COVID-19 update for June 29: Third wave would have killed more people without vaccines: Tam | B.C. set to announce third phase of restart plan | Death toll higher outside long term care, says study – Vancouver Sun
Here’s your daily update with everything you need to know on the novel coronavirus situation in B.C.
Author of the article:
Cheryl Chan, Scott Brown, David Carrigg
Publishing date:
Jun 29, 2021 • 1 hour ago • 8 minute read • 6 Comments
The ultrastructural morphology exhibited by the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV), first detected in Wuhan, China, is seen in an illustration released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. January 29, 2020. Photo by Handout /via REUTERS
Article content
Here’s your daily update with everything you need to know on the novel coronavirus situation in B.C. for June 29, 2021.
We’ll provide summaries of what’s going on in B.C. right here so you can get the latest news at a glance. This page will be updated regularly throughout the day, with developments added as they happen.
Check back here for more updates throughout the day. You can also get the latest COVID-19 news delivered to your inbox weeknights at 7 p.m. by subscribing to our newsletter here.
B.C.’S COVID-19 CASE NUMBERS
As of the latest figures given on June 29:
• Total number of confirmed cases: 147,578 (876 active cases) • New cases since June 28: 29 • Total deaths: 1,754 (no new deaths) • Hospitalized cases: 110 • Intensive care: 34 • Total vaccinations:4,941,795 doses administered; 1,368,464 second doses • Recovered from acute infection: 144,931 • Long-term care and assisted-living homes, and acute care facilities currently affected: 7
3:20 p.m. – B.C. reports 29 new cases, no additional deaths
British Columbia reported 29 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday.
There are currently 876 active COVID-19 cases in the province, including 110 people in hospitalized with the disease, according to a joint statement from Health Minister Adrian Dix and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry.
Thirty-four people are being treated in intensive care.
There were no deaths to report on Tuesday. The provincial death toll from the pandemic remains at 1,754.
As of Tuesday, more than 4.9 million British Columbians had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while nearly 1.37 million are fully vaccinated after receiving their second shot.
Advertisement
Article content
“Today, we are reporting that 78.3 per cent of all adults in B.C. and 77 per cent of those 12 and older have now received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. In addition, 31.6 per cent of all adults in B.C. and 29.5 per cent of those 12 and older have received their second dose,” the statement said.
B.C. Premier John Horgan says the province will move forward with step 3 of the provincial restart plan on July 1 as planned.
Horgan said there were just 29 new cases of COVID-19 reported on Monday.
“We can cheer for our kids, go to a friend’s place for dinner, plan that wedding, go to theatre, go to a concert,” said an upbeat Horgan.
Step 3 will see a return to normal indoor and outdoor personal gatherings, fairs and festivals can be held, casinos and nightclubs can reopen and all indoor fitness classes are allowed.
Advertisement
Article content
There will still be restrictions on the numbers of people allowed in casinos and nightclubs and other public safety measures, however masks will no longer have to be worn in public indoor spaces.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said B.C. is making very encouraging progress in beating the pandemic, with high rates of immunization.
She said the provincial state of emergency will be lifted on Wednesday at midnight, however, B.C.’s public health emergency will remain in effect.
A majority of Americans (89 per cent) believe the pandemic situation is improving, but there’s a sharp partisan split on whether the U.S. is out of the woods.
Advertisement
Article content
In a new Gallup Poll, a majority of Republicans (57 per cent) declared the pandemic finished, but only 4 per cent of Democrats agreed.
The web survey, conducted by Gallup between June 14 and 20, asked 4,843 adults from their panel about their perception of the COVID pandemic and its effect on their lives. The data is part of the organization’s continuing Americans’ Views of Pandemic in the U.S. report.
The results show that while a record number of Americans saw an improvement in pandemic recovery, only 4 per cent of Democrats thought the crisis had ended, as opposed to a majority of Republicans and 35 per cent of Independents.
