Omicron variant

Canada has delivered about one-quarter of the direct vaccine doses it has promised to help less wealthy countries and can't say when more doses will go out the door.

Federal officials are adding more COVID-19 rapid tests to Canada's arsenal as surging infections from the Omicron variant push some public sectors to the brink.

Experts and advocates are calling for governments to release some inmates in provincial jails and federal prisons as outbreaks of COVID-19 driven by the infectious Omicron variant spread through the country's correctional facilities.

Canadians in some parts of the country saw surgeries postponed, access to COVID-19 testing reduced and a return to classes delayed as provinces continued to struggle on Tuesday, January 4, 2022, with a sustained wave of coronavirus cases and hospitalizations.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he will hold a call with all of the country's premiers next week to discuss how governments are keeping citizens safe as the Omicron variant of COVID-19 rapidly spreads.

We need to look hard at our shared attitude towards public schools and teachers, and why our elected officials have been so willing to make them carry the weight, writes columnist Max Fawcett.

Provinces are putting new measures in place to deal with an Omicron-fuelled rise in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, including delaying in-person schooling in Ontario by two weeks and bringing in the military to help Quebec speed up its third-dose vaccination program.

Canada's major cities are set to ring in the New Year with more of a gentle chime than a resounding clang, with many official celebrations cancelled or moved online for the second year in a row due to COVID-19.

Quebec Premier François Legault has announced the reimposition of a 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew that begins tonight, New Year's Eve, and will remain in effect indefinitely.

City of Toronto officials say they are preparing to redeploy hundreds of staff to support critical and essential services in response to a surge in new COVID-19 cases fuelled by the highly contagious Omicron variant.

Another day of record-breaking COVID-19 case counts across Canada prompted a new round of health announcements on Wednesday, December 29, 2021, including details of Quebec's plan to reduce isolation times for health-care workers who are exposed to or infected with COVID-19.

British Columbia is delaying the full return to classrooms in January to allow public health officials to assess the impact of the COVID-19 Omicron variant and give school staff time to implement enhanced safety measures.

Some provinces announced new measures for long-term care homes as others reported record-breaking COVID-19 infections propelled by the highly contagious Omicron variant.

In 2022, Kenney and his United Conservative government aim to forge ahead on the economy and catch up on the thousands of surgeries cancelled when hospitals were overwhelmed during the fourth wave of COVID-19 in the fall.

With Canada recording more than two million total COVID-19 cases, there are mounting concerns over how provincial health systems will cope with an expected surge in cases after the holidays.