COVID-19 Rundown April 22nd, 2020

As of today, April 22, 2020, the total number of coronavirus cases registered in Canada is 39,813, the number of deaths exceeding 2,000.

There were 132 new deaths registered in the last 24 hours, mostly at the long-term care homes.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau started his daily briefing by offering his condolences to the families affected by the recent events in Nova Scotia. “Know that Canada is standing with you,” he addressed to the Nova Scotians.

He also mentioned a new $9 billion emergency fund for students that will provide eligible students with $1,250 per month from May to August, as well as creating 76,000 new jobs.

“In Canada, we look out for each other,” he said.

Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, stated that there are still a lot of unknowns and that “there is no 100 per cent proven path to a new normal.” However, she noted in her Twitter thread that “epidemiology is different in each jurisdiction” of Canada, and that there is no “one size fits all approach.”

You can find below the provincial COVID-19 rundown:

British Columbia

The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in B.C. continues to fall, but health officials say any loosening of the restrictions on daily life is still a long way off.

As of the latest numbers of coronavirus cases on April 22nd:

• • • • Total confirmed cases in B.C.: 1,795
      • New cases since April 20: 71
      • Hospitalized cases: 103
      • Intensive care: 46
      • Deaths: 90
      • Recovered: 1,074
      • Long-term care and assisted-living homes currently affected: 20 (as of April 21)

Health officials in British Columbia say 28 employees at a chicken-processing plant in Vancouver have tested positive for COVID-19.

A temporary change under the Emergency Program Act will allow electronic meetings during the Province’s state of emergency. The order helps corporations hold annual or special general meetings, in accordance with the provincial health officer’s order against gatherings of more than 50 people.

In addition to electronic meetings, all corporations will be able to hold hybrid meetings, giving people the option to participate in person or electronically.

To ensure vulnerable students do not face barriers to learning while in-class instruction is suspended, B.C.’s school districts are finding innovative ways to provide families with more than 75,000 healthy meals a week.

“No student should ever have to go without food, whether they’re learning in class or at home,” said Rob Fleming, Minister of Education.

Alberta

By April 21st at 6 p.m., Alberta confirmed 187 new cases of coronavirus. The total now is 3,095, with 61 deaths. There are by now 109,015 completed tests. Of these cases, there are currently 64 people in hospital, 18 of whom have been admitted to intensive care units (ICU).

Two hundred eighty-one cases are suspected of being community-acquired.

The total deaths are:

• • • • 41 in the Calgary zone;
      • 10 in the North zone;
      • Nine in the Edmonton zone;
      • One in the Central zone.

One of the recent deaths was a man in his 80s who was a resident at the J.B. Wood Continuing Care in High Prairie.

To date, 358 cases have been confirmed at continuing care facilities, and 39 residents at these facilities have died.

Alberta’s chief medical officer says even as the province sees positive signs around COVID-19, people need to remember the virus “is still with us, and we need to continue to take it very seriously, even as we start to think about reopening again.”

Cargill Ltd. said it is temporarily closing its meat-processing plant in High River, Alta. The facility churns out roughly 40 per cent of Western Canada’s processed beef and is a key part of the province’s agriculture industry. Alberta has now linked 31 new cases, with a total of 515 cases of COVID-19 to this plant and dozens more at a competing facility.

Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe is expected to address people in the province live Wednesday night, a day before officials are scheduled to release a plan on how the province will reopen.

• • • • • By today, 22nd of April, 2020, there are 320 persons infected with COVID-19, with 4 deaths and 5 people in ICU.
        • A total of 252 individuals have recovered (78.7 per cent)
        • 24,811 COVID-19 tests had been performed in Saskatchewan.

Manitoba

Public health officials advise two new cases of COVID-19 were identified as of 9:30 a.m. today, bringing the total number of lab-confirmed positive and probable positive cases in Manitoba to 257.

The data also shows:

• • • • Seven individuals are currently hospitalized, which includes three individuals in intensive care;
      • 97 active cases and 154 individuals who have recovered from COVID-19; and
      • The number of deaths due to COVID-19 remains at six.

There were 440 laboratory tests performed on Tuesday. A total of 21,601 tests have been conducted since early February.

Ontario

By this morning at 10.30am, there were registered 12,245 cases of coronavirus in Ontario, with 659 deaths and 243 people at ICU.

• • • • There are 184,531 total tests completed.
      • Greater Toronto Area public health units account for 59.3 per cent of cases.
      • 11.9 per cent of cases were hospitalized.
      • 125 outbreaks have been reported in long-term care homes. This is an increase of 4 outbreaks from the previous report.
      • 295 deaths have been reported among residents/patients in long-term care homes.
      • This is an increase of 22 deaths from the previous report.

Another Ontario long-term care home is reporting COVID-19-related deaths. Hawthorne Place Care Centre in northwest Toronto said Tuesday that five deaths of residents have been attributed to COVID-19.

After weeks of uncertainty, Ottawa has set a date for the spring lobster fishing season, which will start May 15 and end June 30. The announcement on fishing dates in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, was issued Wednesday in Moncton by Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

Quebec

Approximately 57 per cent of Canada’s deaths have been in Quebec.

In Québec, to date, 20,965 confirmed cases of COVID‑19, including 1,134 deaths, have been reported. The city of Montreal only has 9,856 cases.

