iPhone | iPad
Android
Huawei
Flagship carriers Emirates and Etihad have issued a statement as some flights in Munich were either cancelled or diverted
KT APPDOWNLOAD
Covid-19: Canada's Quebec scraps plan for health tax on unvaccinated people
I understand that this divides Quebecers and right now we need to build bridges: Premier Francois Legault
Reuters
The Canadian province of Quebec is scrapping a plan that would make adults who refuse Covid-19 vaccines pay a special health contribution, premier Francois Legault announced on Tuesday, saying the idea is too divisive.
Legault unveiled the proposed measure last month, saying those who chose to avoid inoculations should help cover the extra costs imposed on the health system by the coronavirus. Experts said the idea would go against the spirit of Canada's universal public health system.
Legault said he was worried about the divisions that Covid-19 and measures introduced to fight it had caused in Quebec, the second most populous of the 10 provinces.
"My role is to try to bring Quebecers together to stay united. This is why we won't go ahead with the health contribution," he told reporters. "I understand that this divides Quebecers and right now we need to build bridges."
Quebec and neighboring Ontario, which together account for around 61 per cent of Canada's population, are starting to lift restrictions amid signs that the Omicron variant has peaked.
But experts in Ontario on Tuesday said this meant infections and hospitalisations linked to the variant would start rising.
Ontario removed some limits on businesses on Monday, allowing restaurants, malls, and cinemas to start operating with a 50 per cent capacity. It plans to further relax curbs later in February and March.
A report by the Ontario Covid-19 Science Advisory Table said Omicron infections had peaked around January 11, but relaxing the measures "will increase the spread of Covid-19."
ALSO READ:
The panel said "we expect hospitalisations to rebound after reopening on January 31, and to remain at a prolonged peak, except under the most favourable assumptions".
A spokesperson for Ontario's health minister said the province had sufficient hospital capacity to respond to the panel's projections.
More news from
The adjustment applies to a section of the road extending from Ras Al Khor Road to Sharjah in both directions
The actor had been depressed over the past couple of days, his father told the police
Some will go on cruise and take a trip abroad, while others will stay home and pick up new skills
Several activities are also lined up throughout the day, from art and drawing workshops to origami-making sessions
Brazilian Fabio Lima strikes twice in Dubai club's emphatic 4-0 victory at the Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain
Jon Rahm, Wyndham Clark, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods were among the stars packing their golf bags and leaving the famed Kentucky course after a testing second round on Friday
The breach occurred during one of the busiest travel periods for the airport in southern Germany