In the seventh wave
Ontario is now in the middle of the seventh wave of COVID-19 infections.
The province’s Science Advisory Table says there’s been “exponential growth” in the number of cases, driven bythe B-A-5 sub-variant of the Omicron strain.
While the group of experts notes that the sub-variant isn’t as severe as previous strains, it notes that there will be a rise in hospitalizations at a time when our medical care facilities are already dealing with staff shortages.
It adds that we could see an increase in deaths among high-risk groups, such as the elderly.
The new analysis comes after the federal COVID-19 Immunity Task Force reported that more than 17-million Canadians, that’s half the country’s population, came down with the Omicron variant in the five months from December through April.
That’s an average of 100-thousand new cases each day described by the task force as a “tsunami” of infections.
Jane Goodall in Sudbury today to celebrate Sudbury’s 10-millionth tree
A world-renowned scientist will be in Sudbury today for an important milestone being celebrated by the city.
The public is invited to attend a celebration at Bell Park this afternoon, at which the 10-millionth tree in the city’s 44-year regreening effort will be planted with scientist Jane Goodall taking part.
Mayor Brian Bigger says Goodall will be joining him and other city staff at the 3 p.m. celebration at the William Bell Gazebo to film a segment for the upcoming IMAX film, “Reasons for Hope.”
In a statement, Goodall says she visited Sudbury before and was impressed by the work the community has done to restore one of the most barren landscapes, which will be the focus on today’s event.
Bigger adds the city’s regreening effort under which these 10 million trees have been planted since 1978 certainly qualifies as a reason for hope in regards to climate change and protection of the environment.
He says the city is looking at a further 40 years of commitment to greening and believes it is possible to plant another ten million trees over the next few decades.
Travelling with pets policy change
Taking your pet on holiday with you just got a lot tougher.
With delays, cancellations, and misdirected baggage continuing to pile up, Air Canada has announced it won’t accept any new reservations to transport pets in the cargo hold until mid-September.
The airline says the move is to protect the health and safety of the animals.
The move doesn’t affect reservations already made, or those pets small enough to travel in the passenger cabin.
Call for Johnson to resign
Reports say British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will announce his resignation later today, after an unprecedented number of resignations from his government.
He’ll ask to stay on until a new Conservative leader is chosen.
More than 50 cabinet ministers and parliamentary officials have quit their posts over the past two days and the man he just appointed as his new finance minister sent him a letter calling on him to step down.
Johnson has been hit by numerous scandals over the past year.
The latest involves his admission that he knew about sexual assault allegations against a senior Conservative MP when appointing him to a senior post.
Johnson had initially claimed he had no knowledge of the allegations at the time.
Russia pounding the Donetsk province
The governor of Donetsk province in eastern Ukraine says Russian forces are pounding the region into rubble, as attempts to capture the province increase.
He’s urging residents still in the area to evacuate immediately.
The rate of indiscriminate shelling has increased since Russian troops seized control of the last city in the neighbouring province of Luhansk over the weekend.
Since its failure to capture the capital of Kyiv at the outset of the war in late February, the Russian objective has been to seize the entire Donbas region, the industrial heartland of Ukraine, where Russian-backed rebels have been active since 2014.