Quebec Premier François Legault is asking for at least 1,000 soldiers from the Canadian Armed Forces to assist in long-term care facilities ravaged by the novel coronavirus pandemic. He said that hundreds of health-care professionals have answered the call to help but that more assistance is needed, and that’s why he is asking for more help from the military.

Also, he said today the provincial government is working on a plan to reopen daycares and schools in the weeks and months ahead, though he cautioned “we still need some time to be sure that the pandemic is under control.”

New Brunswick

Public Health reported the fourth day with no new cases of COVID-19.

The total number of confirmed cases in New Brunswick is 118 and the number of active cases is 14. To date, 104 people have recovered. There are five patients hospitalized, including one in an intensive care unit.

Eighty-eight per cent of the people that were infected with COVID-19 recovered. Dr. Jennifer Russell, chief medical officer of health, said the test results continue to be encouraging. But she urged New Brunswickers to practise physical distancing when they go out.

“This is not the end,” Russell said. “I ask that you continue to observe the restrictions set under the provincial state of emergency and continue to take precautions against the spread of the virus, even when those restrictions have been eased.”

She also reminded New Brunswick’s Muslim community that communal meals traditionally held to break the daily fast during the holy month of Ramadan are not permitted under the current state of emergency. Only gatherings of people currently sharing a home are permitted. She suggested Muslims participate in online events that will allow them to safely practise the tenets of their faith.

The provincial government is providing nursing homes with iPads to help residents stay in contact with loved ones. Each nursing home will be provided with one iPad for each 10 residents, for a total of about 480 tablets.

In addition, to maximize the use of the tablets, each will be equipped with a virtual care application. This feature will enable physicians to provide care to residents remotely.

Premier Blaine Higgs said he is pleased to see that New Brunswickers are complying with the state of emergency order, as only in a very small number of cases has enforcement been required. As of April 20, 29 tickets had been issued across the province for violations of the order.

New Brunswickers are reminded that under the emergency order, all open fires are prohibited until May 1. Conditions across the province vary.

New Brunswick has launched a new web portal where people can access faster the results of their COVID-19 test. As of Tuesday, anyone tested at an assessment centre will be given a registration code and can access their result through the MyHealthNB website.

Nova Scotia

As of today, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 infections in province reaches 772, with two more deaths at Northwood long-term care home. The total number of deaths due to coronavirus is now 12.

There were 35 new COVID-19 cases identified in Nova Scotia, and of the new cases, 23 are at Northwood.

The province has set up an emergency plan to help respond to the outbreak at Northwood. It includes moving recovered patients off-site, bringing in additional staff and testing residents on-site.

“I extend my condolences to the families and loved one of these individuals — you are in the thoughts of all Nova Scotians,” Premier Stephen McNeil said in a news release Wednesday.

By today, there are 10 licensed long-term care facilities and unlicensed seniors homes with cases of COVID-19, involving 148 residents and 65 staff.

Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island has had a total of 26 cases of COVID-19, with 24 now recovered. PEI’s rate of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people is 19. All cases in have been related to travel outside the province.

Prince Edward Island’s premier and top health official say they hope to lift some of the restrictions put in place to deal with COVID-19 by early May.

“It’s going to involve a process with consultation and a risk assessment with industry, government departments, businesses and communities,” Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Heather Morrison said.

Yukon

As of today, April 22nd, 2020, the number of cases of COVID-19 in Yukon is eleven, with 8 recovered cases, and pending 9 results.

Eight of the eleven people who have contracted COVID-19 in Yukon, have now recovered and no one has had to go to a hospital. Total people tested is 878.

Newfoundland and Labrador

By 22nd of April, 2020, there are 256 COVID-19 confirmed cases, none registered in the last 24 hours. Three people have died by now, and the total number of tests performed were increased to 6,662. There are two people currently in ICU.

Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Dwight Ball says there’s no plan for major cost-cutting initiatives amid the double hit to provincial revenue of falling oil prices and the coronavirus pandemic.

Northwest Territories

By date there are five cases coronavirus confirmed (including five recovered). Ther have been 1,597 tests completed.

The Northwest Territories is handing out $1.6 million in low-interest loans to businesses affected by COVID-19 and the rules in place to slow it.

Nunavut

No cases of COVID-19 in Nunavut.

Around the World

On Thursday, countries with Muslim populations start the month of Ramadan — in which Muslims go without food or drink from sunrise to sunset every day, often features gatherings where families and friends break the fast and pray together.

It will last until May 23, but sadly these events, as well as the nightly congregational prayers and community events at the mosque, will be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The United States has, by far, the world’s most significant number of confirmed coronavirus cases at 825,000, according to a Johns Hopkins University tally. The database puts the U.S. coronavirus-related death toll at over 45,000.

Singapore’s coronavirus infections surged past 10,000 after it reported 1,016 new cases Wednesday. The tiny city-state’s tally rose to 10,141, maintaining its position as the worst-hit nation in Southeast Asia.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has sought support for an international investigation into the coronavirus pandemic in phone calls with U.S. President Donald Trump, and the German and French leaders. Senior Australian lawmakers have also called for an inquiry into the origins of the novel coronavirus and questioned Beijing’s transparency over a pandemic now paralyzing the world.

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Working together to maintain social distancing and staying at home, are the only ways to slow the spread and flatten the curve of COVID-19.

Stay safe!

For more information, access worldometer.com, canada.ca, and don’t miss Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s daily briefing at 11.15 ET.