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Middlesex-London Health Unit reported four deaths and 190 lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases from Saturday through to Tuesday, though case counts are considered an under-estimate due to testing restrictions and widespread transmission.London Health Sciences Centre, meanwhile, is caring for 64 inpatients with COVID-19, nine of whom are in adult critical care.As noted, LHSC is caring for 64 COVID-19 inpatients, with nine inpatients in adult critical care. Last Tuesday, LHSC was caring for 79 COVID inpatients with 17 adults in the ICU. Of the 64, there were seven patients in Children’s Hospital, with five or fewer in pediatric critical care.

Alberta’s largest and most northern county says it is no longer working with local businesses that have a mandatory vaccination policy.Mackenzie County says businesses that require employees, contractors or subcontractors to show proof of vaccination in workplaces or on work sites will not be hired to provide goods or services.The county’s council approved the policy on Feb.

COVID-19 public health orders going by the wayside in the next few weeks, Shared Health is announcing more relaxed visitation policies.Phase 1 of the new approach may be implemented as soon as this week, depending on the facility.Fully vaccinated people will be able to make a social call to a friend or family member in a long-term care (LTC) or acute care facility.Up to two “general” guests will be allowed at a time, as long as the room is big enough.Those who aren’t fully vaccinated, or choose not to disclose their status, will be able to visit LTC residents in designated spaces, but won’t be able to do the same for someone in hospital.

Russian troop deployments in eastern Ukraine as an “invasion” after initially hesitating to use the term – a red line that President Joe Biden has said would result in the U.S. levying severe sanctions against Moscow.Several European leaders said earlier in the day that Russian troops have moved into rebel-held areas in eastern Ukraine after Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized their independence – but some indicated it was not yet the long-feared, full-fledged conflict.Later, the White House signalled a shift in its own position.“We think this is, yes, the beginning of an invasion, Russia’s latest invasion into Ukraine,” said Jon Finer, principal deputy national security adviser.

The Ontario government has announced it is eliminating licence plate renewal fees and sticker fees by March 13 and will refund the cost of stickers purchased since March 2020. Erica Vella reports.

Cam Guthrie has once again announced plans to end the city’s state of emergency put in place at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.In a news release on Tuesday, the city said the decision to end the state of emergency on March 1 has been made in consultation with the medical officer of health and the city’s emergency operations control group. Guelph facilities moving to next phase of reopening “This is one more milestone in our journey to recovery from the pandemic,” Guthrie said.“But our recovery is only possible if we continue to follow public health guidelines: keep wearing a mask, continue social distancing, and get vaccinated.

COVID-19 health crisisPandemic-related hospitalizations stood at 1,742, a decrease of 34 compared with the previous day. This includes 107 patients in intensive care units, a drop of 12.Health officials say 101 patients were admitted to hospitals across the province in the past 24-hour period, while 135 left.Quebec recorded 1,438 new novel coronavirus cases, but the daily tally doesn’t accurately reflect the current situation since access to government-run PCR screening sites are limited to high-risk groups.

Tamara Lich, one of the organizers of the so-called “Freedom Convoy” that blockaded the nation’s capital for three weeks, will remain behind bars after an Ottawa judge denied her bail.“These offences are grave,” said the presiding judge ruling on the bail application.Lich was arrested on Thursday evening as law enforcement in Ottawa began a major push that lasted through the weekend to clear out the convoy blockade following the invocation of the Emergencies Act.In a video posted by the convoy’s official Twitter page, Lich could be seen being led away by officers and saying “hold the line.” Tamara Lich, convoy organizer, arrested amid ‘major’ push to oust blockade The judge referenced that comment during the bail hearing.“You have had plenty of opportunity to remove yourself and even others from this criminal activity but obstinately chose not to, and persistently counselled others not to either,” the judge said, adding that “this community has already been impacted enough.”The Crown is also seeking a non-communication order that would bar Lich from any communications with  three fellow convoy organizers and leaders: Chris Barber, Pat King and B.J. Dichter.Barber is charged with counselling to commit the offence of mischief, counselling to commit the offence of disobey court order, counselling to commit the offence of obstruct police.He was granted bail on Friday.

