Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world on Monday

The latest:

• How old do you have to be to get the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in each province?
• As ICUs fill up, doctors confront grim choice of who gets life-saving care.
• What experts say about the COVID-19 vaccine and menstruation, mammograms and more.
• Motorists greeted by long lines at Quebec-Ontario border checkpoints.
• Meet the Canadian doctors working to identify and treatrare blood clots linked to COVID-19 vaccines.
• 'We need to buy more time': P.E.I. tightens border for at least next 4 weeks.
• Track how many people have been given the COVID-19 vaccine across Canada.

The Ontario government voted against a series of Opposition motions aimed at supporting essential workers on Monday, including one that sought to create a provincial paid sick-leave program.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath presented the motions which required unanimous consent of the legislature to pass during a session on Monday. She called on Premier Doug Ford's Progressive Conservatives to pass the sick-leave motion, but the government voted against the measure.

Government House Leader Paul Calandrasaid he anticipates the federal government will announce further enhancements to itssick-day program today. The province has thus far rejected calls for a provincial program, saying it would be needless overlap withfederal supports.

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Advocates have been calling on the Ford government to bring in paid sick leave for months, saying it would help support essential workers during the pandemic.The provincial COVID-19 science advisory table and other health experts have repeatedly called onFord and his cabinet to institute a provincially run paid sick-leave program.

The federal counterpart, the Canadarecovery sickness benefit (CRSB), is "too complicated, not enough and the help comes too late," Dr. Peter Jni, the science table's director, told CBC News Network on Monday.

WATCH | Support essential workers, expert tells Ontario government:

Forget politics, support essential workers now, expert tells Ontario government

3 years ago

Duration 13:24

Ontario needs to pay workers who are sick, or who have been exposed to COVID-19, to stay home, says Dr. Peter Jni of the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table. Forget political considerations and wishful thinking, and just do it, the doctor says.

Ontario reported 4,447 new cases of COVID-19 and 19 related deaths on Monday. Meanwhile, students across the province returned to the virtual classroom as school buildings remain shuttered following the spring break.

Faced with surging cases and a strained health-care system,checkpoints are also now posted at interprovincial border crossings in Ontario. Ford announced restrictions on travelling between provinces on Friday as part of a bid to curb transmission and ease some of the pressure on the health-care system.

What's happening across Canada

As of 8:15p.m. ET on Monday, Canada had reported 1,131,780confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 88,327considered active. A CBC News tally of deaths stood at23,667.

Canada has now administered more than 10 million COVID-19 vaccine doses, according to the latest figures from CBC's vaccine tracker.

InQuebec on Monday, health officials reported1,092 new cases of COVID-19 and 15 additional deaths. According to a provincial dashboard, hospitalizations stood at686, with 183 in intensive care.

InNunavut, six COVID-19 cases were reported in connection withan outbreak in Iqaluit, while two cases in Kinngait were announced later Monday evening. The Kinngait cases are not related to the Iqaluit outbreak, according to a news release from Nunavut's Chief Public Health Officer Dr.Michael Patterson.

InYukon, chief medical officer of health Dr. Brendan Hanley confirmed a new COVID-19 case on Monday.

In Atlantic Canada,Nova Scotiareported 15 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, whileNew Brunswickreported nine new cases. BothNewfoundland and LabradorandPrince Edward Islandreportedthree new casesin their respective provinces.

P.E.I. is also increasingtravel restrictions in an effort to control the number of COVID-19 cases in the province. All non-resident travel to the island from outside Atlantic Canada is on hold until at least May 17, while rotational workers and truck drivers who arrive in the province will need to isolate until they receive a negative COVID-19 test, even if they are vaccinated.

Manitobareported 108 new COVID-19 cases on Mondayand became the latest province to lower the age eligibility for COVID-19 vaccines.Anyone 40 and over can now get the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine a change thatfollows similar moves by Ontario and Alberta overthe weekend.

The province is also tighteningsome of its COVID-19 restrictions due to rising case numbers. Starting Tuesday, weddings, funerals and outdoor public gatherings will be capped at 10 people down from 25 and capacity at retail stores will drop to 33 per cent from 50 per cent as of Wednesday.

Premier Brian Pallistersaid the measures are needed to contain the spread of the coronavirus whilevaccination effortscontinue.

Saskatchewanreported 243 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, whileAlbertareportedreported 1,391 new cases and three related deaths.

British Columbiaannounced thatresidents aged 40 and over in 13 high-risk communities will be the focus of an immunization program this week with the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine.

The province which announced 2,960 new COVID-19 cases and eight related deaths over the last three days also announced a slew of travel restrictions and extended pandemic restrictions on indoor dining at restaurants and bars until the end of the long weekend in May.

Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said the measures, which also restrict adult activities at gyms, will continue beyond the initial three-week deadline because the province is in "a very challenging situation."

What's happening around the world

As of early Monday afternoon, more than 141.5million cases of COVID-19 had been reported worldwide, according to a tracking tool maintained by U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University. The reported global death toll stood at more than three million.

The World Health Organization's emergency committee recommended on Monday that proof of vaccination not be required as a condition of international travel, maintaining its stance on the issue under growing debate.

WATCH |Joy, tears, hugs as Australia, N.Z. begin travel bubble:

Joy, tears, hugs as Australia, N.Z. begin travel bubble

3 years ago

Duration 1:06

International airports in Australia and New Zealand were the scenes of tearful, happy reunions Monday as the two countries opened a travel bubble, allowing quarantine-free travel between them.

In theAmericas, the White House said that"it has never been easier" to get a COVID-19 vaccine shot as all people 16 and older are eligible for vaccines nationwide as of Monday. President Joe Bidenencouragedpeople to book appointments immediately and to encourage family and friends to do the same.

On Sunday the country reached the milestone of having 50 per centof adults at least partially vaccinated.

Schools in the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires will open after all on Mondayafter a court overruled a federal order requiring classes to go online for two weeks amid a surge in cases that has brought hospitals to near collapse.

In theMiddle East,vaccination against COVID-19 is a requirement to perform the Umra pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi state TV said on Sunday, citing a government official.

In theAsia-Pacificregion,New Delhi imposed a week-long lockdownon Monday night to prevent the collapse of the Indian capital's health system, which authorities said had been pushed to its limit amid an explosive surge in coronavirus cases.

In scenes familiar from surges elsewhere, ambulances catapulted from one hospital to another, trying to find an empty bed over the weekend, while patients lined up outside of medical facilities waiting to be let in.

"People keep arriving, in an almost collapsing situation," said Dr. Suresh Kumar, who heads Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital, one of New Delhi's largest hospitals for treating COVID-19 patients.

Pakistan's minister for planning and development said Monday that authorities are struggling to maintain the much-needed supply of oxygen to hospitals for COVID-19 patients. Asad Umar, who also oversees Pakistan's response to the coronavirus, said on Twitter that hospitals were continuously receiving coronavirus patients amid a surge in new cases.

In Africa, Tunisiaannounced the closure of all schools until April 30, as well as restrictions on movement, to slow the spread of COVID-19.

InEurope,Austria will only use Russia's Sputnik V vaccine once the European Medicines Agency has approved it, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said, amid growing public frustration with the pace of vaccinations.

The European Union has exercised an option to acquire an additional 100 million doses of thePfizer-BioNTechCOVID-19 vaccine, the two companies said.