Here’s your COVID-19 news for today, Feb. 14, 2022.
Omicron came and seems to have gone, but is it too early to lift mask mandates? Veuer’s Tony Spitz has the details.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked emergency powers Monday to quell the protests by truck drivers and others who have paralyzed Ottawa and blocked border crossings in anger over the country’s COVID-19 restrictions.
In invoking Canada’s Emergencies Act, which gives the federal government broad powers to restore order, Trudeau ruled out using the military.
His government instead threatened to tow away vehicles to keep essential services running; freeze truckers’ personal and corporate bank accounts; and take further action to strike at their livelihoods and the sources of their financial support.
When nurse Julia Buffo was told by her Montana hospital that she had to be vaccinated against COVID-19, she responded by filling out paperwork declaring that the shots run afoul of her religious beliefs.
She cited various Old and New Testament verses including a passage from Revelation that vaccine opponents often quote to liken the shots to the “Mark of the Beast.” She told her managers that God is the “ultimate guardian of health” and that accepting the vaccine would make her “complicit with evil.”
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Religious exemptions like the one Buffo obtained are increasingly becoming a workaround for unvaccinated hospital and nursing home workers who want to keep their jobs in the face of federal mandates that are going into effect nationwide this week.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention designated a half dozen new places “very high” risk for travel on Monday, including South Korea and French Polynesia.
The six new additions to the “very high” risk Level 4 category are a far-flung bunch: Azerbaijan on the Caspian Sea; Belarus, located in a presently very tense spot bordering Russia and Ukraine; Comoros, an archipelago off Africa’s east coast; French Polynesia in the South Pacific; Saint Pierre and Miquelon, a French archipelago south of Canada’s Newfoundland; and South Korea.
Level 4, the CDC’s highest risk level, has now swelled to almost 140 places, illustrating the rapid surge of the Omicron variant around the world. In early January, there were around 80 destinations listed there.
Photos: Protests in Canada over COVID-19 mandates
People protest in support of a trucker convoy protesting COVID-19 restrictions, at Queen’s Park in Toronto, Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
A protester stands on a barricade as trucks continue to block the downtown core in protest of COVID-19 restrictions, in Ottawa, Ontario, Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)
A Donald Trump supporter protests in support of a trucker convoy protesting COVID-19 restrictions, at Queen’s Park in Toronto, Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
A truckers sits in his dump truck on University Avenue as he protests COVID-19 restrictions, in Toronto, Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
Protesters walk around trucks parked in the downtown area in protest of COVID-19 restrictions, in Ottawa, Ontario, Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)
Truckers and demonstrators gather during a protest against COVID-19 restrictions, in Toronto, Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)
Pro and anti vaccine supporters exchange views during a protest against COVID-19 restrictions, in Toronto, Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)
Supporters gather near the legislature to protest during a demonstration against COVID-19 restrictions in Victoria, British Columbia, Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022. (Chad Hipolito/The Canadian Press via AP)
Supporters gather near the legislature to protest during a demonstration against COVID-19 restrictions in Victoria, British Columbia, Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022. (Chad Hipolito/The Canadian Press via AP)
A counter-protester holds a sign while biking past supporters as they gather near the legislature to protest during a demonstration against COVID-19 restrictions in Victoria, British Columbia, Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022. (Chad Hipolito/The Canadian Press via AP)
An anti-vaccine protester holds signs as supporters gather near the legislature to protest during a demonstration against COVID-19 restrictions in Victoria, British Columbia, Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022. (Chad Hipolito/The Canadian Press via AP)
Truckers and demonstrators gather during a protest against COVID-19 restrictions in Toronto, Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)
Truckers and demonstrators gather during a protest against COVID-19 restrictions in Toronto, Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)
Truckers and demonstrators gather during a protest against COVID-19 restrictions in Toronto, Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)
A protester walks past a truck parked in the street in the downtown core during a demonstration against COVID-19 restrictions, Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022, in Ottawa, Ontario. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)
