While today’s new case count is lower than the past three consecutive days—which all had exceptionally high new case counts (with a record high of 389 new cases set on November 1)—today’s count is still higher than the previous record of 274 cases.
Active, hospitalized, and monitored cases either continued to increase or have increased since yesterday.
There are also 17 schools with new exposure dates; five flights, one store, and one restaurant with confirmed cases; and a community outbreak was declared at a dance studio.
Meanwhile, Fraser Health announced today that it is opening a second testing centre at 10025 King George Boulevard, near the Central City Shopping Centre in North Surrey, on November 12.
This new site will offer walk-in testing seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and will process between 500 and 800 tests per day.
Drive-through testing will remain available at the Newton test collection centre located at 14577 66th Avenue in Surrey.
In addition, Canada’s public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam is now recommending that people should wear non-medical masks with three layers, which should include a middle layer that is a filter. She explained that the filter can add another layer of protection, particularly as people increasingly spend time indoors during the fall and winter seasons.
More information is available at Canada’s public health website.
B.C. deputy provincial health officer Dr. Réka GustafsonProvince of British Columbia
In a joint statement, B.C.’s deputy provincial health officer Dr. Réka Gustafson and Health Minister Adrian Dix announced 299 new cases (including four epi-linked cases) in B.C. today.
The number of active cases continue to climb and has risen past the 3,000 case mark. Currently, there are 3,017 active cases, which is an increase of 72 people since yesterday.
Public health is monitoring 6,888 people due to exposure to confirmed cases—that an increase of 440 people since yesterday.
Today, there are 92 individuals are in hospital (two more than yesterday), with 22 of those patients in intensive care (three more people than yesterday).
There’s one new healthcare facility outbreak at the Belvedere Care Centre (739 Alderson Avenue) in Coquitlam. Fraser Health confirmed today that one resident has tested positive and is now in self-isolation.
Active outbreaks are at 29 healthcare facilities—27 longterm care or assisted-living facilities and two acute-care facilities.
Unfortunately, there are three new COVID-19-related deaths—the total number of fatalities during the pandemic is now at 272 deaths.
A total of 12,430 people have now recovered.
The cumulative total COVID-19 cases confirmed during the pandemic in B.C. is now at 15,800 cases, which includes:
Loblaw announced that an employee who last worked at the Real Canadian Superstore (7550 King George Highway) in Surrey on October 29 has tested positive.
Fraser Health listed the restaurant Bow and Stern (2551 Montrose Avenue) in Abbotsford as having an exposure event that included from 5 to 10 p.m. on October 24, from 3 to 10 p.m. on October 25, and from 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. on October 26.
The B.C. Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) has added five flights confirmed with COVID-19 to its list, with affected row information available at its website:
• October 25: Air Canada 107, Toronto to Vancouver;
• October 25: Air Canada 118, Vancouver to Toronto;
• October 26: Air Canada 222, Vancouver to Calgary;
• October 28: WestJet 253, Calgary to Kelowna;
• October 30: Air Canada 551, Los Angeles to Vancouver.
Anyone in the affected rows (or on these flights) should watch for symptoms for 14 days following the flight date and immediately self-isolate if symptoms develop while calling 811 (if in B.C.) or your local healthcare provider about testing.
As previously reported, Fraser Health declared an outbreak on November 2 at the Capella Dance Academy (Unit 3 and 4 at 7949 Venture Place) in Chilliwack. At the time of the announcement, 26 individuals had tested positive. Global Newsreported today that the number of cases is now up to 30 people.
The dance school voluntarily closed on October 28.
CBC News reported that health officials confirmed that the outbreak is being considered a super-spreader event.
Fraser Health is also working with the Chilliwack and Fraser-Cascades school districts to inform staff and students of any potential exposures. In Chilliwack, early notification letters about the outbreak were sent on November 1 to the following 10 schools in Chilliwack and one school in Hope:
A.D. Rundle Middle;
Chilliwack Middle;
Chilliwack Secondary;
G.W. Graham Secondary;
Little Mountain Academy;
Rosedale Traditional;
Sardis Secondary;
Unsworth Elementary;
Vedder Elementary;
Vedder Middle;
Hope Secondary in Hope.
Terry Fox Secondary
Two regional health authorities in the Lower Mainland added 17 schools with new exposure dates to their lists.
Fraser Health had 10 schools with new exposures.
In Chilliwack, two schools had new exposure dates:
• ÉcoleLa Vérendrye (6610 Lickman Road) had exposures on October 22 and from October 27 to 28.
• Unity Christian (50950 Hack Brown Road) had exposures on October 20 to 22 and October 26.
In Burnaby, Burnaby Central Secondary School (6011 Deer Lake Parkway), which had a previous exposure event from October 13 to 16, has had new exposures from October 20 to 22.
in Coquitlam, two schools had new exposure dates:
Coquitlam Alternate Basic Education (1411 Foster Avenue) had exposures on October 23 and 26;
Gleneagle Secondary (1195 Lansdowne Drive) had exposures on October 22 and from October 26 to 28.
In Port Coquitlam, Terry Fox Secondary (1260 Riverwood Gate) had exposures from October 26 to 29.
In Langley, Walnut Grove Secondary (8919 Walnut Grove Drive) had exposures from October 20 to 22.
In Maple Ridge, three schools had exposure incidents:
• Garibaldi Secondary (24789 Dewdney Trunk Road), which previously had exposures from October 19 to 20, has added October 26 and 27 as additional exposure dates.
• Samuel Robertson Technical (10445 245 Street) had an exposure event from October October 26 to 27;
• Thomas Haney Secondary (23000 116 Avenue) had an exposure incident on October 26.
Lord Strathcona Elementary
Meanwhile, Vancouver Coastal Health added new dates for seven schools.
Five schools were in Vancouver:
Lord Strathcona Elementary (592 East Pender Street) had an exposure incident on October 30;
Renfrew Elementary School (3315 East 22nd Avenue) had exposures from October 27 to 28;
Lord Tennyson Elementary (1936 West 10th Avenue), which had previous exposures from September 29 to 30, had an exposure event from October 19 to 28;
John Oliver Secondary School (530 East 41st Avenue), which had a previous exposure on October 9, had an additional exposure on October 26;
St. John’s School (2215 West 10th Avenue) had an exposure event from October 26 to 28.
Two schools were in North Vancouver:
Sutherland Secondary School (1860 Sutherland Avenue) had an exposure event from October 27 to 28;
Highlands Elementary School (3150 Colwood Drive) had an exposure event from October 26 to 28.
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.