COVID on Tuesday, with 319 in intensive care units.  On Family Day Monday, there were 1,064 people reported to be in hospital with COVID, with 320 in ICUs.Due to the holiday weekend, figures were not released on Family Day and two sets of data were released on Tuesday for both days.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.Although the data wasn’t updated on Tuesday, last week showed for hospitalizations roughly 50 per cent were admitted because of the virus, while 50 per cent were admitted for other reasons but tested positive for COVID-19. For ICUs, 80 per cent were admitted because of COVID, while 20 per cent were admitted for other reasons.Meanwhile, Ontario also reported 1,282 new lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases on Tuesday and 1,335 on Monday, though these are an underestimate of the true widespread transmission of the virus due to recent testing restrictions.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced on Tuesday that the province is eliminating license plate renewal fees and scrapping the requirement for a license plate sticker.

Mike Armstrong details the latest developments from Ottawa as key protest organizers are arrested.

Tamara Lich, one of the leading organizers behind protest against COVID-19 restrictions and the Liberal government on Parliament Hill.Lich, who was arrested last Thursday and charged with counselling to commit mischief, appeared before Ontario Court Justice Julie Bourgeois in a bail hearing on Saturday.During that hearing, Lich promised to give up her advocacy of the protest and return to Alberta. The judge reserved her bail decision on Lich.Patrick King, another prominent figure connected to the demonstrations, is also scheduled for a bail hearing today in Ottawa.King, 44, was arrested on Friday and faces charges of mischief, counselling to commit mischief, counselling to commit the offence of disobeying a court order and counselling to obstruct police.

Police aren’t saying much about their investigation into the shooting deaths of two women in Vancouver’s Point Grey neighbourhood on Sunday morning. As Rumina Daya reports, we do know the identiy of the victims.

Omicron coronavirus variant are nearly 75% less likely to develop serious illness or die than those who contract the Delta variant, real world data released on Monday by South Korea’s health authorities showed.A study by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) of some 67,200 infections confirmed since December showed the Omicron variant’s severity and death rates averaged 0.38% and 0.18%, respectively, compared with 1.4% and 0.7% for the Delta cases.The KDCA classed severe cases as people who were hospitalised in intensive care units. COVID cases exceed 400 million globally as Omicrons spreads Around 56% of 1,073 people who died over the past five weeks were either unvaccinated or had received only one dose, the study showed, with people aged 60 or older accounting for 94% of deaths.More than 86% of South Korea’s 52 million population have been double vaccinated and nearly 60% have received a booster shot.South Korea had kept cases and deaths relatively low thanks to widespread social distancing measures and aggressive testing and tracing.The Omicron variant has led to a surge in cases — daily new infections topped a record 100,000 last week — but authorities have pushed ahead with slightly easing social distancing rules amid the lower fatality rate and ahead of a presidential election next month.Contact tracing and mandatory isolation for vaccinated people was scrapped in favour of self diagnosis and at-home treatment to free up medical resources.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his troops to “maintain peace” in the eastern Ukraine regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, areas he now recognizes as independent. As Jackson Proskow reports, Putin is only stoking fears he’s preparing for a full-blown invasion.

Tomorrow is budget day here in B.C. The provincial NDP government is playing out its plan for our province’s financial books, but just what are we expecting them to spend on? Richard Zussman has more.

New Zealand police line, narrowly avoiding officers, while other protesters sprayed officers with a stinging substance, police said Tuesday, as they tightened a cordon around a convoy that has been camped outside Parliament for two weeks.The clashes in the capital of Wellington came a day after police reported that some of the protesters had thrown human feces at them. Faced with sprinklers, New Zealand anti-vaccine mandate protesters dig trenches Police Assistant Commissioner Richard Chambers told reporters the actions of some of the protesters, who oppose coronavirus vaccine mandates, were unacceptable and would be dealt with assertively.“Our focus remains on opening the roads up to Wellingtonians and doing our absolute best to restore peaceful protest,” Chambers said.

Donald Trump‘s social media app that he hopes will rival Twitter launched Monday as he seeks a new digital stage to rally his supporters and fight Big Tech limits on speech, a year after he was banned from Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.His Truth Social app was offered for download from the Apple App Store to a limited number of subscribers who had preordered. Others who were added to a waiting list are to be given access over the next 10 days.

Russia after President Vladimir Putin recognized the independence of separatist regions in eastern Ukraine and ordered Russian troops to “maintain the peace” there.The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting Monday night at the request of Ukraine, the U.S. and six other countries, where virtually all members condemned Putin’s move and Russia’s recent aggressions.No immediate actions were taken by the council, on which Russia currently holds the revolving-door presidency.

