Microsoft profits up 21% amid Covid pandemic, double push for gaming

B.C. health officials release a written statement reporting 985 people are in hospital with COVID-19 related illnesses and 145 are in critical care on Thursday, Feb. 3. Legislative bureau chief Keith Baldrey has an analysis of the numbers.

PHILLIP Schofield has revealed he is still testing positive for Covid - throwing Dancing on Ice into chaos. The 59-year-old was forced out of presenting This Morning this week after falling ill with the virus.

COVID-19: City of Calgary updates vaccine passport bylaw, including age and ID requirements The city’s vaccine passport bylaw has been in effect since September 2021, which made it mandatory for certain Calgary businesses like bars, restaurants and movie theatres to opt into the provincial passport system.Changes were made to the bylaw in November 2021 — and again last month — to better align it with the provincial program.Due to the language in the bylaw, it “ceases to have effect” if the province’s program is scrapped.City officials said the mask bylaw, however, would be unaffected by the change.Premier Jason Kenney announced early this week that his government is hoping to remove some public health restrictions, including the vaccine passport program, by the end of the month if the province’s COVID-19 situation improves sufficiently to warrant the changes.Kourtney Penner, the city councillor for Ward 11 and chair of the city’s emergency management committee, has made a request to city administration and CEMA for an update on the impacts to the city. COVID-19 causing Calgary Transit staffing shortages, route changes, cancellations “We do know that there would be impacts and we would have to respond accordingly,” Penner told Global News.

Canadian military ‘not a police force,’ Anand says amid frustration over Ottawa protest “The FSIN Executive strongly opposes the actions and tactics of the ‘Freedom Convoy’ protestors, some of whom have been openly sharing ignorant acts of cultural appropriation of First Nations culture and spirituality, publicly and online,” read the statement.“The FSIN condemns such open acts of racism and ignorance, which are being committed across our traditional Treaty territories.”FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron shared his frustration with the convoy.“Our First Nations communities have been some of the hardest hit since the beginning of the pandemic.  We have been working tirelessly to distribute PPE and supplies to our First Nations because we are highly vulnerable to COVID-19,” said Cameron.“Our families and communities have suffered insurmountable losses because of this horrible virus and our First Nations Chiefs have implemented some of the strictest protocols in the country to keep their membership safe.” Trudeau: Ottawa residents need their ‘lives back,’ won’t commit to negotiate with truckers He went on to call the way the drums were used in the protest videos that surfaced a ‘disgrace’.“This convoy is an insult to our Chiefs, our communities, and to the hundreds of loved ones we’ve lost through this pandemic.  Not only are these protestors risking lives and spreading false information, but they’re also disrespecting our traditional drums, pipes, and medicines,” stated Cameron.“It’s a disgrace to see our culturally sacred items being used improperly, without proper protocol, in support of anti-vaccine protests.”The FSIN statement finished with a reminder about Indigenous culture.“The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations

LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti responded to critics after photos posted online showed him maskless during the Los Angeles Rams game Sunday at SoFi Stadium.LA Lakers legend Magic Johnson posted pictures on social media, in a suite with California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and San Francisco Mayor London Breed, all posing for photos without anyone wearing a mask. The photos were criticized by many online.

MADISON, Wis. - COVID-19 could become endemic by the end of the year, Wisconsin's top medical officer said Thursday.Wisconsin Department of Health Services Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ryan Westergaard still warned that case counts could periodically spike, but the disease likely will reach a stage in 2022 where case numbers remain fairly constant.Westergaard's remarks come as a surge in Wisconsin case numbers driven by the omicron variant continues to subside.

