Good morning, here is a quick round-up of the latest COVID-19 news from Canada and around the world.
In Canada…as of February 10, 2021 per covid-19canada.com, the total number of cases of the coronavirus recorded sits at 810,802. There have been 20,909 deaths as a result of the virus and the number of active cases is currently 39,180.
Overall as COVID-19 continues to spread, the new variants of the novel coronavirus continue to emerge at a increase rate across Canada. Per ctvnews.ca as of February 9, 2021, there have been 366 cases of the B.1.1.7 variant (first discovered in the UK), 28 cases of the B.1.351 variant (originally discovered in South Africa) and 1 case of the P.1 variant (first discovered in Brazil) detected in Canada. Variants have been detected in all provinces of Canada with the except of the Yukon, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, PEI and Newfoundland. The rise in cases associated with the variants is concerning as the variants are more contagious and according to some research have higher mortality rates.
In the U.S.…as of February 10, 2021 per covid-19us.live, the total number of cases of the coronavirus recorded sits at 27,804,262. There have been 479,810 deaths in the USA as a result of the virus and the number of active cases is currently 9,682,013.
The emerging COVID-19 variants are on a rapid increase in the USA as well. According to figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of know coronavirus variants cases in the U.S. has surged 73% in the last week alone. Nowhere has the increase been more noticeable than in Florida. The state now has more than twice as many known variant cases as any other state.
Finally, here is a snapshot of COVID-9 headlines from around the globe…
Japan to discard 1 in 6 doses of Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine because of its lack of specialist syringes
Another UEFA Champions League tie has moved locations due to Covid-19 travel bans
Heineken to cut 8,000 jobs as pandemic hits sales
Tired and battered Portuguese paramedics fight Covid-19 in one of Europe's worst hotspots
Ghana shuts down parliament for three weeks because of Covid-19 outbreak
Europe is "not where we want to be" on vaccines, says EU chief
UK coronavirus variant has been reported in 86 countries, WHO says