Protesters who had brought chaos to the streets of the Canadian capital of Ottawa for the last three weeks were almost entirely gone Sunday, driven off by police in riot gear.
Almost 200 arrests later, the blaring truck horns had disappeared, and streets that had been blocked by parked vehicles and roving protesters were open for traffic. Police said they had towed away 57 vehicles and planned to keep them for seven days.
"Reminder that the Secured Area remains in effect," Ottawa police tweeted Sunday. "We continue to maintain a police presence in and around the area the unlawful protest occupied. We are using fences to ensure the ground gained back is not lost."
One protest that lingered near parliament drew a stern warning from police: "If you are involved in this protest, we will actively look to identify you and follow up with financial sanctions and criminal charges."
The protest began as an assault on COVID-19 vaccine mandates for cross-border truckers. But it grew to include other restrictions and even took aim at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose popularity sank like a stone in recent polling. Derision came from supporters of the protest as well as many of its foes – who said law and order should have been restored weeks ago.
On Friday, authorities in Ottawa launched the largest police operation in Canadian history, making mass arrests and towing away dozens of vehicles. The pressure remained Saturday as protesters fled, many vowing they would be back.
“I think we’ve started something here,” said Mark Suitor, a 33-year-old protester from Hamilton, Ontario. “This is going to be a very big division in our country. I don’t believe this is the end.”
Also in the news:
►Organizers of Milwaukee’s Summerfest, marketed as the world's largest music festival, say guests won’t need to wear masks, show proof of a negative COVID-19 test or show proof of vaccination. Summerfest will take place over three weekends (Thursday-Saturday) from noon to midnight, June 23-25, June 30-July 2 and July 7-9.
►Stringent anti-virus controls that ban public gatherings in Hong Kong of more than two people might be tightened further to stop a surge in infections, the territory’s top health official said Sunday. Fourteen deaths and more than 6,000 new cases were reported.
►Indiana’s K-12 schools no longer need to report COVID-19 cases to the state, and the Indiana Department of Health announced Thursday that it was dropping remaining requirements for contact tracing and quarantining close contacts for schools without mask mandates.
📈Today's numbers: The U.S. has recorded more than 78.4 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 935,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Global totals: More than 423 million cases and over 5.8 million deaths. More than 214.7 million Americans – 64.7% – are fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Queen Elizabeth experiencing 'mild' symptoms after testing positive
Queen Elizabeth II is experiencing mild, cold-like symptoms after testing positive for COVID-19, Buckingham Palace announced Sunday. The palace said Britain's longest reigning monarch, 95, expects to continue light duties at Windsor Castle over the coming week. The queen is fully vaccinated, having received three shots of a coronavirus vaccine. Earlier this month, Prince Charles tested positive for COVID-19. It was the second time he contracted it. Four days later, Duchess Camilla tested positive. Both are fully vaccinated and had received a booster shot.
“She will continue to receive medical attention and will follow all the appropriate guidelines,” the palace said in a statement.
– Kim Hjelmgaard
Pope Francis, crowd at St. Peter's Square applaud health care workers
Pope Francis on Sunday hailed health care workers as heroes for their service, asking the public in St. Peter’s Square to join with him in applause. Francis clapped his hands in what he said was a “great thank you” for health workers, including volunteers, who care for the sick. Italy was marking Sunday as a national day to pay tribute to health care workers. The Italian professional association of doctors and dentists counts 370 physicians who have died of COVID-19 in Italy alone.
“We must recall the many doctors, nurses, volunteers who are close to the sick, treat them, make them feel better, help them,” Francis said.
Biden to extend COVID national emergency
President Joe Biden said in a letter to Congress that he would extend the national emergency declared in March 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic that is set to expire March 1. The national emergency, declared by former President Donald Trump, allows the federal government more freedom to spend money and take emergency response actions that would otherwise be restricted.
"The COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause significant risk to the public health and safety of the nation," Biden wrote in the letter.
Wisconsin reports child's death from a rare condition linked to COVID-19
A Wisconsin child has died of the rare and poorly understood COVID-19-related Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children, becoming the state's first such fatality and only the 60th in the nation. State health officials said the child, who was under 10 years old, came from southeastern Wisconsin but declined to provide the age, gender or date of the child's death. The child, one of 183 to come down with the disease in Wisconsin, died sometime within the last month, said Tom Haupt, a respiratory disease epidemiologist for the state Department of Health Services. Nationwide there have been 6,851 cases, according to the most recent statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted Jan. 31.
The syndrome, which appears two to six weeks after a child has been exposed to COVID-19, can afflict children who have shown no COVID symptoms.
"The (children are) all universally very sick. They have fever, chest pain, vomiting, diarrhea," said Greg Demuri, a pediatric infectious disease doctor with UW Health in Madison. "The most significant component is a weakening of the heart muscle. We've had to put a few children on heart medications."
– Mark Johnson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Contributing: The Associated Press
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