Coronavirus: What’s happening in Canada and around the world on Friday

The latest:

Germany is resuming vaccinations with the coronavirus vaccine made by AstraZeneca, following a recommendation by European regulators that the benefits of the shot outweigh the risks.

The European Medicines Agency said Thursday that the vaccine is safe but it can’t rule out a link to a small number of rare blood clots reported on the continent, and patients should be told to look out for any warning signs.

The move paved the way for more than a dozen European countries, which had suspended use of the shot over the past week, to begin using it again.

Authorities in Berlin said two large vaccination centres that offer the AstraZeneca shot to people in the German capital will reopen Friday, and people whose appointments were cancelled this week will be able to get the vaccine over the weekend without making a new one.

The suspension of the AstraZeneca shot further slowed Germany’s already sluggish vaccine campaign this week. So far, about 10 million doses have been administered in the country, with 8.4 per cent of the population receiving at least one shot and 3.7 per cent getting both doses.

Germany’s disease control agency reported 17,482 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 overnight, and 226 deaths.

Spain’s health minister says the country will resume vaccinating with AstraZeneca doses next Wednesday but officials will revise over the weekend which groups to exclude to minimize risks.

Carolina Darias said authorities at the national and regional level will assess the jab’s updated technical sheet and give new guidelines to doctors.

The minister spoke after an urgent meeting with health officials from the country’s regions following the European Union’s drug regulatory announcement that the vaccine is safe.

The head of Spain’s drug agency says resuming now after assessing a series of rare blood clots in a dozen patients who had received the AstraZeneca jab « should strengthen trust in the vaccines. »

After weeks of falling contagion rates, Spain’s coronavirus pandemic incidence is on the rise again, prompting fears that the country could soon join the uptick that the rest of Europe is experiencing.

Indonesia on Friday also cleared the AstraZeneca vaccine for use again after the European Union’s drug regulator said the vaccine didn’t increase the overall incidence of blood clots. Southeast Asia’s biggest economy delayed the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine after more than a dozen countries in Europe suspended the vaccine due to concerns of some people who received the vaccine developing blood clots.

« The benefits of using the COVID-19 vaccine [from] AstraZeneca outweigh the possible risks, so that we can start to use it, » Indonesia’s Food and Drug Authority said in its announcement.

The World Health Organization had previously said it saw no evidence the vaccine was to blame for the clots.

The Indonesian agency said the risk of death from COVID-19 was much greater. « Therefore, the community still has to get vaccination against COVID-19 according to the designated schedule, » it said.

Indonesia received 1.1 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine on March 8, through COVAX — a multilateral effort seeking to ensure equitable global access to coronavirus vaccination — with another 10 million more expected next month.

-From The Associated Press and Reuters, last updated at 7 a.m. ET

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What’s happening across Canada

WATCH | Atlantic bubble set for April reopening:

As of early Friday morning, Canada had reported 922,853 cases of COVID-19, with 32,280 cases considered active. A CBC News tally of deaths stood at 22,590.

In Atlantic Canada, premiers announced a plan to revive a regional travel bubble, provided case numbers stay low. 

Newfoundland and Labrador’s participation will depend on continued progress in easing its restrictions following an outbreak that swept through the St. John’s region last month.

There were 11 cases of COVID-19 reported in total in the region on Thursday — seven in New Brunswick, three in Nova Scotia and one in Newfoundland and Labrador. There were no new cases reported in Prince Edward Island.

In Quebec, Health Minister Christian Dubé rolled up his sleeve for the AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday. His public vaccination in Montreal came hours after the European Medicines Agency declared a review found no evidence the AstraZeneca shot raises the overall risk of blood clots.

Quebec, like all provinces, is trying to ramp up vaccination efforts in a bid to stay ahead of rising case numbers and variants of concern. On Thursday, the province reported 702 new cases of COVID-19 and seven additional deaths. Hospitalizations in the province stood at 519, with 101 COVID-19 patients in intensive care units across Quebec.

Ontario health officials reported 1,553 new cases of COVID-19 and 15 additional deaths on Thursday. According to a provincial dashboard, COVID-19 hospitalizations stood at 730, with 304 listed as being in intensive care.

In Ottawa, people were waking up to new restrictions as the area moved back to the red zone.

Across the North, there were no new cases reported in Yukon, the Northwest Territories or Nunavut on Thursday.

In the Prairie provinces, Manitoba reported 91 new cases and one additional death on Thursday. The Pine Creek First Nation, located about 325 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, officials have declared a local state of emergency and implemented a lockdown in the face of rising COVID-19 cases.

Saskatchewan, meanwhile, reported 115 new cases of COVID-19 and one additional death.

In neighbouring Alberta, health officials reported 505 new cases of COVID-19 and one additional death. Premier Jason Kenney says COVID-19 data looks promising as his cabinet committee prepares to meet Monday to decide whether to further ease public health restrictions. Kenney said the key metric is the hospitalization rate, which has been well under 300 for three weeks.

« There have been little blips up and little blips down, but basically the situation has been relatively stable, » Kenney said Thursday.

In British Columbia, health officials reported 622 new cases of COVID-19 and eight additional deaths. 