Canada’s chief public health officer says without vaccines the third wave of COVID-19 in Canada would have been much deadlier.
Dr. Theresa Tam says as vaccines began to roll out among the most vulnerable, older populations in Canada, she was “quite struck” by how quickly infections and deaths plummeted in that age group.
In January, when the second wave of COVID-19 peaked in Canada, more than 4,000 Canadians over the age of 80 died from it.
In April, when the third wave peaked and most Canadians over 80 had at least one dose of vaccine, the number of deaths in that age group fell to 498.
Tam is thrilled with the current pace of vaccinations in Canada but says with the Delta variant appearing in more places, immunization targets need to be higher.
Advertisement
Article content
She says higher vaccination rates among adults are particularly important since children under 12 are not yet eligible for vaccines.
A panel of tourism experts is predicting Canadians will be “travel hesitant” this summer, despite the easing of travel restrictions, and it will be years before the travel and accommodation sectors bounce back fully.
The CEO of Science World told a panel, hosted by the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, that “the pandemic has resulted in behavioural changes.”
“As a result, we can’t just reopen and expect people to return,” said Tracy Redies on Monday. “We have seen in the U.S. where things have reopened, that attendance levels remain low.”
Advertisement
Article content
Redies said that is why Science World plans to continue to require masks be worn inside its facility until September, despite the expectation that B.C’s public health order on masks will be lifted on July 1.
Last year, the tourism industry in B.C. generated $7 billion in revenues, down from $21.5 billion in 2019. Workers in the hospitality and accommodation sectors suffered the highest number of jobs lost, with a third of those workers, about 40,000, remaining unemployed.
The managing director of sales, planning and effectiveness for Air Canada, Timothy Liu, told the panel any recovery will be slow.
“Summer is concerning for us, with ongoing border restrictions and quarantine requirements,” said Liu. “We’d like government leaders to get the message out that it is safe to travel.”
Advertisement
Article content
– Lisa Cordasco
8 a.m. – Moderna’s shot productes antibodies against Delta variant
Moderna Inc. said its vaccine produced protective antibodies against the Delta variant spreading in Canada and many other parts of the world.
Moderna researchers tested blood samples from eight people for antibodies against versions of the spike protein from different coronavirus variants, including delta, which emerged in India.
The vaccine “produced neutralizing titers against all variants tested,” the company said in a statement.
Canada may have undercounted more than 5,700 COVID-19 deaths during the first 10 months of the pandemic — and even more since then, says a new report from the Royal Society of Canada.
Advertisement
Article content
More than 26,000 people have died from COVID-19, so far, according to official data from the Public Health Agency of Canada. By Nov. 14, 2020, the country had recorded 11,009 deaths.
But the newly released study, which examined data between Feb. 1, 2020 and Nov. 28, 2020, found evidence that Canada has vastly undercounted COVID deaths. The report, completed by a team of five researchers, found that if Canada continued to miscount fatalities past last November “the pandemic mortality burden may be two times higher than reported.”
Based on previous estimates, Canada is believed to have experienced 80 per cent of its COVID-19 deaths among people in long-term care, the report says. This is roughly double the average of 40 per cent among equivalent countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Advertisement
Article content
However the report, released Tuesday morning, suggests that these uncounted deaths occurred primarily in Canadians older than 45 who were not living in long-term care homes. The team found that up to two-thirds of deaths that occurred outside of long-term care homes are missing from Canada’s total.
The COVID-19 pandemic is fizzling out in B.C. as the provincial health officer prepares to lift more restrictions on Canada Day — giving people a choice of whether to wear a mask in public indoor settings.
“Transmission has decreased. And we see particularly in the Lower Mainland where we have had high rates of cases for many, many months, they have now dropped dramatically,” said Dr. Bonnie Henry , as she reported 145 new cases over the past three days – including just 38 on Sunday.
Advertisement
Article content
Henry highlighted that the crucial disease reproductive rate has continued to fall below one across the province.