After more than 24 hours, he and a group of other South Asian Canadian truckers approached authorities to find out when they could pass.“That’s when another guy, he came out of his truck and he was, like, being racist. He was saying, ‘Go back to your truck, go back to India,”’ recalled Singh, a 28-year-old driver from Edmonton.Disturbed, he and his co-driver set out for another crossing — an option unavailable to some, since oversize loads can only move through certain checkpoints — on a route that added more than 500 kilometres to their trip.

Coastal GasLink (GGL) that took place early Thursday morning on the Marten Forest Service Road.Investigators spent much of the long weekend at the site and reviewing the surveillance footage from the night of the incident.They told Global News they have not yet decided if they are going to release any of that footage to the public.They are also not linking the incident to prior protests in the area. No suspects yet in ‘violent confrontation’ at B.C.

COVID-19 will be lifted early next month.“On Saturday, Feb. 26, the government will announce a final decision about proceeding to Phase 2 of our plan to lift almost all restrictions on March 1,” Kenney tweeted Monday evening, saying it will be a “prudent decision based on the latest data.”The premier wrote there is “encouraging data” showing a “steep drop” in the Omicron variant wave of the pandemic.

Despite a high COVID-19 infection rate, England is about to ditch the last of its COVID-19 restrictions, in a bid to start living with the virus for good. Redmond Shannon looks at what measures are disappearing, the strategy going forward, and why the rest of the United Kingdom is divided on England’s plan.

After nearly two years of shutting out most tourists due to COVID-19 restrictions, Australia has reopened its borders to fully vaccinated, international travellers.

This could be the last week that many Albertans will need to wear masks during the COVID-19 pandemic as the province prepares to enter the next stage of its plan to ease public health measures.

Thrift Store on Berry Road has become a victim of the pandemic and will close by the end of April.“The past two years have been really tough,” said Joy Haxton, Lake Country Food Bank, executive director.“The issue that we had with COVID was the number of people we could have in the store and that’s made it really difficult. I think we’ve had the store closed for 12 months over the last two years.” The Great Backyard Bird Count is on again Since the thrift store opened eight years ago it has had a huge impact on the community and surrounding area.

The sun is setting on one of the sources of revenue for the Lake Country Food Bank, their thrift store has become a victim of the pandemic and will be closing by the end of April.

COVID-19: Quebec opposition says it’s time to end state of emergency The Barreau du Québec said Monday it’s time the government explain why it still needs emergency powers.“Does the current situation require keeping the state of emergency?” Catherine Claveau, head of the bar association, wrote in a statement. “Are the measures that will be maintained during the deconfinement plan justified? To answer these questions, the government must provide clear justifications for maintaining some ‘exceptional rules.”’Over the past two years, the Quebec government has used emergency powers to impose curfews, ban private gatherings and close businesses such as restaurants, bars and gyms.

The blaring horns and snarled streets of the so-called “Freedom Convoy” blockade in Ottawa are no more, but on Monday Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suggested the work to heal the pandemic divisions in the country that the convoy exposed must now begin.

Ontario says it is providing more stand-alone HEPA filter units for schools and child-care centres to offer more children greater protection against COVID-19.A Monday statement says up to 40,000 more air purifiers will be made available to school boards and up to 9,000 will go to child-care settings.Education Minister Stephen Lecce says ventilation improvements are a critical priority, after the government previously announced that it would provide 73,000 of the filters and other ventilation devices.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suggested on Monday that while protests surrounding Parliament Hill in Ottawa have mostly dispersed and the horns are no longer sounding, the work to heal the pandemic divisions in the country that the convoy exposed must now begin.

COVID-19 as the province entered a new phase of reopening Monday.Pandemic-related hospitalizations stood at a total of 1,776, an increase of 18 from the previous day. Of those patients, 119 were in intensive care units, an increase of five.In the last 24 hours, 101 people were admitted to Quebec hospitals while 83 were discharged.It’s the first net increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations in the province since Feb.

