Unfortunately, British Columbia’s COVID-19 case numbers continue to climb in almost all areas, including hitting a new high.
B.C. provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry returned after a week off (deputy provincial health officer Dr. Réka Gustafson filled in for her last week) to present today’s B.C. COVID-19 briefing with Health Minister Adrian Dix.
“Despite the recent outbreaks and clusters that we have seen in the past week and the rising case numbers, we still have low undetected transmission in our province,” Henry stated. She explained that contact tracers have been able to “find and connect most people who have this disease”. Therefore, there have been very few unlinked cases—she said they would become particularly concerned if those numbers increase.
Last week, B.C. Public Safety Minister and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth introduced new enforcement measures on August 21 that enables officers to fine individuals who are violating the provincial health officer’s orders. Over the first weekend of enforcement, several individuals were fined in Metro Vancouver and Vancouver Island, including a gathering of Canucks fans in Surrey and an individual who held parties on two consecutive nights in Victoria.
Henry provided updates for the past three days since the last update on August 21.
From August 21 to 22, there were 109 new cases—which is a record number for one day during the pandemic.
That was followed by 81 new cases from August 22 to 23, and then an additional 79 cases from August 23 to 24 for a total of 269 new cases (including five epi-linked cases) over three time periods.
The number of active cases has risen from 824 to 913 cases—an increase of 89 cases.
Hospitalized case numbers have continued to rise—from 13 people on August 21 to 18 people today (with five of those patients in intensive care units).
Public health is monitoring 2,594 people due to potential COVID-19 exposure, which is the same number as August 21.
One new healthcare outbreak has been reported at MSA Manor, a longterm care home in Abbotsford. There are 10 active outbreaks in healthcare, with nine in longterm care facilities and one in an acute care unit, and there have been 713 cases (430 residents and 283 staff) involved in healthcare outbreaks.
There aren’t any new community outbreaks, and the outbreak at Fraser Valley Packers, a blueberry processing plant in Abbotsford, has been declared over.
Over the course of the pandemic, the cumulative provincial total is now at 5,184 cases, with 1,651 in Vancouver Coastal Health; 2,739 in Fraser Health; 166 in Island Health; 425 in Interior Health; 127 in Northern Health; and 76 cases amongst those who live outside Canada.
Unfortunately, there has been one new death, for a total of 203 fatalities.
There are now 4,068 people who have recovered.
B.C. provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie HenryProvince of British Columbia
When B.C. began its crackdown on large social gatherings, Dix had stated that inspectors visited numerous banquet halls in the Lower Mainland.
The B.C. Banquet Hall Association issued a news release on August 20 to state that facilities are losing thousands of dollars each week in revenue, and that they are facing pressure from customers and families to bend the rules for them.
B.C. Banquet Hall Association president Sukh Mann stated in the news release that they have repeatedly asked for guidance from Henry and governments for a plan for banquet halls but have not received any specific help, except to follow the same guidelines as restaurants, which Mann said has “been very challenging”.
Accordingly, as banquet halls breaking provincial health officer orders can face fines of up to $25,000 and a jail term, Mann said that banquet halls are asking for the province to shut them down.
When asked about this issue at today’s briefing, Henry confirmed that they have received requests for consideration of banquet halls.
However, Henry said these events are like every other situation.
“Right now, for consistency across the board, we are staying at 50,” she said. “We know that when there’s more people than that, the chances of somebody coming in with the virus, and potentially spreading it go up dramatically, and we’ve seen what happens with that when we look at parties that were happening, for example, on the long weekend in July and again in August.”
As she has stated before, she explained that this number not only ensures physical distancing, but also rapid followup through contact tracing.
Dix added that these are “especially the kinds of events that we need to address right now”.
The new enforcement measures includes $200 fines for anyone who doesn’t follow the operating procedures of a restaurant, bar, or licensed establishment or who is abusive to or bullies employees at venues.
“Don’t yell at the waiter who asks you not to push your tables together at a restaurant,” B.C. Public Safety Minister and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth said when he announced the new enforcement measures on August 21. “Don’t be belligerent towards the hardworking people who are trying to keep us all safe.”
B.C. Health Minister Adrian DixProvince of British Columbia
The B.C. Centre for Disease Control has listed more domestic flights confirmed with COVID-19.
• August 9: WestJet flight 136 from Vancouver to Calgary, rows 5 to 11;
• August 10: Air Canada flight 214 from Vancouver to Calgary, affected rows not listed;
• August 13: Air Canada flight 344 from Vancouver to Ottawa, rows 12 to 16;
• August 15: Air Canada flight 112 from Vancouver to Toronto, rows 18 to 24;
• August 18: WestJet flight 3387 (not 325) from Calgary to Kelowna, affected rows not listed.
Anyone who was on these flights or in the specified rows should monitor themselves for symptoms for a period of 14 days after the flight date.
If you develop symptoms, immediately self-isolate and call 811 for testing.
As previously reported, several food and beverage establishments had confirmed cases on their premises, including Hawksworth, Maenam, and Tacofino in Vancouver and Il Falcone Italian Restaurant in Courtenay on Vancouver Island, as well as at Shoppers Drug Mart and Wholesale Club locations in Vancouver.
In addition, both No Frills and Real Canadian Superstore are making masks mandatory for customers as of Friday (August 28).
A new COVID-19 testing site has opened in the parking lot of the Centennial Theatre in North Vancouver.Vancouver Coastal Health
Both Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) and Fraser Health had announced on August 19 that they would be expanding operating hours of testing centres and launching some new centres over the coming days and weeks.
VCH announced on August 22 that a new COVID-19 assessment centre has opened on the North Shore.
It’s located in the parking lot of Centennial Theatre (2300 Lonsdale Avenue) in North Vancouver, and can be accessed by entering from 23rd Street.
Operating hours are from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. for walk-ins and drive-throughs, and visitors are required to wear a mask, even when in their vehicles.
Following a similar site in the parking lot of Vancouver Community College, this centre is the second to open this week in the VCH region.
More expansions are still to come over the next few weeks.
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.
