Today's coronavirus news: The Weeknd donates $500000 to Scarborough Health Network; Toronto expected to be home to Blue Jays for training camp, sources say - Toronto Star

KEY FACTS

• 11:28 a.m.: New federal COVID-19 models show continued progress, but with significant hotspots.

• 9:30 a.m.: The Weeknd donates $500,000 to Scarborough Health Network

• 8:50 a.m.: Toronto expected to be home to Blue Jays for training camp, sources say

The latest coronavirus news from Canada and around the world Monday. This file will be updated throughout the day. Web links to longer stories if available.

11:28 a.m. (updated): Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says new federal models show continued progress in suppressing COVID-19, but with significant hotspots.

He says the restrictions Canadians have lived with through the spring have worked to get the novel coronavirus under control. But if we let up, Trudeau says the country could still be at risk.

A new explosion in cases could mean a return to tight restrictions, he warns.

He says rising COVID-19 numbers in the United States demonstrate the need for continued vigilance north of the border, including keeping physical distances from each other wherever possible.

More details on the federal government’s outlook are to come at mid-day Eastern time, in a news conference with Canada’s top public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam.

10:10 a.m.: The Canadian Emergency Response Benefit which pays $2,000 per month, is being extended from 16 weeks to 24. However, eventually coverage will run out, as it will for those who qualified for employment insurance during the pandemic, too.

It’s not too soon to strategize about what’s next for work and your finances. Here’s a road map to help you through the transition.

9:30 a.m.: Local artist The Weeknd, has donated $500,000 to the Scarborough Health Network “in support of COVID-19 relief efforts,” said a press release Monday morning.

“I was raised in Scarborough and felt it was important to give back to the community that raised me during the hard times of this pandemic,” The Weeknd, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, said in the release.

The donation from the Grammy-winning singer, songwriter and record producer came through sales of The Weeknd’s signature ‘XO’ face masks. XO is his record label.

“The donation is a leading gift to the health network’s COVID-19 Emergency Fund, which now totals more than $2.7 million,” reads the release from Scarborough Health Network.

More than 3,500 donors have contributed to the fund to date, according to Scarborough Health Network.

Dr. Elaine Yeung, corporate chief and medical director of medicine at Scarborough Health Network said the donation represents “Scarborough’s incredible spirit and collective passion for shaping a brighter, healthier future.

“Like The Weeknd, many of my fellow frontline workers either come from Scarborough or call this community home,” Yeung said in the news release. “It is amazing to see one of our own on the world stage, giving back during our community’s time of need; generous support like this inspires us to keep going.”

8:50 a.m.: Some of the Blue Jays’ top prospects are among a group of 58 players invited to a second training camp that looks more and more like it will land in Toronto this week.

Team president Mark Shapiro has yet to receive government approval for the Jays to host the camp. Shapiro said Friday he has been speaking to “all three levels of government.”

But two sources said Sunday evening that players were told last week to expect Toronto to be home to both the camp and regular-season games. Major-league camps can open as early as Wednesday, with the 60-game season starting July 23 or 24.

The Star’s Mark Zwolinski has the story.

8:20 a.m.: Data from Sheridan Villa shows seniors isolated by COVID-19 are increasingly depressed and suffering from falls, unexpected weight loss and pressure ulcers. The Star’s Moira Welsh has the stories behind the data and the lasting impact it may have.

6:13 a.m.: The three levels of government must “flip the switch” and quickly create new housing for homeless people in Toronto ahead of an anticipated second wave of COVID-19, says the executive director of a community health centre in the city.

Angela Robertson, executive director of Parkdale Queen West community health centre and a co-lead on the Toronto region COVID-19 homelessness/shelter working group, says the governments must quickly transition to a short-term strategy for housing the homeless. That strategy should include reinvesting in new affordable housing construction, turning existing vacant buildings into affordable units and putting money into creating new rooming houses and supportive units.

“We have seen what political will and commitment can do in the immediate short term to respond to the challenges that COVID brought to our communities, to the economy,” Robertson says, referring, for example, to the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), which provides temporary income to those who lost work during the pandemic.

Read the full story from the Star’s Housing reporter Donovan Vincent here.