Ottawa for the first time in more than three weeks on Sunday as police continued their efforts to put a final end to anti-government demonstrations that immobilized the national capital.Roadways once choked with trucks and protesters opposed to COVID-19 public health measures and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government were largely clear, though debris and other signs of the blockade dubbed an illegal occupation by its critics were still in evidence.Ottawa Police, working in tandem with forces from across the country, said they’d arrested 191 people and laid 391 charges related to the demonstrations, though Ottawa Interim Police Chief Steve Bell said the mammoth law enforcement operation was far from over.“There is another phase that will identify how we maintain the streets, how we eventually demobilize, once we’ve identified that there is no threat of further protests coming to our city,” Bell said at a news conference. “We aren’t there yet.” Ottawa’s convoy occupation mostly clear, but police ‘not done’ with operation yet Bell said charges laid to date include obstructing police, disobeying a court order, assault, mischief, possessing a weapon and assaulting a police officer.Law enforcement is “with every hour” getting closer to delivering on its promise to clear streets and give them back to residents, he added.Chris Harkins, deputy commissioner with the Ontario Provincial Police, said commercial and private vehicle driver’s licenses have been suspended, while 76 vehicles have been seized and towed in Ottawa.But the massive enforcement blitz also drew attention from Ontario’s police watchdog on Sunday.

COVID-19 despite a significant slowdown in the effort to immunize that segment of the population, the province’s health department contends.Provincial figures show around 65 per cent of children five to 11 have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, the lowest rate of any age group eligible for the shot.“Quebec is continuing its vaccination campaign for children under 12. Appointments are available across Quebec for this age group,” Health Department spokesman Robert Maranda said in an email.“Quebec will not abandon its efforts, as long as people want to get the vaccine, they will be able to receive it.” Quebec adds 3 new COVID-19 deaths as hospitalizations rise Fifty per cent of children five to 11 got their first dose of vaccine between Nov.

The Pacific Highway border crossing in Surrey was open again on Sunday, but the second closure in as many weeks of the key link with the U.S. is raising questions about managing protests against COVID-19 measures. Kamil Karamali reports.

Emergencies Act helped end the Ottawa blockades, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said on Sunday ahead of a House of Commons vote on the controversial measure.Conservatives, however, are highly critical of the government move and some are pushing the Liberals to revoke the act now that blockades that effectively shut the city down for more than three weeks appear to be over.There is one day left of debate on the government’s decision to invoke the act.MPs will vote on the motion Monday at 8 p.m. ET, and it is expected to pass with the joint support of the Liberals and NDP.

Shocking — and, frankly, disturbing — security camera footage has captured the moment hundreds of birds fell out of the sky in Mexico.

Police have cleared the main convoy protest zone, as MPs continue to debate invoking the Emergencies Act for the first time. ‘The West Block’ host Mercedes Stephenson speaks with Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair about the police clearing out the main area of the Ottawa convoy protest.

RCMP officers are hunting for suspects after a brazen attack on the work site of a natural gas pipeline. Coastal GasLink says its facility and nine workers were attacked early Thursday morning.

Steve Fonyo, the B.C. cancer survivor who ran across Canada with a prosthetic leg a teen has died at 56, friends and family have confirmed.

Ontario’s civilian police watchdog is probing incidents involving Vancouver police and a horse-mounted officer with the Toronto police over incidents during enforcement at the Ottawa COVID-19 mandate protests.

Roughly a week after protesters started to gather in large numbers at the Coutts border crossing, Alberta’s minister of municipal affairs sought assistance from Ottawa, Global News has learned.

The federal government will continue to implement never-before-used powers under the Emergencies Act as long “as they are required” to help end the illegal blockade of the national capital, Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair has said.

The Mounted Public Order Unit rides through a crowd of police and protesters in Ottawa on Friday, Feb. 18, 2022.

Many residents of Ottawa are breathing a sigh of relief tonight after three weeks about complaints of harassment, noise and unease during the demonstration. Sean O’Shea joins us from inside the security zone.

Weeks of protests and counter protests have exposed deep divisions in this country, particularly over pandemic health measures. In Alberta where the Coutts border crossing was blocked by demonstrators, the Edmonton police chief issued a plea to the public.

For the first time in more than three weeks the streets of downtown Ottawa are largely quiet and calm. The police operation isn’t over yet as officers remain in the area around Parliament Hill clearing out the last of the protesters and working to ensure they can’t return.

Ottawa’s Interim Police Chief Steve Bell said Sunday that they “have active intelligence investigations ongoing to ensure we know people are leaving, if they are trying to amass again to return to the downtown core,” adding “we are attempting to keep tabs on those that are leaving and potentially massing to come back.