An asylum seeker crosses the border from New York into Canada followed by a Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officer at Roxham Road in Hemmingford, Quebec, Canada March 18, 2020.
(CNN) Canada is ending its pandemic-era policy of turning back asylum-seekers trying to cross into the country between ports of entry, according to a revised policy document released on Sunday.
Canada turned at least 544 would-be refugees back to the Unites States between March 2020 and mid-October. The government did not immediately respond to questions regarding why it was ending the policy now and what if any quarantine rules would apply to asylum-seekers who are not vaccinated.
Canada had said the measure was necessary given health concerns during the coronavirus pandemic. But refugee advocates argued attempts to claim asylum should not be considered “discretionary travel” and pointed to class exemptions Canada made during the pandemic for professional athletes, among others.
“It’s a relief to see the measures for refugees align more with our international obligations, and I think it’s been clear all along that public health and refugee protection could coexist,” said Maureen Silcoff, a refugee lawyer and past president of the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, which took the government to court over the policy.
Silcoff said it did not make sense to allow tourists entry, as Canada has begun to do, while barring people seeking protection.
An unknown number of asylum-seekers turned back were taken into indefinite U.S. immigration detention and at least two were deported, refugee lawyers working on their cases say.
Exemptions have been available since the policy began, and in August Canada began allowing more turned-back asylum-seekers to return and file refugee claims as part of what it called a “managed approach to reopening the border.”
But advocates said this option was only open to those aware of it or who had legal counsel familiar with Canada’s shifting system. The government defended the policy in court last month.
Canada has a Safe Third Country Agreement with the U.S. under which asylum-seekers trying to cross at official ports of entry are turned back. The agreement, challenged twice, was upheld most recently this past spring and may go to Canada’s Supreme Court.
COVID-19 cases are climbing nationally as the U.S. barrels into its second holiday season during the pandemic, with most families planning this year to gather for Thanksgiving.
The U.S. is in better shape than at this point last year, when authorities confirmed well over 160,000 COVID-19 cases every day.
The daily average of new cases stands below 100,000 and almost 200 million Americans are fully vaccinated. They can “feel good about enjoying a typical” holiday season, top infectious diseases expert Anthony Fauci said this week.
But with millions still unvaccinated and cases rising, experts are urging Americans, particularly the unvaccinated, partially vaccinated and vulnerable, to exercise caution when gathering with others.
“There is concern that the rate of infection spreading is already so high as we head into the holiday season,” said Amber D’Souza, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
“We’re definitely headed into our next surge,” she added.
Nationally, the seven-day average for new COVID-19 cases is nearing 95,000, a 33 percent increase from two weeks prior, according to data from The New York Times. In the past two weeks, cases have increased in 39 states and D.C., and they have doubled in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
Certain areas like the Midwest, New England and the Southwest in particular are dealing with surges.
The daily average of about 48,000 hospital admissions is flat from two weeks ago, while the 1,100 fatalities per day has dipped by 1 percent.
The case upticks come as many across the country plan for intergenerational gatherings next week, prompting public health experts to call on Americans to consider safety measures for their events.
The risk of different Thanksgiving gatherings vary, as indoor events are more dicey than outdoor and including unvaccinated guests poses more danger than limiting to fully vaccinated attendees. In the end, experts said it ultimately depends on how much risk individuals want to take.
Researchers, including Joshua Weitz, a professor of biological sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology, have developed a tool to help figure out the localized risk that at least one infected person will be at an event.
For events with 50 people, the calculator shows eight states have counties with an at least 95 percent risk level.
“Even if we are fatigued, the reality is that cases are rising, and there remains far too many individuals who are unvaccinated, and that is contributing to increased spread as well as severe outcomes,” said Joshua Weitz, a professor of biological sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
“I think we should all be concerned that the things that we hold dear, that we enjoy doing may inadvertently lead to increases in cases and severe outcomes,” he added.
About 57 million people aged 12 and older remain unvaccinated and at higher risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19, in addition to ending up hospitalized or killed by the virus.
