Whether in Quebec or elsewhere on the planet, the COVID-19 pandemic is disrupting our lives.
Here you will find all the news throughout the day related to this crisis affecting the population, governments and the economy.
LAST REVIEW
World
- Case: 42 020 333
- Death: 1 140 953
Canada
- Case: 211 044, 98 226 in Quebec
- Death: 9893, 6106 in Quebec
ALL THE NEWS FOR FRIDAY 23 OCTOBER 2020
5:55 pm | Four new cases of COVID-19 were declared on Friday in connection with the outbreak that hit the Leclerc accommodation center, in the Granby hospital.
5:27 pm | Canada broke the 210,000 COVID-19 infection mark on Friday, as 1,929 new cases were reported late afternoon.
4:11 pm | Quebec is raising the city of L’Épiphanie to the maximum alert level, which means that the MRC de L’Assomption is now entirely at this level.
4:00 p.m. | Coronavirus: Biden promises a free vaccine “for all” if elected.
Democratic candidate Joe Biden on Friday pledged the coronavirus vaccine would be “free for everyone” as part of his national pandemic plan, if elected as President of the United States.
“Once we have a safe and effective vaccine, it should be free for everyone, whether you are insured or not,” he said, 11 days before the presidential election.
US President Donald Trump, lagging behind in the polls, also wants the future vaccine against the virus, which could be ready in the coming weeks, to be free.
3:59 pm | A COVID-19 outbreak is underway in the emergency department of the Santa Cabrini Ospedale Hospital in Montreal.
3:58 pm | The clinical trial of the experimental COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca with the British University of Oxford has resumed in the United States, the only country where it was still suspended following the onset of a disease in a participating more than six weeks ago, the pharmaceutical group said on Friday.
3:04 pm | Pandemic: cold snap between the UN and New York City.
The president of the General Assembly of the UN, the Turkish Volkan Bozkir, rebelled Friday in a statement of a refusal of the mayor of New York to receive him to ensure that the organization “functions as efficiently as possible “despite measures taken against COVID-19” I was saddened to learn that the mayor (Bill de Blasio) was not available to meet with me. This lack of interaction concerns me, as the policies developed by New York City directly affect the work of the United Nations and, by extension, millions of lives around the world, ”Volkan Bozkir said in a bitter statement.
His spokesman Brenden Varma declined to say during a press briefing whether Volkan Bozkir was seeking exceptions to the city hall rule, imposing 14 days of confinement on foreigners arriving in the city, for representatives of the 193 member states.
In September, Volkan Bozkir, who would like to see physical meetings resume on a large scale at the UN, announced the organization of a summit on the pandemic before the end of December. This extraordinary meeting is physically planned for December 3 and 4.
Since March, the Organization, under the leadership of its Secretary General Antonio Guterres, adept at a cautious approach, has mainly resorted to teleworking and videoconferences.
New York City Hall “did not give us a reason (…), they just rejected the request for an appointment,” said Brenden Varma.
The head of the international department of New York City Hall, for her part, affirmed her “surprise” and “sadness” after Volkan Bozkir’s reaction.
2:45 p.m. | Virus: Belgium is counting on the collective effort to avoid re-containment.
2:27 pm | COVID-19: more than a million cases in France since the start of the epidemic.
France passed the milestone of one million COVID-19 cases on Friday since the start of the epidemic, and the situation continues to deteriorate with more than 40,000 new cases recorded in 24 hours, according to Public Health France.
A total of 42,032 new cases of COVID-19 were recorded on Friday, 410 more than the day before, a new record since the generalization of large-scale tests, reaching a total of 1,041,075, according to figures released by the agency.
The test positivity rate continues to climb, to 15.1% against 14.3% the day before, and only 4.5% at the beginning of September.
2,091 new patients were hospitalized (for a total of 15,008), and 299 new serious cases (+37) admitted to intensive care, bringing the number of seriously ill patients to 2,441.
