Ontario reported another 1,670 cases of COVID-19 and the deaths of 45 more people with the illness on Friday, as the province’s labs logged a test positivity rate not seen since October.
The new cases include 667 in Toronto, 317 in Peel Region, 125 in York Region and 100 in Halton Region.
The total for Toronto, however, includes 125 previous cases that were missed when the local public health unit migrated its data to Ontario’s centralized COVID-19 tracking system, the Ministry of Health said.
The new cases come as labs completed 62,710 tests for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and reported a provincewide positivity rate of 2.5 per cent — the lowest it has been since Oct. 22, 2020.
The 45 additional deaths push Ontario’s official COVID-19-linked toll to 6,438.
Other public health units that saw double-digit increases in new cases were:
Waterloo Region: 64
Durham Region: 46
Ottawa: 46
Hamilton: 45
Simcoe Muskoka: 43
Niagara Region: 41
Windsor-Essex: 28
Middlesex-London: 26
Brant County: 20
Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph: 19
Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge: 17
Southwestern: 16
Eastern Ontario: 11
(Note: All of the figures used in this story are found on the Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 dashboard or in its Daily Epidemiologic Summary. The number of cases for any region may differ from what is reported by the local public health unit, because local units report figures at different times.)
The seven-day average of new daily cases fell to 1,576, the lowest since late November. It has been in steady decline since its peak at 3,555 on Jan. 11.
Further, the number of confirmed, active cases of COVID-19 in Ontario fell to 15,722, down from a high of more than 30,000 last month.
Speaking yesterday, Ontario’s Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams said that, generally, many indicators are on a “downward trend” in the province.
“But at the same time, we’re not out of the woods on these issues,” he cautioned.
Of particular worry are the “variants of concern” of the virus currently circulating in Ontario. The province said as of yesterday, it had confirmed 156 cases linked to variants: 155 caused by the variant identified in the United Kingdom and one case of the variant first found in South Africa.
Meanwhile, the province said it administered another 7,694 doses of COVID-19 vaccines yesterday. A total of 362,749 doses have been given out in Ontario so far, and 87,831 people have gotten both shots required for maximum immunization.
York sees unexpected characteristics of variant
Dr. Karim Kurji, medical officer of health in York Region, said Friday morning that his public health unit has found 55 cases caused by the variant identified in the U.K. While more data collection and analysis is needed at the provincial and country-wide levels, Kurji said experts in York have observed some unexpected characteristics of the variant.
WATCH | Dr. Karim Kurji on how COVID variants can cause cases to increase exponentially:
There is obvious community transmission of COVID-19 variants, according to York Region Medical Officer of Health Dr. Karim Kurji, who says the virus needs to be contained as it has the capacity to increase case numbers exponentially. 7:51
“We are finding, for example, between multiple households the incubation period is as short as 12 hours to two days. This is news to us, because most people get [COVID-19] symptoms in about five to seven days,” he told CBC News Network.
Many of the people in York who contracted the variant reported that they’ve been adhering to current public health guidelines, he added.
“What is very clear to us is that we have to keep these variants at a low level while we get folks vaccinated. If we do not, there are going to be issues, unfortunately, with respect to the control of this pandemic,” Kurji said.
Cases of COVID-19 variants have also been detected in at least three public health units in northern Ontario.
The province has detected dozens of cases of the variant that first emerged in the U.K. and one of the variant that was first detected in South Africa but all had previously been in southern regions.
The public health unit covering the Sudbury, Ont., region says it has confirmed one case of the variant that emerged in the U.K. Public Health Sudbury and Districts says three other likely variant cases are being investigated.
The North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit says it’s also confirmed its first variant case with tests underway to determine the exact strain.
And the Porcupine Health Unit has confirmation of a possible variant case linked to a long-term care outbreak in Kapuskasing, Ont.
State of emergency set to expire next week
Ontario’s labour minister said yesterday that Premier Doug Ford will announce details on reopening the province’s economy next week. Earlier this week, Ford hinted an announcement could come as early as Monday next week, before his office backtracked and said it will take more time.
Monte McNaughton did not provide further specifics, but his comments were made as the province’s current state of emergency is set to expire on Tuesday.
Ford and his cabinet are meeting today to discuss the government’s options surrounding the emergency order.
Ontario’s Solicitor General’s office said no decisions have been made regarding whether to end or extend the emergency order.
A provincial lockdown was imposed in late December and was followed by the state of emergency and a stay-at-home order that took effect Jan. 14 as COVID-19 rates surged.
Statistics Canada reported this morning that lockdowns took a considerable toll on the country’s workforce last month. Canada’s economy lost 213,000 jobs in January, about five times more than what economists were expecting, as retail lockdowns forced more businesses to close their doors across the country.
Most of the losses were concentrated in Ontario and Quebec, which lost a combined 251,000 jobs — mostly in retail, accommodation and food services.
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.