Still, experts don’t expect any potential surge to reach the levels of last year with the majority of the country having immunity against the virus.
Almost 196 million Americans are fully vaccinated, and 32 million have received a booster dose, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data. Among adults aged 65 and older who are more at risk for severe illness, 86.2 percent are fully vaccinated and 38 percent have gotten their booster.
Even with most Americans protected with the vaccine, however, the shots are not 100 percent effective, meaning breakthrough cases can still emerge. Experts also said waning immunity from the vaccine over time and high community transmission could lead to more breakthrough cases.
Although it’s too late to initiate any vaccinations to be fully protected by Thanksgiving next week, experts said hosts and visitors can still take precautions to mitigate spread during the holiday, including having attendees take rapid tests, hosting events outdoors and increasing ventilation.
Justin Lessler, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of North Carolina’s Gillings School of Global Public Health, said even people going to fully vaccinated events can take steps to protect attendees.
“I think that extra layer of doing a rapid test or something or other activities to try to help you make doubly sure that your dinner doesn’t become a superspreading event is – still worth doing,” he said.
Older, immunocompromised and other vulnerable people should “really consider a safety plan,” he said, while adding “but I don’t think that safety plan has to be: call off the gathering altogether.”
The U.S. has already made booster shots available to these at-risk populations in recent months, and the Food and Drug Administration expanded booster authorization for all adults on Friday.
The CDC’s holiday guidance updated last month suggests for all eligible people to get vaccinated in order to protect those who can’t, such as children, and those at risk.
For children aged 5 to 11, the Pfizer vaccine recently became available earlier this month so a vast majority will not be fully vaccinated by next week. Children younger than 5 are still not eligible for a shot.
To protect these children, Lori Handy, the medical director of infection prevention and control at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, recommended implementing additional “layers of protection” and ensuring that those with exposures or symptoms do not attend.
For children at risk due to medical conditions, she said it’s “time to kind of be mama bear and protect your kids for a bit more this pandemic.”
“I would recommend people be as cautious as possible,” she said. “Find ways to get joy and happiness in the holiday season, but don’t overdo it with very large gatherings where you could regret that event.”
Top infectious diseases expert Anthony Fauci warned on Monday about “prematurely” dropping mask mandates as Washington, D.C., lifts its requirement for indoor masking despite opposition from the city’s council members.
President Biden’s chief medical adviser told NPR’s “Morning Edition” that the city’s move “adds an extra degree of risk” as the country sees rising cases and hospitalization while it heads into the holiday season.
“When you have a dynamic like that … you really gotta be careful,” he said. “Masks are not going to be forever for sure. The more people that get vaccinated, the more people that get boosted, the lower the level of infection in the community will be, and then you start thinking about pulling back on masks.”
“But you don’t want to do it prematurely,” he added. “As much as you’d like to do it, you’ve got to be careful.”
Fauci pointed to the national increase in cases, citing that they are up 29 percent from two weeks earlier. Hospitalizations have ticked up 6 percent, while deaths still are decreasing, although he cautioned fatalities are “usually a lagging indicator.”
What’s next: When asked about when mask mandates can end, Fauci said it’s “tough to predict” but he hopes it’s “as we get through the winter and into the spring.”
“But you can’t guarantee it,” he added. “This virus has fooled us before. It’s a very wily virus — this delta variant.
RIGHTS GROUPS PRESS BIDEN ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY WAIVER FOR COVID-19 VACCINE
More than a dozen medical and human rights groups have teamed up to call on President Biden to take action supporting an intellectual property waiver for COVID-19 vaccines, seeking to keep pressure on the administration in an effort to improve global access to the shots.
The 15 organizations, including Doctors Without Borders, Human Rights Watch and Public Citizen, sent a letter to the White House on Friday requesting Biden’s “personal engagement” on the matter. The groups are pushing for a temporary waiver at the World Trade Organization (WTO) to boost production and supplies for COVID-19 vaccines, treatments and tests.