6 a.m.: Canadian Blood Services is gearing up to start testing for COVID-19 antibodies in the next few weeks, contributing to a massive cross-country study to determine just how many people have been infected with the disease.

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Chantale Pambrun, director of Canadian Blood Services’ Centre for Innovation, said the organization partnered with the COVID-19 Immunity Task Force in the spring. The task force was set up by the federal government to co-ordinate efforts around understanding immunity, and includes researchers from across the country.

The blood banks have been saving samples from people who donated in the past few months, which they can rapidly test to inform the task force, writes the Star’s May Warren.

5:15 a.m.: Fans of South Korea’s pro sports may be required to wear masks and discouraged from shouting or eating food when they possibly return to the stands in coming weeks.

Jung Eun-kyeong, director of South Korea’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said such measures were being discussed as health authorities and the sports ministry map out plans for spectators to return to sports. The plans could be announced as early as this week.

Jeong said it will be crucial for the leagues to enforce distance between the fans. Limits on attendance could be eased as the country’s anti-virus efforts progress. South Korea’s professional baseball and soccer leagues returned to action in May without spectators.

The discussions on fans’ return come despite a resurgence of the virus in the Seoul area. South Korea on Monday reported 42 new infections, and authorities are considering stronger social restrictions if the epidemic continues to grow.

5:05 a.m.: The European Union is preparing a list of 15 countries whose nationals will be allowed to visit the bloc beginning Wednesday, Spain’s foreign minister, Aranch Gonzalez Laya, told the Cadena SER radio network.

The resurgence of cases in the U.S. means Americans may not be on that list. Gonzalez Laya said countries will be chosen according to their coronavirus status and the reliability of their data, she said.

“This is not an exercise to be nice or unfriendly to other countries, this is an exercise of self-responsibility,” she said. She confirmed that Spain will reopen its borders with Portugal despite rising infections there.

4:58 a.m.: India has reported a new daily record of nearly 20,000 new infections as several Indian states reimpose partial or full lockdowns to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

India’s health ministry has recorded 548,318 COVID-19 total cases as of Monday, a jump of nearly 100,000 cases in a week in the world’s fourth-worst affected country after the United States, Brazil and Russia. India’s death toll has reached 16,475, while 321,723 patients have recovered from the disease.

The capital district of the northeastern state of Assam on the Bangladesh border has reimposed a full lockdown until July 12 following a spike in cases. Another border state, West Bengal, has extended its lockdown until July 31.

4 a.m.: Health authorities are using a saliva test while working against a coronavirus outbreak in Australia’s second-largest city. The test appears to be less accurate than the nasal swab but is a more comfortable option.

Victoria state Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said the situation in Melbourne was “a genuine challenge now,” in part because the better situation elsewhere in Australia made it harder to tell people to stay vigilant.

Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos said on Monday that 75 people had tested positive in the state in the latest 24 hours. She said the saliva test was first used in a Melbourne suburban hot spot on Sunday. The saliva tests in research were only 87 per cent as accurate as the nasal swab because saliva contained less virus than the throat, said Sharon Lewin, director of the Doherty Institute in Melbourne, which developed the saliva test being used.

Sunday 10:30 p.m. The number of active COVID-19 cases in a Calgary highrise condo building has prompted provincial officials to change the area’s regional classification on the weekend from “open” to “watch.”

According to Alberta Health, more than 60,000 people live in Calgary Centre and there are 34 active cases there — all of which spokeswoman Karin Campbell says are associated with Verve Condominiums. According to Alberta Health’s website, a watch is issued when there are at least 10 active cases in a region and there are more than 50 active cases per 100,000 people, and it says Calgary Centre is just over that at 51.4 cases.

It says that during a watch, the province is “monitoring the risk and discussing with local governments and other community leaders the possible need for additional health measures.” The next level up is enhanced, where “risk levels require enhanced public health measures to control the spread.”

Campbell says there have been 45 cases associated with the condo building and that 11 of them have recovered.

Alberta reported 39 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday but no new deaths. There are 216 active cases in the Calgary zone.

Click here to read more of Sunday’s coverage.

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2020-06-29 14:44:58Z
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