Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world on Feb. 1

The latest:

• As anti-vaccine mandate protest enters 5th day in Ottawa, some worry about how it might end
  
• Sask.premier plans to scrap proof of vaccination requirement by end of February
  
• Alberta premier hopes to start lifting all COVID-19 health measures by end of February
  
• Quebec scraps planned tax on the unvaccinated
  
• Ontario's Omicron wave subsiding, but some resurgence in COVID-19 cases expected, science table says
  
• B.C. hitting 'peak' of hospitalizations, officials say
  
• WHO sounds alarm about Omicron as COVID-19 infections of past 10 weeks exceed those in all of 2020

Quebec which startedto reopen on Monday will no longer proceed with a plan to impose a tax on people who aren't vaccinated against COVID-19.

Premier FranoisLegault said during an afternoon briefing that he heard that there was opposition to the idea and he didn't want to cause further division.

"When we see what's happening in our society and on social media, I have a certain worry about seeing Quebecers divided," Legault told reporters in Quebec City.

The premier announced on Jan. 11 he planned to make the unvaccinated pay a significant financial penalty because they were over-represented in the health-care system.

About 10 per cent ofpeople in the province's eligible population areunvaccinated.

WATCH | Legault drops tax idea:

Legault confirms Quebec dropping controversial tax on the unvaccinated

3 years ago

Duration 0:57

Citing the division it caused in Quebec, Premier Franois Legault said the province is scrapping its plan to tax those who are unvaccinated against COVID-19.

Legaultalso announced thatas of Feb. 14, sports and artistic activities will resume, and gyms and spas will reopen at 50 per cent capacity.

A situation report published by health officials in the province on Tuesday showed2,852 hospitalizations down by36 from a day earlier with218 people in intensive care. The province also reported63 additional deaths and2,730 lab-confirmed cases.

In Ontario,which also beganeasing pandemic restrictionsthis week,health officials on Tuesday said hospitalizations in the province stood at3,091 up by 108 from a day earlier with 568 people in intensive care units. The province also reported 63deathsand 2,622 additional lab-confirmed cases.

Premier Doug Ford, who appeared at a news conferencealongside his minister of long-term care on Tuesday, saidthe government is taking a "cautious" approach to reopening and pointedto its multi-phaseplan.

The premier's remarks came as the Ontario COVID-19 science advisory table put out new modellingto lookat how that reopening might impact cases and hospitalizations.

Health Minister Christine Elliott said at the briefing Tuesday that Ontario does have capacity in its hospital system, noting that even if numbers do go up slightlythe province will beready to deal with it.

WATCH | Elliott onreopening plan:

Ontario opening 'gradually and cautiously,' health minister says

3 years ago

Duration 2:06

Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott says the peak of Omicron has passed and the province now has the hospital capacity to deal with COVID-19 patients and resume surgeries and procedures that were postponed by the pandemic.

Theprovince movedin early January to pause non-urgent procedures as Omicron surged, throwing many patients in limbo as they waited for word on when they would be seen. A plan is in place toresumesome of the paused procedures, but concerns around backlogs remainafter massive disruptions to the health-system caused by the lengthy pandemic.

-From CBC News and The Canadian Press, last updated at 1:30 p.m. ET

What's happening in the rest ofCanada

WATCH | Avoiding the next health-care catastrophe:

Pushed to the brink, exhausted hospital staff say lessons must be learned

3 years ago

Duration 7:08

Unprecedented COVID-19 hospitalizations have left staff at Toronto's Humber River Hospital exhausted and struggling to care for a relentless wave of very sick people. They say lessons must be learned from this pandemic, so the next public health crisis is not as catastrophic.

With lab-based testing capacity deeply strained and increasingly restricted,experts say true case counts are likely far higher than reported. Hospitalization data at the regional level is also evolving, with several provinces saying they will reportfiguresthat separatethe number of people in hospital because of COVID-19 from those in hospital for another medical issue who alsotest positive for COVID-19.

