1, Dr. Tan warns: More young people in emergency ICUs
The more contagious variant of the virus is beginning to dominate, and infections are rapidly increasing among young, healthy Canadians as provincial governments struggle to contain the third wave of the COVID-19 outbreak. Concerns about the variant virus are growing as quickly as the number of cases in several major provinces, especially among young people. It’s a reminder that COVID-19 can affect people of all ages and that serious illness can occur at any age, said Canada’s Chief Health Officer Wing-Sze Tan.
According to globalnews, Tan said Tuesday that the number of hospitalizations of young patients requiring intensive care is increasing. Many are deteriorating rapidly and must be admitted to ICUs. 6,100 new infections and 31 deaths a day have been recorded on average over the past week, up from 4,600 new infections and 26 deaths recorded a week earlier.
In the last week, the number of hospitalizations for new coronaries increased by 4 percent to an average of 2,400 per day, Tam said. Meanwhile, the number of ICU admissions increased by 18 percent to 780. That means one in three new coronavirus hospitalizations required ICU admission. When the number of hospitalizations reached 4,775 during the second wave of the outbreak in mid-January, about one-fifth, or 880, were admitted to ICUs.
Hospital reports from all provinces show that most patients were under 60 years old. Doctors across the country have continued to appeal through social media that this is not a virus that only attacks the weak or elderly. Kevin McLeod, an internist in Vancouver, tweeted that young people think they are invincible. But that feeling will soon fade. What you hear is that the medical team is discussing whether you should be intubated or need to be hooked up to a ventilator.
Some workers who have to go out to work have been hit by the virus, so there is an urgent need for the provinces to vaccinate young front-line workers. Until Tuesday afternoon, about 6 million people in Canada had received at least one dose of the vaccine.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke with Ontario Premier Ford on Tuesday. Both men agreed it was important to continue vaccine rollout efforts. Earlier Premier Ford blamed the slow delivery of vaccines on uneven distribution by the federal government, a claim denied by federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu. Tam said the vaccine is helpful, but definitely not a panacea, and that there is still a need to maintain social restrictions and wear masks as the variant virus spreads.
- Awesome! Canadian dollar one of the best performing major currencies this year Analysts expect the Canadian dollar to reach 81.96 cents to the U.S. dollar by the end of the year, which would be the highest level since 2017. The Canadian dollar has emerged as one of the top performing major currencies this year and is expected to be the most talked about currency in the market throughout 2021. The Canadian dollar is widely bullish based largely on the country’s abundant natural resources, attractive production, and the market demand in the adjacent U.S. The advancement of vaccinations and infrastructure spending in the U.S. will help this largest export market for Canada regain its footing. Stocks were relatively flat against a backdrop of deflationary trade, and the Bank of Canada said it would slow down its quantitative easing policy. The euro posted its largest quarterly yield in years against the yen and the Swiss franc. The Canadian dollar gained more than 1 percent against the U.S. dollar, second only to the British pound in this year’s ranking of the best major currencies. According to John Velis, strategist at BNY Mellon, “Canada’s recovery will be impressive in the second half of the year, with growth forecasts revised upward.” “In addition, global reopening will be positive for commodities, with commodity and oil-related FX set to perform well.” The Canadian dollar’s first-quarter results are unlikely to be just a passing hot streak. The U.S. and Canada rounded out the top five, growing 5.7 percent and 5.4 percent, respectively, as the G-20 countries’ economies are expected to rebound this year, according to Bloomberg data. With the pull of economic growth, continued central bank easing for the foreseeable future and growing demand for commodities, the Canadian dollar will continue to receive favorable support next year. Although commodity prices and the Canadian dollar have not moved in tandem, the 21-day correlation between the Bloomberg Commodity Index and Deutsche Bank’s trade-weighted Canadian dollar index is above 70%, near the highs of the past five years. U.S. President Joe Biden’s “green” infrastructure plan will further support commodity prices in what some analysts are calling the coming commodities supercycle. Philippe Jauer, a money manager at Amundi Fund Management, said Biden’s spending package will benefit the Canadian dollar and other resource-related currencies. He said the government is “moving quickly and massively, which is what the market is looking for right now.” Jauer follows a butterfly strategy that includes long bets on the U.S. dollar, commodity-linked currencies and short bets on the euro, he added. He advocates the Canadian dollar against most other Group of Ten currencies except the U.S. dollar. Strong growth and subdued inflation are particularly attractive to fixed income managers. Canada’s main consumer price inflation rate is about 1.1 percent per year, lower than the 1.7 percent rate in the United States. Canada’s five-year break-even inflation rate is about 1.9, a level that is an indicator of bond market expectations for consumer price inflation. This compares with about 2.6 percent in the United States. Arbitrage returns are