The groups said they’re “very disappointed” with the Biden administration for its lack of action, beyond the president’s May endorsement, “as millions die or become seriously ill waiting for effective vaccines and treatments.”
The administration has previously declared its support for an intellectual property waiver for the COVID-19 vaccines in May. The White House also called on all WTO members to back an intellectual property waiver for the vaccines last month.
But the organizations said in the letter that there’s been “no progress on enacting it.”
The groups called for movement on this waiver at the upcoming WTO Ministerial Conference slated for the end of this month.
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French prime minister tests positive for Covid-19 as Coronavirus cases climb
The office of France’s prime minister confirmed early this morning that he has tested positive for Covid-19, hours after returning from a visit to neighbouring Belgium and just as France is seeing a nationwide resurgence of infections.
Jean Castex will adapt his schedule for the coming 10 days to continue his activities in isolation, his office said.
Officials at the prime minister’s headquarters did not comment on whether Mr Castex has any virus symptoms.
One of Castex’s daughters tested positive on Monday after her father returned from a meeting with Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo in Brussels, and Castex himself then took two tests that were both positive, his office said.
De Croo’s office said he will be tested on Tuesday and will self-isolate while awaiting the result, according to Belgian state broadcaster RTBF.
While 75 per cent of France’s population is vaccinated, the number of virus infections has risen quickly in recent weeks.
Hospital admissions and deaths linked to the virus are also rising in France, though are so far well below the crisis levels of earlier surges.
French President Emmanuel Macron contracted Covid-19 last December, and other government ministers have also had the virus.
BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS — Area Parliamentary Representative for St. Christopher Seven (Bellevue to Ottley’s), Prime Minister the Hon. Dr. Timothy Harris, was first elected to parliament on November 29, 1993.
As he prepares to celebrate the 28th anniversary as a parliamentarian, he is reflecting and sharing with his constituents the transformation that has taken place under his watch in the constituency and the country on a whole, and is thanking them for their loyalty and trust in him.
PM-Harris at worship-service-at-Miracle-Temple
“Thank you very much for your support through all the years,” said Dr Harris. “Through good times and bad times, the people of Constituency Number Seven have never let me down, and I will do and endeavour to do my very best always to assist you – to deliver for you, and by the Grace of God I shall continue to deliver, so thank you again for your support.”
Prime Minister Harris, who is also the National Political Leader of the Peoples Labour Party (PLP), one of the three political parties in the ruling Team Unity Administration, made the remarks on Sunday November 21 when he and members and supporters of the PLP worshipped at the Miracle Temple in Lodge Project.
“Thank you for your loyalty, and thank you for your trust in me,” continued the Honourable Prime Minister at the worship service which was conducted by Pastor John Bradley, who also delivered the sermon. “And over the last many years we have seen the constituency transform because I made it my business to deliver for you.”
Starting with the Lodge-Ottley’s area, Prime Minister Harris informed that there are several housing programmes, and that he would have delivered housing for somebody that they know, and the new Violet Petty Primary School. He pointed out that those are things they are to give God thanks because that is part of the promised stronger and safer future.
“We have seen for example in Upper Lodge Project two housing projects on either side as we continue to go further up in the hills, as we use available lands to deliver housing for all the people of the constituency,” stated Dr Harris.
“We have seen, going down to the Grange Health Facility, the extension of our housing programme, and on the left-hand side you have seen one of the most modern community centres in the country (the new Lodge-Ottley’s Community Centre) being delivered for you the people of this constituency. So everywhere, there is evidence that I have been working for you the people.”
In Molineux he mentioned of further housing programmes, the building of a new Mary Charles Hospital and the bringing back of the ambulance service and the dental unit. He recalled that he at one time he met the former Premier of Nevis, Ambassador His Excellency Vance Amory, going to the facility for a dental appointment.
As for the neighbouring Mansion Village, the Prime Minister also talked of the new primary school built under his watch, and two housing projects. He advised that fifteen homes will be delivered between now and Christmas for the people of the Constituency.