• Track how many people have been given the COVID-19 vaccine across Canada

For more information on what is happening in your community including details on outbreaks, testing capacity and local restrictions click through to the regional coverage below.

You can also read more from thePublic Health Agency of Canada, whichprovides a detailed look at every regionincludingseven-day averagetest positivity ratesin itsdaily epidemiological updates.

InAtlantic Canada,New Brunswick on Tuesday reported 162 hospitalizations an increase of 10 from a day earlier with 17 people in the province's intensive care units. The province also saw five additional deaths and 228 additional lab-confirmed cases.

Health officials inNewfoundland and Labradorreported 25COVID-19 hospitalizations, anew high, with 11people in critical care. Health officials also reported two additional deaths and 179 lab-confirmed cases.

InPrince Edward Island, the chief public health officer said Tuesday she will announce a loosening of restrictions next week.Dr. Heather Morrison said isolation requirements for travellers arriving on the island could be relaxed, as could restrictions on organized gatherings and recreational activities.

"Despite the cases in the last month, hospitalizations, and despite this Omicron wave, I think we have more hope and optimism now than even compared to a month ago as we continue to manage our way through this wave of the pandemic," she told reporters in Charlottetown. "I believe we will be in a very different place in a few weeks."

There are currently 15 people in hospital in P.E.I., including two in ICU. The province also reported one death on Tuesday and 362 new cases.

Nova Scotia,meanwhile, on Tuesday said 95people remainedin designated COVID-19 hospital units, with 13people in the province's ICUs. The province also reported an additional 274lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 and one additional death.

• LISTEN | A patent-free vaccine for the world

InManitoba, there were 737 people in hospital with COVID-19 Tuesday a new highincluding 54in the province's intensive care units. The province also reported seven additional deaths and 491new lab-confirmed cases.

Saskatchewanhealth officials reported a total of370 people in hospital with COVID-19 on Tuesday, with 39in ICUs. The province also reported one additional deathand 661 new lab-confirmed cases. The premier says he wants to end the province's proof of vaccineprogram by the end of the month.

• Sask. nurses union says morale is in 'free fall'

British Columbia health officials said Tuesday that there are1,035 COVID-positive patientsin hospital, including139 in intensive care. The province also reported1,236new cases and nine additional deaths.

B.C.'s top doctor said the province is planning to slowly ease its gathering restrictions starting later this month.

"We know the COVID-19 virus is going to be with us for some time, but we are progressing through this surge," Dr. Bonnie Henry said during a briefing.

InAlberta,the total number of people in hospital with COVID-19 rose to 1,585 Tuesday,with 109 people being treated in ICUs. The province reported 13 additional deaths, along with 1,980additional lab-confirmed cases.

• ANALYSIS |Insiders see major shift coming to the way Alberta cares for the frail
• Alberta premier hopes to start lifting all COVID-19 health measures by end of February

Across the North, health officials in Nunavut say misinformation is to blame for an outbreak of COVID-19 in Igloolik. The region has been kept in lockdown while the rest of the territory has seen restriction eased. There were 83 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 inNunavut as of Tuesday.

One person is in a hospital inYukon, where health officials on Tuesday reported 22 additional cases.

Health officials in theNorthwest Territoriesreported 208 additional cases on Tuesday.

• COVID-19 outbreaks declared at long-term facilities across the N.W.T.
  
• Nunavut health minister blames misinformation forIgloolik COVID-19 outbreak

-From CBC News and The Canadian Press, last updated at 8:20p.m. ET

What's happening around the world

As of Tuesday evening, more than381.1 million cases of COVID-19 had been reported worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University's coronavirus tracker. The reported global death toll stood at more than 5.6 million.

• WHO sounds alarm about Omicron as COVID-19 infections of past 10 weeks exceed those in all of 2020

In theAsia-Pacificregion, disaster-hit Tonga will go into lockdown Wednesday evening after the Pacific island nation reported that two port workershelping distribute international aid had become infected with the coronavirus.