relatively attractive because the Canadian government’s five-year Treasury yield is lower than that of its U.S. counterpart. Among high-yield countries, Canada’s good sovereign rating and limited concerns about U.S. dollar financing make it an attractive alternative for many emerging market countries. Not everyone is optimistic about the Canadian dollar. Bipan Rai, a strategist at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, expects the Canadian dollar to weaken against the U.S. dollar as the market reprices central bank policy. “In short, when pushing for a post-2021 rate hike, he believes the Bank of Canada will not raise rates ahead of the Federal Reserve.” There are also risks to the growth outlook, including the possibility that vaccines may not contain the pandemic and the challenges Biden will face to approve his spending plan. But for now, the market is betting on a brighter outlook. The one-year implied volatility of the Canadian dollar plunged to its lowest level in more than a month last week. This suggests that options traders are increasingly comfortable with the long-term stability of the Canadian dollar. Compared to the U.S. dollar, it has slowly approached its 2015 support line of about 81.45 cents since March 2020 from its current level of about $79.77. If Full Bank’s Greg Anderson’s forecast is right and his year-end outlook for the Canadian dollar is 81.96 cents U.S., then this would be the highest level since 2017. Canada’s two-year rate is still about 6 basis points higher than the equivalent debt in the U.S., while Germany’s rate is about 95 basis points higher.Anderson says Canadian yields have largely kept pace with the rise in Treasury rates, which has continued to pull the Canadian dollar higher.Anderson expects, “The yield differential will provide upside for the Canadian dollar. ” “It will help the Canadian dollar outperform the broader market.”
- Good news! 75% of Canadian adults can get vaccinated by mid-June Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) confirmed that the interval between two doses of the new coronavirus vaccine has been extended to four months, which will allow Canada to have at least the first dose of the vaccine for 75 percent of adults by mid-June. At a press conference held by NACI on Wednesday, co-chair Dr. Shelley Deeks said they changed their recommendation back in March, saying that if there was a shortage of vaccine supply, then provinces could extend the time between the first and second COVID-19 injections to a maximum of four months. Now it’s just a matter of issuing a full statement on that recommendation to ensure that more people can get the vaccine as soon as possible. We took a close look at the clinical trial evidence, which showed very good vaccine efficacy from the first dose,” she said. We also looked at new real-world evidence that shows good vaccine efficacy for both symptomatic disease and asymptomatic infections, and very good efficacy for hospitalization.” However, some medical research experts believe that stretching the original two-dose interval of 28 days to as many as 120 days is risky because it could lead to the emergence of new variants that reduce the protection period for vulnerable people by several months. Last month, a group of doctors wrote a letter to the federal and provincial governments reflecting their concerns and questions about delaying the second dose of the vaccine, noting that Canada is the only country attempting to do so and that there is not enough data to support the decision. BC Health Officer Dr. Henry, who was the first to propose an extended vaccine interval in Canada, said, “Its decision is scientifically sound and the approach will provide the greatest benefit to all populations.”
4, 1/3 of home working professionals prefer to find another job rather than return to the office full time
A new survey shows that about one-third of professionals who currently work from home would rather find a new job than return to the office full-time.
The number of work-at-home employees in Canada has increased dramatically following the outbreak of the new pneumonia epidemic and the implementation of epidemic prevention restrictions. While more and more companies are planning to bring employees back to the office when restrictions are eased, a survey conducted by human resources firm Rochester HDFC suggests they may need to consider other options.
Fifty-one percent of those surveyed said they would like to have a blended work schedule, spending part of their time in the office and part of their time elsewhere. Professionals have some concerns about working from home full-time. 39% believe that relationships with co-workers will be adversely affected. 21% are concerned that the lack of visibility of working from home will hurt promotion opportunities. 16% are concerned about decreased productivity working from home. To make it easier to return to the office, professionals say employers could give them the freedom to choose office hours, pay for commuting, provide personal work space free from distractions, relax clothing rules and provide childcare costs.
”After a year of uncertainty and a year of remote work due to the epidemic, certain business leaders are eager to restore the old outlook, including returning employees to the office in safe situations,” said Ginger, chairman of Roche Henderson’s Canadian region. “However, companies should be prepared for the possibility of a disconnect between employees and the company’s ideal work structure. As we reimagine the future of work, managers need to have meaningful conversations with their work teams to determine what employees want and need most.” The online poll sampled more than 500 employees of Canadian companies over the age of 18.
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