Morning Update: NBA great Kobe Bryant killed in helicopter crash; Second presumptive coronavirus case in Ontario

Good morning,

These are the top stories:

Basketball superstar Kobe Bryant dies in tragic helicopter accident

Kobe Bryant, the basketball superstar who won five NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers, was killed in a helicopter crash alongside his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, in California on Sunday morning. Seven other people died in the crash.

In San Antonio, the NBA’s Toronto Raptors and San Antonio Spurs paid their respects by allowing the 24-second clock to expire on each of their first possessions. Bryant wore No. 24 for much of his career.

Fans, friends and other sports personalities from around the world were stunned by news of his death. He is survived by his wife, Vanessa, and three of their daughters: Natalia, Bianca and Capri.

We won’t see another Kobe Bryant, basketball’s complicated anti-hero

Cathal Kelly: “All that can be said with confidence is that Mr. Bryant was utterly unlike any of his peers, and that they are right not to try copying him. There’s no point in being the second original.”

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The latest on the coronavirus and a second Canadian case

On Monday, Ontario announced a second presumptive case of the Wuhan coronavirus. The wife of the Toronto man who is the country’s first presumptive case has tested positive for the virus. “Given the fact that she has been in self-isolation, the risk to Ontarians remains low,” said Dr. David Williams, Chief Medical Officer of Health.

Although the man was symptomatic on an airplane returning to Canada from China last week, Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, said the risks to most people who may have passed him in transit is low.

Public Health Ontario tested samples from the man and on Saturday, confirmed he has the coronavirus. Now, Canada’s National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg is also testing the samples to verify the results. The findings are expected within the next 24 hours.

• The number of people infected has reached more than 2,700, and the death toll has risen to 81.
• China’s cabinet also announced it will extend the week-long Lunar New Year holiday by three days to Feb. 2 and schools will return from their break later than usual.
• According to scientific evidence, the coronavirus is spread by droplets, so those who face a high risk of infection would be in close contact with an infected individual for prolonged periods of time.

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Opinion:

• What Ontario didn’t learn from SARS: During a public-health crisis, we need good information, clearly communicated
• The coronavirus is now in Canada, but thanks to the lessons of SARS we are better prepared

As inquiry into murder-suicide involving soldier with PTSD begins, N.S. veterans’ clinics still struggle with few resources

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A Nova Scotia clinic that specializes in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder for soldiers and veterans has been operating for months without any psychologists, which could lead to delays in diagnosis and stymie veterans from getting help.

The concerns are being raised just as the provincial government is set on Monday to begin its long-awaited fatality inquiry into a triple-murder suicide involving retired Canadian Army Corporal Lionel Desmond and his family.

The inquiry will examine whether Desmond and his family had access to appropriate mental-health care and domestic-violence intervention services from various public agencies he had sought help from.

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ALSO ON OUR RADAR

Passenger plane crashes in central Afghan province: The number of people on board and their fate was not immediately known, nor was the cause of the crash.

Trudeau government to face two confidence votes on Throne Speech and USMCA this week: A defeat on a confidence vote could trigger the end of the minority government, though such a scenario is unlikely given that none of the main parties are currently eager to fight another election.

One day, four overdose deaths — Ontario city struggles as opioid crisis marches on: It is the most overdose deaths Brantford has had in one day, the equivalent – when compared with the size of its population – to 120 deaths in one day in Toronto.

Grammy Awards honour Kobe Bryant with touching performance: Before the show officially honoured Bryant, Lizzo performed the songs “Truth Hurts” and “Cuz I Love You,” saying at the top of the show: “Tonight is for Kobe.”

Canadian researchers in Nairobi say fight against HIV/AIDS is still uphill battle: After 40 years, despite breakthroughs in the treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS, Canadian scientists working in Kenya are still up against a stubborn roadblock: How do you encourage people to get tested for HIV?

MORNING MARKETS

World stocks, oil hit by China virus fears, safe havens gain: World shares fell to their lowest in two weeks on Monday as worries grew about the economic impact of China’s spreading coronavirus with demand spiking for safe-haven assets such as the Japanese yen and Treasury notes. Tokyo’s Nikkei lost 2 per cent today. In Europe, London’s FTSE 100, Germany’s DAX and the Paris CAC 40 were down by between 1.9 and 2.2 per cent by about 5:15 a.m. ET. New York futures were down. The Canadian dollar was below 76 US cents.

Looking for investing ideas? Check out The Globe’s weekly digest of the latest insights and analysis from the pros, stock tips, portfolio strategies and what investors need to know for the week ahead. This week’s edition includes income stock picks, a top dividend driver and the best Canadian equity ETFs.

WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT

Older, longer: The super-aging of Canadians has taken everyone by surprise

John Ibbitson: “If we are to live well, we must care for one another, however old we are and whatever we may need.”

If Doug Ford’s government gets its way, Ontario risks losing its educational edge

Nina Bascia: “At least for the time being, the divide between organized teachers and the public is at a low ebb, and perhaps the three-way dynamic between government, teachers and public will shift for good.” Nina Bascia is a professor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto.

TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON

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LIVING BETTER

The world is getting noisier, and it’s affecting our health. How much will people pay for silence?

Silence is a precious commodity that is disappearing, according to the World Health Organization, which has been tracking noise levels for over a decade. Now, a growing number of people are actively trying to reclaim quiet time. Around the world, you can find silent walks, silent spas, silent baths, silent yoga, silent fitness classes and silent cafés. Even a whole tourism sector is beginning to sprout up with silence in mind. But what is noise pollution, and is silence something you should be looking for?

MOMENT IN TIME

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Cocktails become popular

For more than 100 years, photographers have preserved an extraordinary collection of 20th-century news photography for The Globe and Mail. Every Monday, The Globe features one of these images. This month, we’re marking the 100th anniversary of the start of Prohibition in the U.S.

Much of the booze of the Prohibition era was bad. Not just sinful, as the temperance societies insisted, but just plain unpalatable. Often produced in homemade stills or with denatured industrial alcohol – deliberately rendered foul-tasting or even poisonous by order of the government – bootleg liquor had to be sweetened or infused with other flavours. Cocktails – like the ones being enjoyed in this 1931 photo, by passengers aboard the cruise ship SS Belgenland, ostensibly beyond the jurisdiction of Prohibition agents – became all the rage. Drinks like the Last Word (gin, chartreuse, cherry liqueur) and the Mary Pickford (rum and red grapefruit juice) came to supplant the beer and hard cider most people drank before Prohibition. The national ban on alcohol inadvertently classed up the joint, making drinking in America a genteel, sophisticated affair. — Massimo Commanducci

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