Prince William and Prince Harry won’t walk side-by-side Saturday as they follow their grandfather’s coffin into the church ahead of Prince Philip’s funeral, minimizing the chances of any awkward moments between the brothers who are grappling with strained relations since Harry’s decision to step away from royal duties last year.
Buckingham Palace on Thursday released the broad outlines of the funeral program for Queen Elizabeth II’s husband, who died April 9 at 99. The palace revealed that William and Harry’s cousin, Peter Phillips, will walk between the princes as they escort the coffin to St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, west of London.
Prince Charles, the heir to the throne and the father of the princes, together with his sister, Princess Anne, will lead the 15-member procession.
The brothers had been closely watched as Saturday’s funeral will almost certainly remind the pair of their shared grief at another royal funeral more than two decades ago. As young boys, both walked behind their mother Princess Diana’s coffin in 1997 in London in a ceremony watched around the world.
Palace officials refused to comment when asked whether the positioning of William and Harry was an effort to minimize family tensions, which have grown after Harry and his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, gave an explosive interview to Oprah Winfrey that suggested an unnamed member of the royal family had made a racist comment to Harry before the birth of their child Archie.
Meghan, who is pregnant and living in California with Harry, is not coming to the funeral on the advice of her doctor.
“We’re not going to be drawn into those perceptions of drama or anything like that,” a palace spokesman said while speaking on condition of anonymity in line with policy. “This is a funeral and the arrangements have been agreed and they represent Her Majesty’s wishes.”
In another effort to preserve family unity, the palace said senior royals would wear civilian clothes to the funeral. The decision, signed off by the queen, means that Harry won’t risk being the only member of the royal family not in uniform during the funeral.
Members of the royal family often wear uniforms to public events by virtue of their honorary roles with the British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, but Harry lost his honorary military titles when he decided to give up frontline royal duties last year. As a result, protocol suggests that Harry, an army veteran who served two tours of duty in Afghanistan, would only wear a suit with medals at royal functions.
The decision also sidesteps another potential controversy after reports that Prince Andrew, the queen’s second-oldest son, considered wearing an admiral’s uniform to his father’s funeral. Andrew retains his military titles even though he was forced to step away from royal duties after a disastrous interview with the BBC about his acquaintance with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Attendance at the funeral will be limited to 30 people because of the coronavirus restrictions in England. The list will include several of Philip’s relatives from Germany, together with immediate members of the royal family. The children in the family will not attend.
Guests will wear masks inside the chapel and observe social distancing. The queen, always the first to set an example, will also wear a mask.
In other details released about the funeral, Royal Marine buglers will play “Action Stations,” an alarm that alerts sailors to prepare for battle.
Philip, also known as the Duke of Edinburgh, served in the Royal Navy for 12 years and maintained close ties to the armed forces throughout his life. Military personnel will have a large role in honouring him Saturday despite the attendance limit.
Members of the Royal Navy, the Royal Marines, the Royal Air Force and the British Army will take part in the funeral procession. Philip’s coffin will be carried to St. George’s Chapel on a specially adapted Land Rover that he designed himself.
On Thursday, Charles and his wife Camilla visited Marlborough House in central London to see a sea of floral tributes for Philip, which have been moved there from the gates of Buckingham Palace.
The couple spent some time looking at the cards and notes with the flowers. The items left in tribute included a model of a Land Rover similar to the one that will bear Philip’s coffin on Saturday, with the words “The Duke R.I.P” on the roof.
Ontario’s COVID-19 situation is “dire,” one of the province’s top doctors said Thursday as the government considered new restrictions to deal with an alarming rise in cases.
Hours after the province set a new record for daily infections – logging 4,736 cases – Dr. Barbara Yaffe, Ontario’s associate medical officer of health, said she had never seen things so bad.
“Unfortunately, our situation is dire,” she said.
“At some of the previous press conferences I have referred to the situation as worrisome, and even scary. What is truly scary is that when I used those words before, our rates and our trends were nowhere near where we find ourselves today.”
Ontario’s seven-day average for daily cases had jumped by 36 per cent in one week – to 4,208, Yaffe said.
The 1,932 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 and 659 in intensive care are both record highs, she noted, highlighting the immense pressure on the health-care system.
New public health restrictions – on top of Ontario’s current stay-at-home order and closure of in-person schooling – will be required and have been recommended to cabinet, Yaffe said.