Protesters play hockey with a roll of tape for the puck in front of buildings in the downtown core during a demonstration against COVID-19 restrictions, in Ottawa, Ontario, Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)
Trucks and supporters travel down Bloor Street during a demonstration in support of a trucker convoy in Ottawa protesting COVID-19 restrictions, in Toronto, Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
Trucks attempting to drive down University Avenue between Bloor Street and Queen’s Park are blocked by a police cruiser during a demonstration in support of a trucker convoy in Ottawa protesting COVID-19 restrictions, in Toronto, Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
A counter protestor lies on the road in front of a truck leading a convoy of truckers opposed to COVID-19 health measures and vaccinations, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022. A group of more than 200 counter protesters on foot and on bikes held up the convoy for nearly an hour before police officers turned the trucks around and sent them on another route. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Counter protesters disperse to other locations after blocking a convoy of truckers opposed to COVID-19 health measures and vaccinations, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022. A group of more than 200 counter protesters on foot and on bikes held up the convoy for nearly an hour before police officers turned the trucks around and sent them on another route. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
A counter protestor lies on the road in front of a truck leading a convoy of truckers opposed to COVID-19 health measures and vaccinations, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022. A group of more than 200 counter protesters on foot and on bikes held up the convoy for nearly an hour before police officers turned the trucks around and sent them on another route. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Police officers dressed in riot gear patrol the Quebec legislature where thousands of people demonstrate during a protest against COVID-19 restrictions, in Quebec City, Canada, Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022. (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press via AP)
People gather in protest against COVID-19 mandates and in support of a protest against COVID-19 restrictions taking place in Ottawa, in Edmonton, Alberta, Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)
A police cruiser blocks University Avenue between Bloor Street and Queen’s Park during a demonstration in support of a trucker convoy in Ottawa protesting COVID-19 restrictions, in Toronto, Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022. (Nathan Denette /The Canadian Press via AP)
Protesters load goods into a truck part of a convoy of vehicles in Lyon, central France, Friday, Feb.11, 2022. Authorities in France and Belgium have banned road blockades threatened by groups organizing online against COVID-19 restrictions. The events are in part inspired by protesters in Canada. Citing “risks of trouble to public order,” the Paris police department banned protests aimed at “blocking the capital” from Friday through Monday. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)
A protester holding a French flag thumbs up to a convoy made of vehicles, from trucks to motorcycles and camper vans. in Lyon, central France, Friday, Feb.11, 2022. Authorities in France and Belgium have banned road blockades threatened by groups organizing online against COVID-19 restrictions. The events are in part inspired by protesters in Canada. Citing “risks of trouble to public order,” the Paris police department banned protests aimed at “blocking the capital” from Friday through Monday. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)
Truckers and supporters block the access leading from the Ambassador Bridge, linking Detroit and Windsor, as truckers and their supporters continue to protest against COVID-19 vaccine mandates and restrictions, in Windsor, Ontario, Friday, Feb. 11, 2022. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
Truckers and supporters block the access leading from the Ambassador Bridge, linking Detroit and Windsor, as truckers and their supporters continue to protest against COVID-19 vaccine mandates and restrictions, in Windsor, Ontario, Friday, Feb. 11, 2022. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
A Canada flag is hung between traffic light posts in front of Parliament Hill during a protest against COVID-19 restrictions in Ottawa, on Friday, Feb. 11, 2022. Ontario’s premier declared a state of emergency Friday in reaction to the truck blockades in Ottawa and at the U.S. border and threatened heavy penalties against those who interfere with the free flow of goods and people. (Justin Tang /The Canadian Press via AP)
Truckers and supporters block the access leading from the Ambassador Bridge, linking Detroit and Windsor, as truckers and their supporters continue to protest against COVID-19 vaccine mandates and restrictions, in Windsor, Ontario, Friday, Feb. 11, 2022. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
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