“What we can see is we now have a sustained low reproductive rate. That means that for most people who are infected, they are not passing this virus on to anybody else. That’s how the pandemic will fizzle out over time.”
— David Carrigg
B.C. MAP OF WEEKLY COVID CASE COUNTS, VACCINATION RATES
Find out how your neighbourhood is doing in the battle against COVID-19 with the latest number of new cases, positivity rates, and vaccination rates:
B.C. VACCINE TRACKER
LOCAL RESOURCES for COVID-19 information
Here are a number of information and landing pages for COVID-19 from various health and government agencies.
The Canadian government says it will donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to fight the mpox outbreak in Congo and other African countries.
It says the donated doses of Imvamune will come from Canada’s existing supply and will not affect the country’s preparedness for mpox cases in this country.
Minister of Health Mark Holland says the donation “will help to protect those in the most affected regions of Africa and will help prevent further spread of the virus.”
Dr. Madhukar Pai, Canada research chair in epidemiology and global health, says although the donation is welcome, it is a very small portion of the estimated 10 million vaccine doses needed to control the outbreak.
Vaccine donations from wealthier countries have only recently started arriving in Africa, almost a month after the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
A few days after the declaration in August, Global Affairs Canada announced a contribution of $1 million for mpox surveillance, diagnostic tools, research and community awareness in Africa.
On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said mpox is still on the rise and that testing rates are “insufficient” across the continent.
Jason Kindrachuk, Canada research chair in emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba, said donating vaccines, in addition to supporting surveillance and diagnostic tests, is “massively important.”
But Kindrachuk, who has worked on the ground in Congo during the epidemic, also said that the international response to the mpox outbreak is “better late than never (but) better never late.”
“It would have been fantastic for us globally to not be in this position by having provided doses a much, much longer time prior than when we are,” he said, noting that the outbreak of clade I mpox in Congo started in early 2023.
Clade II mpox, endemic in regions of West Africa, came to the world’s attention even earlier — in 2022 — as that strain of virus spread to other countries, including Canada.
Two doses are recommended for mpox vaccination, so the donation may only benefit 100,000 people, Pai said.
Pai questioned whether Canada is contributing enough, as the federal government hasn’t said what percentage of its mpox vaccine stockpile it is donating.
“Small donations are simply not going to help end this crisis. We need to show greater solidarity and support,” he said in an email.
“That is the biggest lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic — our collective safety is tied with that of other nations.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.
The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.
Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.
“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”
The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.
A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.
Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.
“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.
Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.
The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.
“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador‘s chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says that so far this year, the province has recorded 230 confirmed cases of the vaccine-preventable respiratory tract infection, also known as pertussis.
Late last month, Quebec reported more than 11,000 cases during the same time period, while Ontario counted 470 cases, well above the five-year average of 98. In Quebec, the majority of patients are between the ages of 10 and 14.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick has declared a whooping cough outbreak across the province. A total of 141 cases were reported by last month, exceeding the five-year average of 34.
The disease can lead to severe complications among vulnerable populations including infants, who are at the highest risk of suffering from complications like pneumonia and seizures. Symptoms may start with a runny nose, mild fever and cough, then progress to severe coughing accompanied by a distinctive “whooping” sound during inhalation.
“The public, especially pregnant people and those in close contact with infants, are encouraged to be aware of symptoms related to pertussis and to ensure vaccinations are up to date,” Newfoundland and Labrador’s Health Department said in a statement.
Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics, but vaccination is the most effective way to control the spread of the disease. As a result, the province has expanded immunization efforts this school year. While booster doses are already offered in Grade 9, the vaccine is now being offered to Grade 8 students as well.
Public health officials say whooping cough is a cyclical disease that increases every two to five or six years.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick’s acting chief medical officer of health expects the current case count to get worse before tapering off.
A rise in whooping cough cases has also been reported in the United States and elsewhere. The Pan American Health Organization issued an alert in July encouraging countries to ramp up their surveillance and vaccination coverage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