“Tabernacle continues to expand,” said Dr Harris of his hometown. “We have brought there improvement in our security with a brand new Forensic Department. We built the best health centre in the country and in the Caribbean, right there in Tabernacle, and we named it after an outstanding nurse, Nurse Sylvia Garnette, who served as matron.”
Black Rocks, which is on one end of the vast constituency (Bellevue), has been developed from a small petite community, and has expanded with a housing programme. Government has created a brand-new tourism attraction at Black Rocks, where a lot of activities take place, to include a modern stage and it has bathroom facilities.
“When we look around, we see transformation of the constituency and indeed of the country,” pointed out the Prime Minister. “I am happy that under my watch that so much things have happened, particularly in public infrastructure. Ambassador Ian Liburd did a wonderful job, and was the most productive minister of Public Infrastructure.”
According to the Prime Minister, some of Ian Liburd’s work as the minister of Public Infrastructure include roads that have been resurfaced around the island of St. Kitts, the Basseterre Ferry Terminal, the East Basseterre and the West Basseterre Bus Terminals, and the brand-new Department of Public Works on the factory compound among many others.
“But not only in St. Kitts had we been working hard,” observed Dr Harris. “We have delivered services on the island of Nevis and we have worked well with that government so that today nearly $400 million have been provided to the people of Nevis, first a range of public sector initiatives and government initiatives. So, we have been good as we promised the people of Nevis, and we have done that without creating any challenges for the people of St. Kitts and Nevis, because by the grace of God we have been able to manage the finances of the country very well.”
He concluded: “We continue to deliver for you the people because Government is about people – government is about doing good for the largest possible number of persons. Everyone will not be satisfied, and everyone perhaps may not be rich, though we must bring the majority of the people along in the country.”
CMC- A Special Reserve Police officer and a member of the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard were among several people killed during a bloody weekend in Trinidad and Tobago where the murder toll has inched closer to 400 this year.
Last year the murder toll was 340 and as of October 28, there had been 340 killings.
Police confirmed that Coast Guardsman Jabari Francois and Special Reserve Police (SRP) officer, Jomo Golston, shot and killed each other in Diego Martin, west of here, during a fracas on Sunday apparently over a woman.
Police reported that Golston had dropped off a female friend when he was approached by Francois who knocked on the window of the policeman’s car. The two argued over each other’s perceived disrespect before the gunfire erupted. Both men died at the scene of the incident.
In another incident, police believe that a long-standing feud that may have originated in Venezuela resulted in the death of one man on Sunday.
The authorities said that Charlys Agosto Polo Mata, 22, who was originally from Tucupita, Venezuela, died after he was stabbed several times. His cousin, Omar Ramos, 25, was also stabbed but survived.
Mata, a labourer, was the father of a two-year-old girl.
Relatives told Newsday newspaper that Mata, Ramos and two other Venezuelan men had earlier left a bar in Caroni in Central when a car pulled alongside the four men, and a man got out with a knife. Three other accomplices, all believed to be Venezuelans, remained in the car. The knifeman stabbed both Mata and Ramos repeatedly, killing Mata on the spot.
“The killer went back in the car and the driver drove off. The men who were with Charlys ran off,” the unnamed relative told the newspaper.
Police are also probing the death of a 43-year-old man, who died at a hospital after being shot once in the head on Sunday.
Police said Ronnie Samuel of Caledonia, along the east-west corridor, was in his yard when he was shot.
In another incident on Sunday, officers from the Port-of-Spain Task Force responded to reports of an explosion on the outskirts of the capital where they discovered a vehicle ablaze,
After the fire was extinguished, law enforcement officials said a burnt corpse was found in the vehicle and another body with multiple gunshot wounds was found a short distance away.
The victims were later identified as Jordan and Jada Pierre.
The police were also kept busy investigating a shooting incident in Armia, east of here, where two men dressed in camouflage clothing and armed with firearms broke into Jose Mariano Acosta Bella’s home.
After robbing Bella and his relatives of their cash and cell phones, the men had an argument with Bella, whom they shot Bella several times in his chest before escaping. Bella was taken to the Arima District Hospital and died while undergoing emergency surgery.
