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- Reopening anxiety: Experts say ditching lockdown habits will be hard for some.
- Calgary City Council votes to repeal mask bylaws.
- 36% of eligible British Columbians are now fully vaccinated, as COVID-19 numbers continue to decline.
- Quebecers can now reserve a second dose of the vaccine just 4 weeks after the first day.
- Indonesia is facing a spike in COVID-19 cases, and is preparing for more hospital admissions.
- Do you have a question regarding the coronavirus or news tip for CBC News? e-mail: COVID@cbc.ca Or join us directly in the comments now.
The British government said it has scrapped self-isolation rules for those who are fully vaccinated from mid-August, as the country prepares to lift most remaining restrictions on the coronavirus.
Currently, people who have been notified that they have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive must self-isolate for 10 days. Health Minister Sajid Javid says this rule will no longer apply as of August 16 for anyone who has received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Young people under the age of 18 will only need to be isolated if they test positive – a change that will be a huge relief for families with school children who have had to isolate frequently and miss school due to reported cases in their classes.
Javid said those who have been in close contact with an infected person will instead be advised to get tested as soon as possible. He said officials are looking at removing the need for isolation after traveling abroad for people who have been fully vaccinated.
“Step by step, blow after blow, we are replacing temporary protection of restrictions with long-term protection for vaccines,” he said.
Britain on Monday announced plans to scrap laws requiring face masks and physical distancing on July 19.
Javid, who was appointed late last month after Matt Hancock resigned as health secretary, stressed the importance of other health issues, economic problems and educational challenges that have accumulated during the pandemic.
“We can’t live in a world where the only thing we think about is COVID – not all of our other health problems, our economic problems, our educational challenges,” Javid told Sky News. “We have to take advantage of a vaccine that works happily.”
Critics say Johnson and Judd have abandoned their pledge to take a cautious approach to lifting restrictions.
Javid said that by the time limits lifted on July 19, there could be 50,000 COVID-19 cases per day – twice current rates – and that cases “could be up to 100,000”.
–From Reuters and The Associated Press, last updated at 2:31 p.m. ET
What’s happening all over Canada
Canadian citizens and permanent residents returning from international travel no longer have to quarantine for 14 days if more than two weeks have passed since their second dose and their vaccines have been approved by Health Canada. 1:58
As of 1:47 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Canada had reported 1,418,026 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 5,644 active cases. The national death toll has reached 26,378. More than 40 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered so far across the country.
at Quebec Health officials reported no additional deaths on Tuesday and 67 new cases from COVID-19.
OntarioMeanwhile, it reported nine additional deaths on Tuesday and 244 cases of COVID-19, although Health Secretary Christine Elliott noted 164 new cases.
In the prairie on Tuesday, Manitoba 34 net new cases, 1 death and 83 recoveries were reported.
In Atlantic Canada on Tuesday, Nova Scotia It reported seven new cases of COVID-19, and Prince Edward Island One new case was reported. No new cases were reported in new bronze or Newfoundland and Labrador.
Across the North on Tuesday, no new cases were reported Nunavut. Health officials in Northwest Territories And the Yukon, which is dealing with an increase in COVID-19 numbers, is yet to report today’s updates.
on Monday, SaskatchewanNo additional deaths and 20 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported.
at Alberta, Health officials on Monday announced two additional deaths and 139 new cases since Friday.
British Columbia It has seen three deaths since Friday and 87 new cases of COVID-19.
-From CBC News and The Canadian Press, last updated at 12:55pm ET
What is happening around the world
Dr Michael Ryan, head of the WHO’s emergencies programme, said it was ‘too early’ for countries to abandon coronavirus-related health restrictions and try to speed up a return to normal. (The Associated Press) 0:38
As of early Tuesday morning, more than 184.1 million cases of COVID-19 have been reported worldwide, according to a tracker from Johns Hopkins University. The reported global death toll was more than 3.9 million.
at Russia, cases set another daily record, with authorities reporting another 737 deaths amid a rapid rise in infections with 23,378 new cases. The daily number of confirmed infections has more than doubled in the past month, but there are no plans to force another lockdown.
In the Middle eastIsrael will deliver about 700,000 expired doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to South Korea this month, and South Korea will return to Israel the same number, already ordered from Pfizer, in September and October.
In the AmericasMexican Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez Gatell said on Tuesday that Pfizer will reduce shipments of a COVID-19 vaccine to Mexico for two weeks due to renovations at the Pfizer plant in the United States.
The Brazilian government has extended its emergency cash transfer program for poor families during the pandemic for another three months, starting in August.
In the Asia Pacific Indonesia has prepared backup medical facilities for the worst-case scenario with daily infections reaching 40,000 to 50,000, a senior official said, as the country struggles with its fastest spread.
Fiji is struggling to contain an outbreak of the highly contagious delta type, and Fiji reported a record 636 infections and six deaths on Tuesday, with the morgue at the Pacific island’s main hospital filling up.
The prime minister of the Australian state of New South Wales said she aims to make a decision within the next 24 hours on whether to extend the COVID-19 lockdown in Sydney.
at EuropeThe government said Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel is in a serious but stable condition after contracting COVID-19 and will remain in hospital for the time being.
Deaths from the coronavirus in Russia set another daily record, with authorities reporting another 737 deaths amid a rapid rise in infections. Russia’s coronavirus task force on Tuesday reported 23,378 new cases of coronavirus. The daily number of confirmed infections has more than doubled in the past month, rising from about 9,000 in early June to more than 23,000 this week.
Despite the troop surge, the Kremlin said there were no plans to impose another lockdown. Russia experienced one nationwide shutdown in the spring of 2020 that lasted six weeks, and the government has since resisted shutting down businesses.
The Coronavirus Task Force has reported more than 5.6 million confirmed cases of coronavirus and a total of 139,316 deaths during the pandemic. The actual death rate is believed to be higher.
at Africa, South Africa has reported 12,513 new cases of COVID-19 and 331 additional deaths. The country is currently in lockdown as it tries to slow the transmission of the virus.
— From The Associated Press, Reuters, and CBC News, last updated at 1:39 p.m. ET
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