Faced with the gravity of the situation, the government announced Thursday the extension of the curfew to 38 new departments and to French Polynesia. About 46 million inhabitants are now affected by this measure, which has become inevitable according to President Emmanuel Macron, who estimated Friday that “in the phase in which we are, we have no other choice”.
2:05 pm | Denmark is stepping up measures to stem the rise in COVID-19.
Denmark will extend the wearing of masks from Monday and then strengthen its measures to restrict gatherings in an attempt to stem the sharp rise in infections with the new coronavirus, the government announced on Friday.
“We are tired of this disease,” but “we risk losing control,” Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned at a press conference.
To deal with the situation, the gauge of gatherings, until then fixed at 50, will drop to 10 people (except for sporting events where the limit is maintained at 500 people) from Monday and for four weeks. The Danes are also called to have no more than 10 people away from their homes and work.
All the measures already in force will also be extended until January 2, announced the head of government.
It will also now be mandatory to cover the mouth and nose from Thursday in closed public places, while the Danes were until now allowed to do without, except in public transport.
In mid-September, the Nordic country had already announced new restrictions in the face of the rise in the number of Covid-19 cases.
Bars, cafes and restaurants were forced to close at 10 p.m. Customers and staff in bars and restaurants have since also been asked to wear a protective mask when not seated.
The sale of alcohol after 10 p.m. will also be banned nationwide.
13:52 | The disastrous consequences of health restrictions are far more numerous than the benefits, claims a group of more than 500 entrepreneurs, traders and self-employed workers who accuse the Legault government of making its decisions in a vacuum.
13:20 | The toll of the COVID-19 epidemic could further double in the United States by the end of February, to exceed 500,000 deaths, but wearing a mask could prevent 130,000 of these deaths, conclude projections published on Friday.
13:08 | Municipal infrastructure must again be converted to cope with the pandemic. This is the case of an arena in Laval which will welcome patients.
13h00 | “If we do not recover quickly, in Quebec City and on the South Shore, we are exposed to the possibility that citizens may no longer receive care in certain circumstances. It is the wall that awaits us if we do not break the second wave, ”proclaimed Deputy Prime Minister Geneviève Guilbault, surrounded by the mayors of Quebec and Lévis, Friday..
13h00 | About 130,000 to 140,000 surgeries are pending at the moment, having been postponed due to the pandemic, and it will take 12 to 18 months to return to normal.
12:30 pm | The northern hemisphere is at a “critical moment” in the COVID-19 pandemic, the WHO boss warned on Friday, judging that too many countries are recording an exponential increase in cases.
11:40 am | The COVID-19 pandemic caused the loss of 820,500 jobs in Quebec between February and April, causing the unemployment rate to explode, which fell from 4.5 to 17% during this period.
11:20 am | The last seven-day average of COVID-19 cases stands at 1,043, as 905 new infections are reported today and 12 deaths are recorded.
11:15 am | Quebec will receive 60,000 rapid screening tests from the federal government.
11h00 | After several difficult weeks, the National Institute of Excellence in Health and Social Services (INESSS) finally sees a decrease in the number of new hospitalizations in the coming weeks..
8:30 am | Struck by the pandemic like many other Quebec retailers, Le Château is sheltered from its creditors and begins a process of liquidating its assets.
8:15 am | The evolution of the COVID-19 epidemic is now causing “serious concern” in 23 countries of the European Union, as well as in the United Kingdom, the European health agency in charge of diseases announced on Friday, calling for ” immediate action ”.
6:00 am | The health emergency has a broad back to justify a $ 23 million IT contract without a call for tenders from the Ministry of Health to the firm Deloitte for the detection of COVID-19. Quebec would have paid up to $ 9 million less by opening up to competition or by doing like Ontario, which used free software.
Archive photo, Didier Debusschère
6:00 am | Madrid’s regional authorities announced on Friday the ban from Saturday of meetings between midnight and 6 a.m., while several Spanish regions wish to impose a curfew to curb the COVID-19 pandemic.
5:25 am | Millions of Britons are facing tougher local restrictions on Friday, with Wales even entering new lockdown, to stem the second wave of the new coronavirus in the UK, which is tackling the issue in dispersed order.