Police are also investigating the death of 33-year-old Kendell John, who was at his home with his wife and two children in Cunupia in Central Trinidad when the occupants of a vehicle alighted the vehicle and pretended to be interested in purchasing a refrigerator from John, who was then shot several times.
The people of Belize and the wider Caribbean are celebrating today, after Destiny Wagner was crowned Miss Earth 2021!
The Belizean beauty made history when she emerged best out of 88 delegates from around the world at the competition which was held virtually for the first time.
Wagner will now be written into her country’s history books as the first to secure a placement at the Miss Earth pageant and the first Belizean delegate to place at a Big 4 pageant- Miss Universe, Miss International, Miss World and Miss Earth- since 1979.
The other finalists at the pageant which was hosted on Saturday night were Miss Earth-Air, Marisa Butler from the USA; Miss Earth-Water, Romina Denecken from Chile and Miss Earth-Fire, Jareerat Petsom from Thailand.
After being crowned, Wagner said: “My country has never placed at Miss Earth before nor have we ever had an international crown so right now, this is what we needed and I am happed to represent such a gorgeous country. I am overwhelmed right now with emotions. The words and the gratitude, it’s very hard to express, but I am thankful. I am thankful for the Miss Earth Organisation and thankful for my team as well.”
WAUKESHA, Wis. (AP) — A joyous scene of marching bands and children dancing in Santa hats and waving pompoms turned deadly in an instant, as an SUV sped through a barricade and into a Christmas parade in suburban Milwaukee while spectators watched in…Read More
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PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Two of 17 members of a missionary group who were kidnapped more than a month ago are safe and “in good spirits” after being freed in Haiti, their U.S..-based church organization announced. …Read More
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OINTE-A-PITRE — The French overseas territory of Guadeloupe was hit by a third night of looting and rioting amid protests against COVID-19 regulations, with gunmen shooting at police and firefighters, the authorities said on Sunday.Police arrested 38 people as shops were broken into and cars set ablazeSpecial police forces were due to arrive from mainland France to the Caribbean archipelago on Sunday to restore order.“This situation cannot be accepted nor tolerated,” government spokesman Gabriel Attal told Europe 1 radio.
Guadeloupe’s prefect, Alexandre Rochatte, who represents the French government, said in a statement that armed groups had tried to loot stores in Pointe-a-Pitre, Basse-Terre and Lamentin and battled police.
Shots were fired at police and firemen trying to put out blazes. Four pharmacies were broken into and cars set on fire while barricades were erected to stop security forces from intervening, the prefect adde
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Saturday that France would send about 50 members of the GIGN and RAID elite tactical forces of the gendarmerie and police to the territory.Prime Minister Jean Castex is also due to meet on Monday in Paris with Guadeloupe officials to discuss the situation.
Rochatte on Friday had imposed a curfew from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m following five days of civil unrest during which barricades burned in the streets and firefighters and doctors walked out on strike.
Trade unions started an indefinite strike on Monday to protest the compulsory vaccination of health workers against COVID-19 and health pass requirements. (Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
QUITO, Nov 21 (Reuters) – Ecuador and Colombia on Sunday agreed to the bilateral reopening of their shared border from the start of December after it was closed amid the coronavirus pandemic, and pledged to work together to combat drug trafficking.
The shared border was shut in March 2020 as both governments looked to curb the spread of coronavirus. The controlled reopening, complete with epidemiological measures, will bring greater security and economic activity to the zone.
“Opening the borders means no Ecuadorian or Colombian family will have to pay criminal bands charging to cross via alternative routes, rather than the official ones, which will be opened on December 1,” Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso said in Quito following a meeting with his Colombian counterpart Ivan Duque.
During the meeting, Colombia offered to support Ecuador in the fight against drug trafficking.
Ecuador is beset by a wave of crime that has caused homicides to spike which the country’s authorities link to the trafficking and consumption of drugs.
On Friday Lasso extended a state of emergency across Ecuador to keep military patrols on the streets in areas with high rates of homicide and other crimes associated with the drug trade.