The measures, which Yaffe did not elaborate on, are based on data gathered by the province’s science advisors and take into account efforts that have worked in other jurisdictions, she said.
“Remember what things were like last spring, when we had the stay-at-home order and what the streets were like, they were pretty much empty. They’re not empty these days. We have to go back to that, we have to think about it the way we did then,” she said.
An Ontario-wide curfew is not one of the measures being considered at this time as the Ford government tries to curb the surge in new COVID-19 cases and help an overburdened hospital system, sources tell 680 NEWS.
The measure was discussed at a cabinet meeting Thursday and sources say while it’s currently off the table, things could change as no final decisions have been made.
It’s believed Premier Ford and his cabinet are looking at a host of other measures that could include restrictions to non-essential construction.
No changes to daycare services are expected, according to sources.
Cabinet is expected to meet again on Friday with an announcement expected after new modelling data is released.
Ontario reported a single-day high 4,736 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday.
Earlier, Associate Medical Officer of Health Dr. Barbara Yaffe called the situation in Ontario “dire” and warned things will not get better unless we change our current behaviour.
“Remember what things were like last spring, when we had the stay-at-home order and what the streets were like, they were pretty much empty. They’re not empty these days. We have to go back to that, we have to think about it the way we did then.”
Solicitor General Sylvia Jones acknowledged the challenges a curfew would present in Ontario, pointing to the anti-curfew protests in Quebec.
“I think the Montreal riots speak to the challenge of both enforcing, and people’s willingness to do a curfew,” she said.
Files from The Canadian Press were used in this report
Toronto Mayor John Tory says High Park will remain open throughout spring this year, even through the much anticipated bloom of the cherry blossoms.
However, Tory says while the park will be open for neighbourhood residents requiring exercise and fresh air — people can walk, run or bike through the park — they are asked not to flock there to see the cherry blossoms.
“The best way to see the cherry blossoms as was the case last year, again this year will be from your own home…on the blossom camera — they city’s most popular live stream,” said Tory.
He said 200,000 people tuned in to the blossom camera last year and people can watch them “24/7 if they want during the peak bloom.”
“We want people to enjoy the blossoms virtually and safely and we still want people to enjoy the park,” he said.
To that end, the city has developed “blossom health protection arrangements” which includes installing fencing around the three largest collections of cherry trees in the park.
City staff will also be on site to “continuously monitor” the area and ensure that crowds do not develop while people still enjoy the rest of the park.
“We will restrict access to only limited areas of the park,” said Tory.
Last year, the park was entirely closed as city officials determined it would not be possible to ensure physical distancing with a partial closure.
Fencing was also installed around the trees last year, but two trespassers got through and one was caught climbing a tree on the blossom cameras.
One of them was found and given three tickets totaling $1,150 for entering into an area of a park posted to prohibit admission, walking where prohibited in a park and using a park between 12:01 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. without a permit.
Toronto residents aged 18 years and older living in hotspots will be contacted directly for COVID-19 vaccinations at mobile and pop-up clinics, Fire Chief Matthew Pegg said Wednesday.
The details come after a week of confusion regarding how appointments and registration for this group would take place, following the announcement of their vaccine eligibility on April 7.
Pegg said in general, appointments for mobile or pop-up clinics will not be booked in advance.
“While each specific situation is unique, it is common for these hotspot mobile and pop-up clinics to be operated on a walk-up basis, with eligible adults coming from the very specific location that is being served,” he said.
Pegg went on to explain that residents in a specific building or complex located in a hotspot neighbourhood would be directly notified of an upcoming pop-up clinic in that building or complex along with information on how and when to receive their vaccine.
“Residents don’t travel to a mobile or pop-up vaccine clinic, rather mobile or pop-up clinics come to a specific group of residents in a specifically prioritized hotspot location, as vaccine availability permits,” he said.
On Tuesday, the province’s first pop-up clinic was set up at BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in the hotspot location of North Etobicoke.
Those 18 and over living in the following postal codes are eligible to get vaccinated at the clinic:
This clinic is not accepting walk-ins and an appointment can be booked via the William Osler booking system.
A Liberal MP was caught wearing his birthday suit in the virtual House of Commons.
William Amos, who has represented the Quebec riding of Pontiac since 2015, appeared on the screens of his fellow members of Parliament completely naked Wednesday.
A screenshot obtained by The Canadian Press shows him standing behind a desk between the Quebec and Canadian flags, his private parts hidden by what appears to be a mobile phone in one hand.
