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.
The Canadian Olympic team's top doctor was confident in measures designed to reduce risk of COVID-19 infection among the team and in the athletes' village.
While there are athletes from other countries who have tested positive for the virus after arrival in Tokyo, no Canadian athlete had as of Friday morning local time when the Canadian Olympic Committee held a virtual news conference.
"We have not had any positives on the Canadian team," Dr. Mike Wilkinson said.
"There have been positives within the village in other teams. These positives have shown that the system is working and importantly there have not been any instances of any transmission within the village."
A Dutch skateboarder and a Czech table tennis player entered a quarantine hotel Thursday.
Since July 1, there have been a total of 91 cases among athletes, coaches and officials in the village near Tokyo Bay.
Of Canada's team of 370 athletes, which is the most since 1984, 280 were ensconced in the main village and the various satellite villages closer to sport venues.
Over 90 per cent of Canada's delegation in Tokyo is fully vaccinated with two doses, according to the COC.
Wilkinson, the team's chief medical officer, arrived in Tokyo three weeks ago.
"I am confident as the chief medical officer that we've done everything we can to keep everyone safe," Wilkinson said.
"We have added significant extra measures in place for the Canadian team. A lot of these are actually Canadian innovations.
"We are monitoring the air quality within our building. We have brought in extra teams to help with pre-sanitation. We are monitoring the number of vectors and viruses and bacteria on common things such as the door handles, even the bicycle handle bars or the bikes that are in use in the village. And then sanitizing and using electrostatic foggers to do this.
"We also have brought in some scientific instruments to actually test not only (for) COVID that we're talking about, but we had these in plan before to help prevent all infections that we see very commonly in the Games."
To reduce numbers and the risk of infection, athletes aren't allowed into villages until five days before their competition.
Between 30 and 40 Canadians were expected to march into Friday's opening ceremonies behind flagbearers Miranda Ayim of the women's basketball team and rugby sevens player Nathan Hirayama.
"All athletes are allowed to participate in the opening ceremonies, in every Games and not just this year with the pandemic. It's always an athlete's choice," COC chief sport officer Eric Myles said.
"Any athletes who are competing within, I would say two days of the opening ceremony, are normally never walking (in)."
Canadian athletes had already begun competing ahead of the evening's opening ceremonies at Olympic Stadium.
The women's soccer team opened with a 1-1 draw against host Japan on Wednesday. The women's softball squad was 1-1 after a win over Mexico and a loss to the United States.
Canadians will compete in rowing heats and archery preliminaries Friday. Canada hasn't set hard medal targets for the Tokyo Olympics.
The 22 medals won in Rio five years ago (four gold, three silver and 15 bronze) equalled the most for Canada at a non-boycotted Summer Olympics.
"Believe me, Canadian athletes are ready to compete, ready to win, ready to maximize the situation and make it a competitive advantage for us," Myles said.
"This has been such an incredible journey. Not only for Team Canada, but for our fellow nations, to finally be here and seeing competition now underway is very hard to put in words and is very emotional for us all."
Tokyo is operating a Summer Olympics in a state of emergency that began July 12 and continues to Aug. 22 -- well after the Aug. 8 closing ceremonies -- because of infection cases.
The 1,979 new cases Thursday were the highest since 2,044 on Jan. 15, according to The Associated Press. About 23 per cent of Japanese are vaccinated.
"Everyone's been talking about risk these days. There's no zero risk in life," COC president Tricia Smith said. "There's only more risk and less risk.
"In this case in the pandemic, the mark of success is not zero cases, it's making sure the cases are identified, traced and cared for as soon as possible and that onward transmission is minimized.
"More than 85 per cent of the athletes in the village from 206 nations are vaccinated. There will be cases at the Games and there have been, but they're being identified and managed. The system is working."
What is usually a festival atmosphere of people gathering together in anticipation of the Olympic torch lighting has been muted in Tokyo.
No international spectators are allowed into the country. Canadians were going to compete in front of Japanese spectators only until the state of emergency barred citizens from attending competitions in Tokyo.
Tokyo's Games were postponed from 2020 to 2021 because of the global pandemic.
Canada's Olympic and Paralympic teams withdrew from the 2020 Games two days before the postponement citing public safety concerns.
With files from The Associated Press
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 22, 2021.
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.
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
RCMP say human remains found in a rural area in central Saskatchewan may have been there for a decade or more.
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
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.
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.