The urgent announcement by Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni appeared to confirm fears among Tongan officials that the aid pouring in following a devastating volcanic eruption and tsunami last month could also bringCOVID-19 to a nation that had previously been free of the virus.

Indonesia's holiday island of Bali will start welcoming back travellers from all countries later this week, more than three months after announcing it was open to selected nationalities.

Meanwhile, the COVID-19 situation at the Beijing Winter Olympics is within the "expected controllable range," despite increasing positive cases being detected, a senior official said.

WATCH | Beijing's 'closed loop' system against COVID-19:

Closed loop designed to keep COVID-19 out of Beijing 2022

3 years ago

Duration 3:01

Olympic organizers in Beijing are closely guarding the 'closed loop' system, where athletes, personnel and the media are confined to a bubble that includes strict protocol and testing to prevent COVID-19 from infiltrating the Games.

People in China rang in the Lunar New Year on Tuesday despite pandemic restrictions, as small crowds gathered at temples to offer traditional prayers for the Year of the Tiger.

• 3 members of Canadian Olympic team in Beijing in COVID-19 protocol

InAfrica, leading South African scientists are set to investigate COVID-19 and HIV in tandem, given mounting evidence that the collision of the two pandemics could be generating new coronavirus variants.

Nigeria launched a $149 million US fund to help fight HIV/AIDS, especially targeting the prevention of mother-to-child transmissions, after foreign funding came under strain from the focus on COVID-19.

InEurope,Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa, who was re-elected for a second term on Sunday, has tested positive for COVID--19 and is set to isolate for seven days.

Denmark has become one of the first European Union countries to scrap most pandemic restrictions as the country no longer considers the COVID-19 outbreak "a socially critical disease." The reason for that is that while the Omicron variant is surging in Denmark, it's not placing a heavy burden on the health system and the country has a high vaccination rate.

The wearing of face masks is no longer mandatory as of Tuesday on public transportation, shops and for standing clients in restaurant indoor areas. Another restrictionno longer required is the digital pass, previously usedto enter nightclubs, cafs, party buses and to be seated indoors in restaurants.

A Conservative lawmaker in Britain said Prime Minister Boris Johnson should resign and that he had submitted a letter of no confidence, after a report found that alcohol-fuelled events had taken place at Downing Street during lockdown.

WATCH | Johnson lambasted over 'partygate' report:

British PM lambasted over 'partygate' report

3 years ago

Duration 2:39

Prime Minister Boris Johnson tainted the 'heart-wrenching' sacrifices of the British people, Opposition Labour Party Leader Keir Starmer told Parliament on Monday.

In theMiddle East, health officials in Kuwait on Monday reported6,063 additional cases of COVID-19 and two additional deaths.

In theAmericas,Mexico registered 12,521 confirmed cases and 198 more deaths from COVID-19 on Monday, according to health ministry data, bringing the country's overall number of confirmed cases to 4,942,590 and the death toll to 306,091.

Meanwhile, theWorld Health Organization says overuse of gloves, "moon suits" and the use of billions of masks and vaccination syringes to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus have spurred a huge glut of health care waste worldwide.

The UN health agency reported Tuesday that extra medical waste has strained waste management systems and is threatening both health and the environment, pointing to a "dire need" to improve those systems and get a response from both governments and people.

"Part of the message for the public is to become more of a conscious consumer," said Dr. Margaret Montgomery, technical officer of WHO's water, sanitation, hygiene and health unit. "In terms of the volume, it's enormous."

"It is absolutely vital to provide health workers with the right (protective gear)," Dr. Michael Ryan, WHO's emergencies chief, said in a statement. "But it is also vital to ensure that it can be used safely without impacting on the surrounding environment."

-From Reuters, The Associated Press and CBC News, last updated at 7 p.m. ET