“This was an unfortunate error,” Amos said in a statement sent by email Wednesday.
“My video was accidentally turned on as I was changing into my work clothes after going for a jog. I sincerely apologize to my colleagues in the House of Commons for this unintentional distraction. Obviously, it was an honest mistake and it won’t happen again.”
Bloc Quebecois MP Claude DeBellefeuille, the party whip, raised the incident in a point of order after question period, suggesting a reminder about parliamentary decorum.
“It may be necessary to remind the members, especially the male ones, that a tie and jacket are obligatory, but so are a shirt, boxer shorts or pants,” she said in French.
“We have seen that the member is in great physical shape, but I think members should be reminded to be careful and control the camera well.”
Speaker Anthony Rota later thanked DeBellefeuille for her “observations” and clarified that while he had not seen anything, he checked with technicians and confirmed they saw something.
He reminded MPs to always be vigilant when they are near a camera and microphone.
Amos, the parliamentary secretary to Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne, was visible only to MPs and staffers on an internal video conference feed. Because he was not speaking during question period, his image did not show up on the public feed.
Liberal whip Mark Holland said Amos was “utterly mortified.”
Holland said he was satisfied with the explanation from his caucus colleague.
“I don’t think there was any ill intent. It’s certainly an unfortunate circumstance,” Holland said in an interview.
“I think it’s part of the circumstances of the world we’re in right now, where the line between our home and our office place is so blurred and trying to manage that is sometimes challenging,” he added.
“This is a warning to everybody. You’ve got to really always assume that camera is on and be very careful any time you wander anywhere near that camera that you’re dressed appropriately.”
Asked if he’ll be issuing a warning to all Liberal MPs to that effect, Holland said: “Oh, big time.”
Disruptions in COVID-19 vaccine shipments to Ontario have forced several vaccination clinics to temporarily close in the midst of a troubling third wave.
WATCH: https://toronto.citynews.ca/2021/04/13/2-scarborough-covid-19-vaccine-clinics-temporarily-closing-due-to-vaccine-supply/
The following clinics are affected. Reopening dates are dependent on supply. (This list will be updated if/when other clinics are affected):
Scarborough Health Network:
- Centennial College, 941 Progress Avenue (closing April 14)
- Centenary hospital, 2867 Ellesmere Road (closing April 14)
North York General/North York Toronto Health Partners:
- Seneca College, 1750 Finch Ave E, Newnham Campus (Room G2652) (closing April 17)
Michael Garron Hospital/Toronto East Health Network:
- Thorncliffe Park Community Hub, 45 Overlea Blvd. Unit 108A (closing April 14)
York Region was also forced to close its drive-thru clinic at Canada’s Wonderland due to supply shortages and the University Health Network has paused vaccine appointment registrations for 18-49 year olds in three hotspot communities due to the shortfall.
Premier Doug Ford blames the temporary closures on delays in Moderna vaccine shipments.
Ford said 303,000 doses that were scheduled for delivery on April 5th, are now expected someone Wednesday, while the next shipment of nearly 500,000 doses that was due on the 19th is delayed until the 29th.
Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Eileen de Villa said Wednesday that vaccines are arriving at a “slower and less predictable rate than expected.”
“Reaching our maximum capacity to vaccinate will require more vaccine than is in the pipeline at present,” she said.
Essential workers who put food in grocery stores through the Ontario Food Terminal are pleading with the government to prioritize them for vaccinations, as more of them fall ill.
WATCH: https://toronto.citynews.ca/2021/04/13/ontario-food-terminal-covid-19-vaccinations/
The food terminal in Etobicoke is the largest distribution hub for fruit and produce in the country, and the fourth-largest in North America. Frontline workers say despite doing everything right, COVID-19 variants are still spreading rapidly.
“Does someone have to die down here before we get a couple thousand vaccines?” asks Larry Davidson, owner of North American Produce, which operates at the terminal.
The terminal is considered an essential business by the government, and has stayed open throughout the pandemic. The board that runs the terminal has put COVID-19 protocols in place, including screening, masking, cleaning and controlling how buyers move through the site, to keep the virus in check. The terminal managed to limit outbreaks and prevent spread, for a time.
“Up until these variants, which are obviously far more contagious,” says Davidson. “That’s what I had.”
He tells CityNews that in the last month, he and more than 20 per cent of his workforce have been infected with COVID-19.