COVID-19 restrictions on Tuesday, and it’s drawing some mixed reactions.Sports and recreation tournaments will be allowed to resume.“It’s a step in the right direction in that we are getting back to what some sort of new normal is going to be,” Manitoba Chambers of Commerce president and CEO Chuck Davidson told Global News.“In terms of what’s going to change, I think not much is going to change for Manitobans, it’s only going to be those larger events and I think limited larger events in the short term.” Manitoba to gradually relax health restrictions, expand business, arts supports: Stefanson Davidson said he was pleased to see additional supports for arts and cultural organizations, but the updated public health orders don’t provide much change for the restaurant and hospitality sector.“I think what we’re really looking for is what’s the next step,” he said. “The real industry that’s been impacted is hospitality, and restaurants still being able to only operate at 50 per cent capacity is a huge challenge.”The province is aiming to have no restrictions in place by the springtime.

Manitoba’s COVID-19 numbers for February 3 show seven more people have died from the virus while the number of hospitalizations has dropped slightly.

Protestors remain in the capital with demands for the federal government to lift COVID-19 health measures. The Prime Minister is holding firm and says the government will support the city and its police force.

COVID-19: Quebec health system remains ‘fragile,’ says public health director Bernard “Rambo” Gauthier, a well-known union leader from Quebec’s Côte-Nord region, posted a video to Facebook on Thursday morning, stating he was departing with about 50 vehicles toward the provincial capital and promising to stay there.“We’re doing this for the next generation — our kids — but also for ourselves,” Gauthier said in the video. “I’m tired of not being able to see my friends, go out for a beer with my friends, go out to the restaurant with my girlfriend — a normal life.

As disruptive protesters demanding an end to COVID-19 restrictions refuse to leave Ottawa, residents are questioning why the city’s police are not taking more action to clear them out. Abigail Bimman explains what’s causing police to hesitate and what options they are considering, as residents’ frustrations boil.

New Zealand medicines regulator Medsafe has granted provisional approval of the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine, Nuvaxovid, for adults 18 years and over.

Covid-19 may contribute to heart damage apparent in severely-ill sufferers, according to new research.

Cases of COVID-19 continue to drop significantly across the country, as the most recent surge caused by the Omicron variant is declining at a rapid pace.

COVID-19 pandemic.Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) says their adult acute inpatient occupancy continues to exceed 100 per cent with sites reporting rates close to 120 per cent. Adult intensive care unit (ICU) capacity is also stretched exceeding 92 per cent as of Thursday.“Unfortunately, our reality in Hamilton and across our region remains highly pressured.

Many of the top musicians in the industry are making their voices heard – by taking their voices away.

COVID-19-related deaths on Thursday, lifting the death toll in the region to 370 including 11 people over the first three days of February.“Today we are reporting five deaths in our community related to COVID-19. The individuals were three males in their 80s, one female in her 80s, and a male in his 70s,” Dr.

The severity of COVID-19 does not change based on pregnancy trimester, finds research presented today at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's (SMFM's) virtual annual meeting.According to an abstract published Jan 1 in the American Journal of Obstetrics &

“Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” singer lives and thrives on social media — both as a marketing tool and for engaging with fans (and haters) — but his last posts on Twitter and on Instagram were nearly two months ago on Dec. 6.But Lil Nas X has not been publicly heard from since — and his fans are beginning to notice.More worryingly, he actually last posted on Dec.

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Middlesex-London Health Unit reported three deaths and 189 COVID-19 cases on Thursday, compared with one death and 220 cases last Thursday.The deaths involved two men, in their 60s and 80s, and a woman in her 90s. None were associated with long-term care homes or retirement homes.Meanwhile, the London Health Sciences Centre reported 139 COVID-19 inpatients on Thursday, with 25 in critical care.As noted, LHSC is caring for 139 COVID-19 inpatients, with 25 inpatients in adult critical care, compared with a record-high 166 inpatients, 19 of whom were in critical care, last Thursday.Of those, there are five or fewer in Children’s Hospital with zero in pediatric critical care. Last Thursday, the same figures were reported.

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) regional director for Europe Dr. Hans Kluge said on Thursday the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe was entering a “plausible endgame,” driven by a “large capital of immunity,” built up by a combination of vaccine drives, a favourable seasonality pause, and lower severity of the Omicron variant.

COVID-19 wave in the spring of 2020 only reduced COVID-19 mortality by .2% in the U.S. and Europe, according to a Johns Hopkins University meta-analysis of several studies. "While this meta-analysis concludes that lockdowns have had little to no public health effects, they have imposed enormous economic and social costs where they have been adopted," the researchers wrote.

