Coronavirus (COVID-19) National News

Longer-range forecast models predict a resurgence of COVID-19 infections unless public health measures are enhanced and strictly followed, Dr. Theresa Tam said in a written statement.

The legislation would provide an added $2.2 billion for municipalities and First Nations communities through the federal gas-tax fund, to be renamed the Canada Community-Building Fund.

Her audits flagged multiple moments when federal officials could have made program changes that may have prevented the wage subsidy from going to companies with unpaid tax bills, or the CERB from potentially going to known fraudsters.

"To date, over 4.3 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in Canada," Njoo said in Ottawa on Thursday. "This marks an important milestone, with more than 11 per cent of eligible adult Canadians ... having received at least one dose."

Nearly 1.2 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine are set to arrive this week, alongside 846,000 shots of the product developed by Moderna. 

AstraZeneca said its COVID-19 vaccine was 100 per cent effective in stopping severe disease and hospitalization, though it has not yet published full data so it's unclear if there were enough severe cases to make that finding significant.

Compared with asymptomatic patients, symptomatic patients were at double the risk of preterm birth and a 50 per cent increased risk of caesarean delivery.

In addition to the well-documented economic consequences, particularly among communities near the border, the year-long travel restrictions are taking a mental toll, the task force heard.

There have been nearly 4,500 variant cases of COVID-19 in Canada, with 90 per cent of those related to the variant first detected in the U.K., Tam said, adding that in parts of Canada, variants of concern are making up a higher proportion of all new cases.

The new advice comes as authorities debate whether Canada is moving into a third wave of the pandemic, and investigate concerns about blood clots and AstraZeneca's vaccine.