Some parts of the country are easing pandemic restrictions while others are tightening them based on their perception of the COVID-19 curve flattening or peaking.
Quebec announced that its controversial 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew will be lifted on Monday because researchers there believe the latest wave of the pandemic, fueled by the highly infectious Omicron variant of COVID-19, has reached its maximum.
And Nunavut says the tough measures it put in place just before Christmas were so effective it rolled back travel restrictions on Monday, allowing businesses to reopen and schools to resume in-person learning on January 24. .
It’s a different story in New Brunswick where new restrictions take effect today, limiting residents to a single-household bubble while closing indoor gymnasiums, entertainment venues and restaurants.
In neighboring Prince Edward Island, where Chief Medical Officer Dr. Heather Morrison says the “worst of this wave” is yet to come, current restrictions that include business capacity limits and distance learning for students will be extended.
Nationwide, the number of new COVID cases and associated hospitalizations remain at or near record highs.
Ontario recorded an increase in hospitalizations of 182 on Thursday to an all-time high of 3,630. About 6,000 new cases were reported in Alberta and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19.
The federal government also announced Thursday evening that a vaccination mandate for truckers entering Canada from the United States would begin on Saturday as planned, despite an earlier statement from the Canada Border Services Agency that Canadian truckers would be exempted.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on January 14, 2022.
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