Canada added 7,563 coronavirus cases Thursday and 154 deaths as the second detection of the South African variant of the virus was reported in the country.
There are now 688,891 cases in total and 17,537 deaths in the country.
The new variant case was found in British Columbia’s Vancouver Coastal Health region after the first case was reported last week in Alberta.
The new B.C. case has not been known to have travelled or been in contact with someone who travelled recently.
An investigation is underway to see how the case was contracted.
The variation appears to spread more easily and has not been found to be immune to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
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B.C. also reported a fourth case of the U.K. variant of the virus, this one not related to the same family to which the first three were connected.
4:08 B.C. detects 1st case of South African variant, 4th case of U.K. variant of COVID-19
B.C. detects 1st case of South African variant, 4th case of U.K. variant of COVID-19
Gen. Dany Fortin, who is overseeing logistical planning for Canada’s vaccine distribution efforts, also outlined the future of the country’s rollout on Thursday.
He said that one million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccine will arrive in Canada by April, with 20 million doses planned between April and the end of June.
“This will signal our transition into this ramp-up phase,” he said.
For the time being, Ontario announced 3,326 new cases of the coronavirus Thursday and 62 more deaths.
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The province has enacted a new stay-at-home order that requires everyone to not leave their homes unless for essential trips and requires non-essential businesses to close by 8 p.m.
The province currently has 1,657 hospitalizations related to COVID-19, with 388 of them in intensive care.
In Quebec, the province reported 2,132 new cases and 64 more deaths, 15 of which occurred in the last 24 hours. The province now has 1,523 people in hospital due to the virus, with 230 of them in intensive care.
The province also announced a new vaccine strategy of waiting at least 90 days between an initial shot and the necessary second dose. The policy is meant to reduce pressure on the health-care system until more vaccine doses arrive.
2:17 Quebec to deliver second dose of COVID-19 vaccine within 90 days
Quebec to deliver second dose of COVID-19 vaccine within 90 days
However, Canada’s vaccine advisory council recommends the second dose be given no later than 42 days after the first.
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Over in B.C., the province announced 536 new cases of the coronavirus and seven more deaths. The province has 362 hospitalizations total, with 74 people in intensive care.
Alberta reported 967 new coronavirus cases Thursday and 21 more deaths, as the province also announced it would ease restrictions by now allowing outdoor gatherings of up to 10 people. Personal wellness businesses, such as barbershops and salons, will also be able to open Monday with one-on-one appointments.
The province currently has 806 hospitalizations with 136 in ICU.
Saskatchewan reported 312 new cases and no new deaths as its hospitalizations rose to a new high of 206, with 33 in intensive care.
Manitoba reported 261 more cases and two new deaths.
In the Atlantic bubble, New Brunswick reported 23 more cases and one more death, Nova Scotia has six more cases, and P.E.I. and Newfoundland and Labrador each have one more case respectively.
There have been 93,044,567 cases worldwide so far and 1,991,921 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.
TORONTO – Unifor says workers at a Walmart warehouse in Mississauga, Ont., have voted to join the union.
The union says it’s Walmart’s first warehouse to unionize in Canada.
Unifor national president Lana Payne says the employees stood up for their rights and the union is excited to get to work on their first collective agreement.
Unifor’s campaign at Walmart’s facility began in December 2023.
The vote was held from Sept. 10 to 12.
Unifor represents 315,000 workers across the country.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
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.
MONTREAL – A 20-year-old man arrested over an alleged Islamic State terror plot to kill Jews in New York City will return to court in December in Montreal.
Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, a Pakistani national living in Ontario, was arrested last week in Ormstown, Que., allegedly on his way across the border into New York state.
Khan has been charged in the United States with one count of attempting to provide material support and resources to a terrorist organization, and officials are seeking to have him extradited to stand trial.
He was not present for a hearing today in Quebec Superior Court, where lawyers said they are waiting for extradition documents and for authorization from Canadian officials before proceeding in the case, which will return before a judge on Dec. 6.
U.S. authorities allege that Khan, also known as Shahzeb Jadoon, intended to use “automatic and semi-automatic weapons” in a mass shooting at a Jewish centre in Brooklyn around Oct. 7, the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel.
Authorities allege he began planning his attack in November 2023.
Earlier this week, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said Khan arrived in Canada in June 2023 on a student visa.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