“At this point it’s not really relevant how it’s being spread,” he says. “People are wearing their masks, they’re doing everything they’re supposed to no different than they did the whole year. It’s now a matter of getting people vaccinated.”
Should COVID-19 force the terminal to shut down, Davidson says Ontarians would see the impact at their grocers.
“The distribution of produce would be affected significantly in the province,” he says. More than 5,000 Ontario businesses buy fruits and vegetables at the terminal.
Open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, workers put in long hours in close quarters to get fresh produce into Ontario’s grocery stores and beyond.
“Unless you’ve been in this environment you really don’t know what it’s like, it can be a zoo sometimes,” says Curtis Millette, an inventory control manager with North American Produce. “It’s always very busy.”
Davidson’s worst fear was realized when he brought the virus home to his 10-year-old daughter and his wife. His partner has multiple sclerosis and ended up hospitalized.
“I’m heartbroken. I hope my wife recovers,” he says. “I’ll never be able to forgive myself for what I brought home, never. It eats at me every minute of every day.”
As of right now, Ontario plans to vaccinate anyone who cannot work from home in mid-May. However, many doctors are pushing the conservative government to move that date up as they see more and more essential workers end up in ICUs.
“That is part of the second phase and frankly very much dependent on supply we receive,” says Sylvia Jones, Ontario’s solicitor general. “As soon as we have sufficient supply we’re going to make sure that if you can’t work from home, you’ll have access to a vaccine.”
The government has been working with employers to set up mobile vaccine clinics at businesses in hotspots, however the food terminal isn’t in one of the 114 at-risk neighbourhoods identified by the province.
“It’s beyond frustrating,” says Davidson. “We should be ahead of people who are able to work from home.”
Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Teoscar Hernandez tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday, according to manager Charlie Montoyo.
Hernandez, who began experiencing symptoms on Monday, will be out at least the next 10 days.
The Blue Jays initially assigned Hernandez to the COVID-19 injured list on April 9 after he was exposed to someone who had tested positive for the coronavirus.
Now that he has tested positive himself, Hernandez “will need to complete a 10-day quarantine, demonstrate an improvement of any symptoms, undergo a cardiac evaluation and receive clearance from both team physicians and MLB’s Joint COVID-19 Health/Safety Committee” before he can re-join the team, according to Sportsnet’s Arden Zwelling.
Montoyo added that the 10-day quarantine begins on Tuesday.
The 28-year-old was last in contact with the rest of team on April 9, when he was in the lineup against the Angels, according to Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi. Since then, the rest of the roster has tested negative multiple times and many of the players and staff have begun to be vaccinated.
Hernandez, who won a Silver Slugger award last season, is hitting .207/.207/.310 with one home run in seven games this season.
In other Blue Jays injury news, George Springer’s debut with the team has been further pushed back, according to Montoyo. The team’s biggest off-season addition will now not travel on the upcoming road trip through Kansas City, Boston and Tampa, making April 27 against the Washington Nationals now the target for his first game.
Springer is currently recovering from a quad strain, which he suffered during his rehab of a spring training oblique injury.
Finally, right-hander Nate Pearson is progressing well from a spring-training groin injury and will throw one inning of live batting practice Wednesday, according to Montoyo. General manager Ross Atkins, during an appearance on MLB Network’s High Heat Tuesday, said Pearson is “pain free” and will be able to make a start once he is stretched out.
“He’s feeling incredible right now,” Atkins said.
The Public Health Agency of Canada says it has received a report of a blood clot after a Quebec woman received the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
This is the first such reported case in Canada.
Quebec says the female patient, whose age was not revealed, received the appropriate care and is recovering at home.
The vaccine was the one produced at the Serum Institute of India, known as Covishield.
Blood clots from the AstraZeneca vaccine are extremely rare but concerns about this adverse effect prompted the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) to advise provinces not to deliver the shot to anyone under the age of 55.
This comes after the United States decided to pause the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine also due to reports of rare blood clots. Health Canada is investigating those reports.
Health Canada asked AstraZeneca for a full risk assessment of its vaccine after reports of similar clots in Europe but says the side effect is extremely rare and the vaccine’s benefits still outweigh its risks.
More than 700,000 doses of the vaccine have been administered in Canada and the risk of getting blood clots from COVID-19 itself is far higher than from the vaccine.
Both Johnson and Johnson and AstraZeneca shots are viral vector vaccines, while the Pfizer and Moderna shots are mRNA vaccines.