Police officers, grocery workers, teachers and child-care staff are among more than 300,000 front-line workers being prioritized for COVID-19 vaccinations in the coming weeks, the province announced Thursday.

Premier John Horgan said they will receive the AstraZeneca vaccine as part of the province’s plan to inoculate workers who are most at risk of being infected because of barriers to using personal protective equipment and passing the virus on to others in their communities.

WATCH | Dr. Bonnie Henry talks about why it’s important to have a ‘COVID safety plan’ — even after getting a dose of vaccine:

-From The Canadian Press and CBC News, last updated at 7:20 a.m. ET

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What’s happening around the world

As of early Friday morning, more than 121.8 million cases of COVID-19 had been reported worldwide, according to a tracking tool maintained by Johns Hopkins University. The global death toll stood at well over 2.6 million.

In the Asia-Pacific region, the Philippines recorded 7,103 new coronavirus cases on Friday, a record daily increase in infections, as authorities tightened coronavirus curbs in the capital and approved Russia’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use. The previous record was 6,958 cases on Aug. 10.

A new wave of cases in the Philippines, which has the second-highest number of COVID-19 infections and deaths in Southeast Asia, is threatening hopes of a strong economic rebound after a record contraction last year and the loss of millions of jobs.

The health ministry said there were now 648,066 confirmed coronavirus cases and 12,900 deaths, including 13 more fatalities on Friday.

« The ministry continues to appeal for us to stay home and avoid going out if not necessary, » it said.

The latest outbreak is again concentrated on the congested Manila region, and includes the more transmissible variants.

The coronavirus task force on Friday reduced the number allowed at religious gatherings and conferences to 30 per cent of capacity from the previous 50 per cent until April 4. It also ordered cinemas, driving schools, libraries, museums and cockfighting arenas to close.

The Philippines’ Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday approved the Sputnik V vaccine developed by Russia’s Gamaleya Institute. It is the fourth to get emergency use authorization after Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Sinovac.

« The known and potential benefits of the Gamaleya Sputnik V vaccine…outweigh the known and potential risks, » FDA chief Rolando Enrique Domingo said, noting that interim data showed the vaccine had an efficacy of 91.6 per cent in age groups 18 and older.

U.S. vaccine makers Moderna and Johnson & Johnson have made inquiries about the documents needed for emergency use approval but have yet to file applications, Domingo said.

The Philippines launched its inoculation drive on March 1 and has received delivery of 1.125 million donated doses of the Sinovac and AstraZeneca vaccines. The government plans to roll out 140.5 million shots by December, to inoculate 70 million adults in a bid to achieve herd immunity.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison says he is working with U.S., Indian and Japanese partners to provide emergency coronavirus vaccine to Papua New Guinea. Australia has provided 8,000 AstraZeneca doses from its own stockpile to its nearest neighbour after an explosion of infections in the South Pacific island nation in recent weeks.

In Africa, the ability to produce COVID-19 vaccines got a boost Thursday with the announcement that Biovac has signed a full manufacturing partnership with U.S.-based ImmunityBio.

Biovac is a laboratory partly owned by the South African state. It has an agreement with ImmunityBio, which has a COVID-19 vaccine in clinical trials, to produce the vaccine sometime next year. Biovac, based in Cape Town, has the capacity to produce between 20 million and 30 million vaccines in a year.

Africa’s 54 countries have limited capacity to make vaccines, with only two laboratories on the continent able to fully manufacture vaccines. Those are Biovac and the Pasteur Institute in Dakar, Senegal, which produces yellow fever vaccines. Three other African countries can partially manufacture vaccines.

South Africa’s Aspen Pharmacare is awaiting approval to assemble the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, a process of blending the ingredients sent in large batches and putting the vaccine into vials — the filling and finishing. Aspen said it has the capacity to produce 300 million doses annually of the J&J vaccine.

In Europe, French Prime Minister Jean Castex has announced new restrictions to combat the resurgent coronavirus epidemic in Paris, where gravely ill patients are filling ICUs. Hospital workers are hoping the measures will help relieve the pressure, but some say they don’t go far enough.

Castex announced a mishmash of measures, including closures of nonessential shops, that are mostly limited to Paris and northern France and don’t oblige people to spend most of the day indoors. They take effect on Friday night. Meanwhile, a nationwide nightly curfew is being shortened slightly.

Authorities in the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo have implemented lockdown measures to counter soaring coronavirus infections.

The Sarajevo government said a nighttime curfew will start on Friday, from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. All bars and restaurants will shut down starting Saturday, except for food deliveries. Authorities say the measures are necessary because of a « drastically worsened » epidemiological situation in the city.

With infection and death rates remaining at high levels, the Czech government has extended the country’s tight lockdown until after Easter. Health Minister Jan Blatny says his country is still not in a position to relax the measures.

In the Americas, Brazil’s coronavirus outbreak spirals out of control, the country is facing a dangerous new shortage, threatening to drive fatalities even higher: a lack of staff in intensive care units.

Mexico’s government said it would restrict movement on its southern border with Guatemala.

-From Reuters and The Associated Press, last updated at 8:15 a.m. ET