks they will be separated into small groups as a safety precaution.
Meanwhile, Alberta welcomed the arrival of the Victoria Day weekend by increasing the limit for outdoor gatherings to 50 people — up from 15 — as long as members of different households stay two metres apart.
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As parts of the country were forging ahead with reopenings this long weekend, there was news that Health Canada has approved Canada’s first clinical vaccine trial.
Dalhousie University’s Scott Halperin, director of the Canadian Center for Vaccinology in Halifax, told CBC News the clinical trials will build on work already done by China’s CanSino Biologics, which started early stage human trials on a potential vaccine in mid-April.
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Testing will be done in three stages, with a growing number of participants as it moves along. Typically, completing all of the stages to get a vaccine ready for approval can take five to seven years, “but those steps have been compressed somewhat” for the Canadian studies, Halperin said.
That would be achieved by not waiting for the first stage to be completely finished before advancing to the next stage, as is the usual practice.
Halperin said it’s expected the first study using fewer than 100 healthy volunteers between the ages of 18 and 55 will likely get underway within the next three weeks and participants will be followed over a six-month period.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed approval for the vaccine studies on Saturday, as he also announced that the Canadian Red Cross would be getting $100 million in federal funding to help it support Canadians through the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as future floods and wildfires.
Meanwhile, Amazon says it will be ending its pandemic-related pay incentives for workers in its Canadian warehouses at the end of the month.
Company spokesperson Kelly Cheeseman confirmed Saturday the online retail giant will stop paying employees the extra $2 per hour and double overtime incentives they had been receiving since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Amazon’s pay incentives were initially supposed to end at the end of April but the company extended the program in the U.S. and Canada through May 30.
The retail company has been criticized by employees in the U.S. and Canada for allegedly not doing enough to protect workers from COVID-19 and for not offering adequate support to employees who fall sick from the virus.
As of 6:00 a.m. ET on Sunday, Canada had 75,864 confirmed and presumptive coronavirus