Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
This story was updated with the latest information on gathering restrictions by province on Friday, Oct. 8.
With the Thanksgiving weekend quickly approaching, many Canadians are preparing to host or attend gatherings with their friends and families.
But as the threat of the Delta variant looms, experts say hosts should proceed with caution and avoid having large, indoor gatherings with unvaccinated guests.
Dr. Andrew Morris, who is an infectious diseases specialist at Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital, says Canadians should consider moving their Thanksgiving dinner outdoors if possible.
"If you can get away with it because the weather's good enough, have an outdoor gathering. Or make your gathering as similar to outdoors as possible, meaning a lot of fresh air coming in and out of the home," he told CTVNews.ca on Monday.
This includes opening windows and doors to ensure good ventilation, Morris says. In the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control also recommends opening windows as well as using fans to circulate fresh air during indoor gatherings.
Most provinces and territories continue to have public health restrictions that limit indoor gatherings to 10 to 25 people. In most cases, Morris recommends adhering to these gathering limits set by public health officials.
In Saskatchewan there are currently no limits on private indoor or outdoor gatherings despite COVID-19 cases hitting record highs. Vaccination rates in the province are also the lowest in Canada.
University of Saskatchewan epidemiologist Dr. Nazeem Muhajarine wants to see the province introduce strict limits on private gatherings.
"Some places … have a very high community prevalence (of COVID-19) and I think in those places, I would say we shouldn't be having any gatherings with the people we don't live with," said Muhajarine in a phone interview with CTVNews.ca on Monday.
Apart from Alberta, no provinces have any restrictions against having indoor gatherings with unvaccinated guests. Still, Morris and Muhajarine agree that Canadians hosting Thanksgiving gatherings should make sure that attendees are fully vaccinated.
"The safest thing you can do is ensure that everyone that comes into your home is vaccinated. and that will get rid of a lot of risk," Morris said.
Having a smaller gathering also makes it easier to ensure that all your guests are vaccinated, Muhajarine says.
"If you're inviting dozens of people, it's unlikely that you will be checking people's vaccination status at the door. And so, I think private gathering limits are really an important component," he said.
Morris says the fact that children under 12 can't get vaccinated underscores the need to have gatherings with COVID-19 safety measures.
"If you've got a family with a bunch of young kids … you want to try as much as possible to do all the things, such as trying to do it outdoors and ensuring that anyone who attends is vaccinated," he said.
Morris also predicts COVID-19 cases will rise across the country following the Thanksgiving weekend.
"I think that clearly, the biggest risk that we've seen throughout the pandemic is holidays. And they don't have to be statutory holidays. We've seen this with Mother's Day and Father's Day," he said.
While some provinces and territories have lifted their limits on private gatherings, others continue to maintain or have re-implemented restrictions in the wake of rising COVID-19 cases.
In addition to Saskatchewan, Yukon has no restrictions on private social gatherings taking place indoors or outdoors.
Alberta: The province allows for private indoor gatherings with up to 10 people from two households if they've been vaccinated or aren't eligible for the vaccine. Unvaccinated Albertans eligible for the vaccine are not permitted to attend indoor gatherings. The limit on outdoor gatherings has also been reduced from 200 down to 20 people. Alberta has been a COVID-19 hotspot in this fourth wave, struggling to deal with record-breaking hospitalizations.
British Columbia: Some regions currently have stricter rules on gatherings than others. In Fraser East, which includes Abbotsford, Agassiz, Chilliwack, Harrison Hot Springs, Hope and Mission, those who aren't fully vaccinated are limited to five visitors or one other household if they're gathering inside. Outdoor gatherings are limited to 10 visitors. No limits to personal gatherings are in place for those who are fully vaccinated. In the Interior and Northern health regions, indoor gatherings can't include more than five guests or one other household, regardless of vaccination status. There are no restrictions on personal gatherings across the rest of the province.
Manitoba: The province has restricted indoor private gatherings to two households. For outdoor private gatherings, households are limited to 10 guests. These restrictions don't affect groups of fully vaccinated Manitobans.
New Brunswick: Starting at 6 p.m. local time Friday until Tuesday, both indoor and outdoor gatherings are limited to single households.
Newfoundland and Labrador: Private gatherings are only permitted within a social bubble of 20 people. In Boyd's Cove, New World Island and the North/South Twillingate Islands, the maximum bubble size is 10 people.
Nova Scotia: Up to 25 are permitted to gather indoors and 50 outdoors without masks or physical distancing.
Northwest Territories: Up to 200 people can gather indoors and outdoors. Gathering restrictions have been imposed on Yellowknife, N'Dilo and Dettah, with no household visitors permitted with few exceptions. Behchoko and Whati are under a containment order, also with no household visitors permitted apart from limited exceptions.
Nunavut: The territory has restricted household gatherings to 15 people, plus household members, while there are no restrictions on outdoor gatherings. In Coral Harbour, household gatherings are restricted to five people, plus household members, while outdoor gatherings are limited to five people. In Kinngait, outdoor gatherings are limited to 100 people.
Ontario: Indoor gatherings are capped at 25. For outdoor gatherings, the limit is 100.
Quebec: A maximum of 10 people or occupants from three households are allowed to gather indoors at a private residence. For outdoor gatherings, the limit is 20 people or three households. Quebec also continues to "highly recommend" masking and physical distancing at gatherings.
Prince Edward Island: The limit is 20 people for both indoor and outdoor gatherings.
With files from CTVNewsVancouver.ca reporter Alyse Kotyk
This story has been updated to include restrictions on personal gatherings in the Fraser East, Interior and Northern health regions of British Columbia, as well as to update the restrictions in the Northwest Territories.
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Electric scooters (e-scooters) have been gaining popularity in the capital and this season comes with some changes and updates.
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Quebec Premier François Legault reiterated that the pro-Palestinian encampment at McGill University must be dismantled while police remain 'on the lookout for new developments.'
Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime has advanced to his first ATP Masters final, and he hasn't had to play all that much tennis to do it.
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.
The United Nations food agency warned Sudan's warring parties Friday that there is a serious risk of widespread starvation and death in Darfur and elsewhere in Sudan if they don't allow humanitarian aid into the vast western region.
Ontario Provincial Police say two people were killed after a car and a transport truck collided in the westbound lanes of Highway 417 near Limoges, Ont. on Tuesday afternoon.
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.