“Ecuador will receive everything it needs from Colombia to fight against organized crime,” Colombia’s President Ivan Duque said.
The two presidents also discussed repatriation of prisoners. Duque said the process to repatriate 170 prisoners will proceed in line with laws and protocols.
Violence in Ecuador’s prisons has spiked this year as criminal gangs duke it out for supremacy. The most recent riot in the Penitenciaria del Litoral prison saw 62 prisoners killed. read more
In recent years Ecuador’s prison system has struggled with violence, overcrowding, and poor living conditions for some 39,000 prisoners.
Reporting by Alexandra Valencia Writing by Oliver Griffin; editing by Diane Craft
BRUSSELS, Nov 22 (Reuters) – A greater number of countries are sliding towards authoritarianism, while the number of established democracies under threat has never been so high, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) said on Monday.
Populist politics, the use of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions to silence critics, a tendency of countries to mimic the anti-democratic behaviour of others, and disinformation used to divide societies are mainly to blame, the Stockholm-based intergovernmental organisation said in a report.
“More countries than ever are suffering from ‘democratic erosion’,” IDEA said in its 2021 study on the state of democracy, relying on data compiled since 1975.
“The number of countries undergoing ‘democratic backsliding’ has never been as high,” it said, referring to the regressive turn in areas including checks on government and judicial independence, as well as media freedom and human rights.
Afghanistan, which was taken over by Taliban militants in August after international troops withdrew, is the most dramatic case this year, while Myanmar’s Feb. 1 coup marked the collapse of a fragile democracy. Other examples include Mali, which has suffered two coups since 2020, and Tunisia, where the president has dissolved parliament and assumed emergency powers.
Large democracies such as Brazil and the United States have seen presidents question the validity of election results, while India has witnessed the prosecution of groups of people critical of government policies.
Hungary, Poland, Slovenia and Serbia are the European countries with the greatest declines in democracy. Turkey has seen one of the largest declines between 2010 and 2020.
“In fact, 70 per cent of the global population now live either in non-democratic regimes or in democratically backsliding countries,” the report said.
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a surge in authoritarian behaviour by governments. The study said that there was no evidence that authoritarian regimes were better at fighting the pandemic, despite Chinese state media reports to the contrary.
“The pandemic provides additional tools and justification for repressive tactics and silencing of dissent in countries as diverse as Belarus, Cuba, Myanmar, Nicaragua and Venezuela,” the report said.
(CNN) Mexican authorities have reported finding some 600 migrants hidden in two trailers traveling through the state of Veracruz, according to the country’s National Migration Institute (INM).
In a statement, the migration agency said that they discovered 145 women and 455 men in closed box cars that were heading north towards the US border.
A substantial majority of the migrants — around 400 people — come from neighboring Guatemala, while significant numbers also come from Honduras, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and Bangladesh.
Twelve countries in total are represented in the migrants’ profiles, with El Salvador, Cuba, Venezuela, Ecuador, Ghana, India and Cameroon making up the remainder.
The INM said they had started processing the people and would inform child protection agencies in the cases of unaccompanied minors and families, and will then decide whether to send them back to their home countries or give them the opportunity to remain in Mexico through a regularization procedure.
Between October 2020 and June 2021, more than 1 million migrants were arrested at the border. The crisis has prompted the US to run radio ads in Central America to try to deter people from migration.
In the 2021 fiscal year, there were 557 deaths registered by US Border Patrol — the highest number since records began and a significant increase from 254 deaths in 2020.
Migration is very common from Central American countries like Honduras, where storms, violence, corruption, food insecurity, and a lack of economic opportunity have left many with no other choice.
Elsewhere in Latin America, a crackdown on immigration policies accompanied by an exodus of Venezuelans and large numbers of Haitians moving through the continent have led to a migrant crisis in the region.
In mid-2020, international migrants represented 2.6% of South America’s whole population, a significant increase from the less than 1% registered in 2015, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
CNN’s Daniela Mohor W. and Jeevan Ravindran contributed to this report.
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