Vaccination requirements for UK travellers heading to France have been tightened, bringing into force an 'expiration date' for second jabs.

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investigation into the origins of Covid-19.

Covid cases in the UK are reportedly back to 200,000 new per day, a new report from a symptom study suggests.

COVID-19. Of them, 191 people were in intensive care, a drop of 13 compared with the previous day.Health officials say 193 patients were admitted to hospital while 286 left over the past 24-hour period.Quebec also recorded 3,592 new novel coronavirus cases as part of its daily tally.

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COVID-19 pandemic, the beat goes on for an Indigenous drum group that meets outside the University Hospital of Northern B.C. (UHNBC) in Prince George.Masked and at a distance, the group gathers every Monday evening to sing traditional songs and prayers as a show of support for the health-care workers and COVID-19 patients inside.It started with one Prince George man during the first wave of the pandemic and has transformed into a community affair.

B.C. expands long-term care visitation, allowing one social visitor per resident Tia Tang, whose 83-year-old mother lives in care, told Global News she was denied status as an essential visitor — meaning she was unable to see her mom.“I reached out and asked if I could go visit her, and they said no, only essential visits, not social visits,” Tang said.“It’s really hard.

COVID on Thursday with 541 in intensive care units.This is down by 142 hospitalizations and a decrease of 14in ICUs since the previous day. Last Thursday, there were 3,645 hospitalizations with 599 in ICU.The province recently began distinguishing between those who were admitted to hospital directly because of COVID, and those who were admitted for other reasons but tested positive for the virus.Of the 2,797 people in hospital with COVID-19, 56 per cent of them were admitted because of the virus, while 44 per cent were admitted for other reasons but tested positive for COVID-19.Of the 541 people in ICUs with the virus, around 83 per cent were admitted because of COVID, while around 17 per cent were admitted for other reasons. Dr.

Mumbai in the last 24 hours, said the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Thursday. The city also saw seven deaths due to the infections in the same duration. 

R. Kelly has tested positive for COVID-19 while in a Brooklyn federal jail.The singer stood trial last September for racketeering, bribery and violating the Mann Act, which criminalises the transportation of any woman or girl across state lines for “immoral” purposes, such as illegal sexual activity. Kelly was found guilty of all the charges against him and has been in jail ever since, ahead of sentencing on May 4, 2022.Kelly could face life behind bars for his crimes, and will face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison.He initially had until today (February 3) to appeal the convictions, but because of his positive coronavirus test, U.S.

reopen schools now, said the central government on Thursday. 

Another 8,210 Covid cases have been confirmed in Scotland within the last 24 hours as the nation's virus death toll increased by 31.

Gary Lineker, 61, has logged onto social media to announce he had tested positive for coronavirus following a flight from South Africa.The former professional footballer apologised to those sitting near him on the flight, while clarifying he had been wearing a mask during the journey.In view of his 8.3 million Twitter followers, Gary wrote: “Long time since I got between the lines.“Arrived back from Cape Town early this morning.“Started feeling a little unwell on the flight.“Sorry to those sitting near, although I wore a mask for the entirety of the journey as didn’t eat.“Hope I didn’t pass it on to anyone on BA42.” (sic)The BBC Sport star accompanied the tweet with a picture of a positive Covid test.MORE TO FOLLOW...

Karnataka in the last 24 hours, taking the state's positivity rate to 11.31%, said state health minister K Sudhakar on Thursday.

Delhi in the last 24 hours, taking the cumulative tally to 18,38,647, said the state health department on Thursday. The positivity rate has fallen to 4.3%.

educational institutions in the state could start physical classes from 7 February  and 17 February.

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With agency inputs

#COVID19 pic.twitter.com/vvmoUPqOjC

Covid-19 will never become an endemic disease and continue to drive epidemic waves. 

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The number of people with Covid-19 in hospital has fallen to the lowest level this year.

denied surgery. 

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