More Canadians getting vaxxed, Cineplex calls for federal aid: In The News for May 20

Canada is set to get one dose to more than half the population before the end of the long weekend, but remains far back of the pack in the full-vaccination race, with fewer than four per cent of Canadians fully immunized.

It is a marked turnaround for Canada, which just one month ago remained well behind the global leaders in overall vaccinations as Canadians looked with vaccine envy to places like the U.S., the United Kingdom, Israel and Chile.

Almost 18 million Canadians have received at least one dose, with an average of about 330,000 new people joining the vaccinated group daily over the last week.

Trevor Tombe, an economics professor at the University of Calgary who is tracking Canada’s immunization pace against the rest of the world, says with current vaccination rates Canada is on track to surpass the first-dose share of Chile next week, the United Kingdom in two weeks, and should pull even with Israel by mid-June.

Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says modelling suggests we need three-quarters of Canadians over 12 to get their first dose and one-fifth to have both doses before provinces can safely loosen outdoor public health restrictions this summer.

Canada should be able to hit those goals by mid-to-late June, says Tombe.

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Also this …

With most of Canada’s movie theatres still closed under COVID-19 restrictions, the head of Cineplex Inc. says federal and provincial leaders need to draft a better plan to help the industry.

Cineplex CEO Ellis Jacob says one of his most immediate concerns is the inconsistency playing out in Ontario and Quebec, two neighbouring provinces that are taking divergent approaches.

Quebec is already leaps ahead of the rest of Canada. The majority of its movie houses are open and audience capacity limits far exceed what will likely be allowed elsewhere.

The province has also injected $3.9 million into Quebec-owned movie theatres for the 2021-22 financial year. None of that money goes to Cineplex since it’s not based in the province.

In Ontario, support for movie theatres is far more tepid.

Stay-at-home orders are in effect until June 2 and there’s virtually no clarity around when cinemas might be allowed to open their doors under limited capacity restrictions.

Jacob said federal leaders were fast to speak about preserving Cineplex from foreign investment less than two years ago when U.K.-based giant Cineworld planned to acquire the business. He’d like to see them keep that enthusiasm for cinemas in the pandemic.

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What we are watching in the U.S. …

WASHINGTON (AP) — Some Republican lawmakers kept their masks off during votes Tuesday on the House floor, with a few taking particular care to stand in the well of the chamber to ensure that spectators, colleagues and C-SPAN’s cameras could not miss them.

The decision also stoked tensions with majority Democrats who are refusing to change the rules following updated guidance from federal health officials.

The GOP defiance could come at a financial cost. Lawmakers who refuse to wear masks are subject to a fine of $500 for the first offense. Subsequent offenses can result in a $2,500 fine. In practice, however, the House sergeant-at-arms is providing a warning for the first offense.

Separately, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., introduced a resolution Wednesday that stated the mask mandate “hinders the ability of the House to properly and effectively conduct the people’s business.”

Democrats turned the resolution aside on a party-line vote of 218-210.

The mask revolt in the House has been brewing for months, but the complaints from some Republicans have grown louder now that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has altered its mask guidelines, saying it’s safe for fully vaccinated people to skip face coverings and social distancing in virtually all situations.

The CDC guidelines say all people should still wear masks in crowded indoor locations such as airplanes, buses, hospitals and prisons. Lawmakers and others in the Capitol have stopped wearing masks when moving around the building.

Drew Hammill, a spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, said the Office of the Attending Physician has been consistently conferring with the CDC, and as recently as Tuesday. He noted that updated guidance issued Wednesday states the mask requirement is “entirely consistent” with CDC guidance and has ensured that the House can debate and pass legislation safely and effectively.

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What we are watching in the rest of the world …

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The Gaza Strip’s already feeble health system is being brought to its knees by the fourth war in just over a decade as hospitals are overwhelmed with waves of dead and wounded from Israel’s bombardment.

Many vital medicines are rapidly running out in the tiny, blockaded coastal territory, as is fuel to keep electricity going.

Two of Gaza’s most prominent doctors, including the second highest ranking official on Gaza’s coronavirus task force, were killed when their homes were destroyed during barrages since fighting between Hamas and Israel erupted 10 days ago.

Just as Gaza was climbing out of a second wave of coronavirus infections, its only virus testing lab was damaged by an airstrike and has been shut down. Health officials fear further outbreaks among tens of thousands of displaced residents crammed into makeshift shelters after fleeing massive barrages.

At one UN-run school where 1,400 people were taking shelter, Nawal al-Danaf and her five children were crammed into a single classroom with five other families. Blankets draped over cords criss-crossed the room to carve out sleeping spaces.

“The school is safe from the war, but when it comes to corona, with five families in a room, everyone infects each other,” said al-Danaf, who fled Israeli tank shelling on the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya a few days ago.

The Gaza Strip’s health infrastructure was already collapsing before this latest war, said Adnan Abu Hasna, a media adviser for UNRWA, the UN agency that provides vital assistance to the 75 per cent of the enclave’s population who are refugees.

“It’s frightening,” he said.

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On this day in 1979 …

The Winnipeg Jets won the last World Hockey Association championship, beating the visiting Edmonton Oilers 7-3 to take the series in six games. The final WHA goal was scored by Edmonton’s Dave Semenko with 12 seconds left. The Jets, Oilers, Quebec Nordiques and New England Whalers joined the NHL the following season.

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In entertainment …

NEW YORK — Remember “The Wonder Years?”

ABC is reviving the series for its next TV season — with a twist.

This time, it will have a Black cast, with Don Cheadle as the adult narrator.

Fred Savage, who starred in “The Wonder Years” when it ran originally on ABC from 1988 to 1993, directed the pilot episode of the new version and is a producer of the series.

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ICYMI …

CALGARY — Overall consumption of refined petroleum products dropping by about 15 per cent in 2020 compared to the previous year, which the Canada Energy Regulator attributes to pandemic lockdowns and travel restrictions that kept Canadians close to home.

In a report that’s consistent with updates over the past year from refiners, the federal regulator says gasoline consumption volumes fell the most in 2020. That was followed closely by jet fuel, then diesel fuel, with consumption of all three fuels bottoming out in April 2020.

Diesel — used in the trucking industry, which was generally deemed an essential service — recovered to 2019 levels by September and gasoline regained much but not all of its lost ground by December.

In contrast, the regulator says, monthly consumption of jet fuel remained well below half of that seen in 2019 from April through December.

Natural gas demand declined by about four per cent in 2020 compared with 2019, as industrial and commercial consumption decreased by 2.6 and 6.5 per cent, respectively, but residential consumption increased by 1.8 per cent.

Meanwhile, total electricity used in Canada fell by about 2.5 per cent, the first drop since 2015. Electricity generation fell 0.8 per cent in 2020, led by a 7.9 decrease in generation from fossil fuels with two-thirds of that decline in Alberta.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 20, 2021.

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

More Canadians getting vaxxed, Cineplex calls for federal aid: In The News for May 20

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