Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam says the new variant of COVID-19, which has prompted many countries to implement travel restrictions against the United Kingdom, has not yet been identified in Canada.
Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) has said it is analyzing known cases to determine whether the new strain, which research suggests is significantly more transmissible than the variant currently dominant in Canada, is already in the country.
“Obviously it’s an evolving situation,” Tam said. “We’ve been very active in the last couple of days and activated all the scientific networks in Canada.”
Tam made the remarks during an update on Canada’s fight against COVID-19 Tuesday.
WATCH | Canada’s public health agency says they haven’t detected the new COVID-19 strain found in the UK
Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer spoke to reporters in Ottawa on Tuesday. 1:39
She said PHAC had to date looked at over 25,000 sequences of the virus already collected in Canada, saying these were the highest quality samples, and was working to determine the quality of other samples.
PHAC had also linked with several provincial authorities who were also sequencing existing samples, noting they had not detected the variant.
The ongoing analysis would target high-probability samples, Tam said, such as from people who had recently travelled.
Health Minister Patty Hajdu, Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc, Public Safety Minister Bill Blair, Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam and Deputy Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Howard Njoo were present at the briefing.
Moderna decision coming ‘very soon’: Hajdu
At the briefing, Hajdu told reporters that Health Canada now has all the data it needs in order to complete its review of the Moderna vaccine. The government previously said the country could receive 168,000 doses of the vaccine by year’s end.
“My understanding is that decision will be very soon,” Hajdu said, noting she couldn’t speak for the independent regulators.
The appearance of the new variant of COVID-19 has sparked concern that it may reduce the efficacy of existing vaccines.
But Tam said the current expert research suggests it is unlikely to have a significant effect on the current or soon-to-be-approved vaccines.
“Right now, we remain optimistic on that front,” she said. Tam said it was important to work with the vaccine manufacturers and international partners — particularly the United Kingdom, which is also rolling out the Pfizer vaccine — in order to determine the potential effect of the new variant.
Countries across the world have halted air travel to the U.K., and France banned British trucks from entering for a period of 48 hours, while a new strain of the coronavirus is assessed. 4:25
‘Perilous time’
Tam also warned that Canada was currently on track for a strong resurgence of the virus over the next several months. She pointed to disturbing trends in cases, hospitalizations and mortality, and urged Canadians to continue to follow public health guidelines.
“This is a perilous time,” she said.
Tam noted that there are again outbreaks in long-term care homes, and that unlike the first wave of the pandemic in the spring, the virus was also reaching remote communities.
“With the widespread resurgence right now, there’s a much more broad impact across all areas of Canada, and you can see the impact in Nunavut,” Tam said. Nunavut reported its first two deaths related to COVID-19 on Sunday.
“And we’re only getting into the winter,” she said.
She said the exhaustion of health-care workers, and ordinary Canadians, was one reason the next few months would be so difficult.
As of 2 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Canada had recorded a total of 519,709 cases of COVID-19, and a CBC News tally of deaths stood at 14,381. Ontario and Quebec each recorded more than 2,000 new cases today.
Blair pushes back on border concerns
Ministers also sought to counter criticism on their handling of border restrictions, brought on by the announcement of the three day ban on flights from the United Kingdom.
“Unfortunately over the past few days we’ve heard a number of comments which frankly are an unfortunate misrepresentation of what is actually happening at our borders,” Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said.
He described the screening and quarantine measures in place since the spring and argued Canada has been among the most aggressive countries in controlling entry during the pandemic.
“We have not been slow and not been unresponsive to the concerns that Canadians have,” Blair said.
A passenger sits in a quiet Pearson airport, in Toronto, on Dec. 21, 2020 as Premier Doug Ford announces that all of Ontario will move into a lockdown starting on Boxing Day and travel restrictions aimed at the United Kingdom go into effect. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)
The remarks follow harsh criticism from Ontario Premier Doug Ford on both Monday and Tuesday. Ford described the border as a “sieve” and argued for a more effective testing system at airports across the country.
Ford on Tuesday said he was asking the federal government to implement a requirement for pre-departure tests for people trying to come to Canada.
Blair said international travel was the source of just 1.8 per cent of COVID-19 cases in Canada throughout the pandemic.
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
