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As province sees highest number of new COVID-19 cases in months, experts sound the alarm – CBC.ca

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As the number of new daily COVID-19 cases in Quebec continues to creep upwards, health officials are cautioning the public to heed government restrictions and not slack off on physical distancing measures.

After recording 205 new cases Sunday — the highest number the province had seen in more than three months,Quebec reported an additional 216 new cases on Monday.  

That means the province now has a seven-day moving average of 20.4 cases per million inhabitants. Quebec’s health authorities had previously said they hoped to keep that number below 20 cases per million. 

Dr. Caroline Quach, an infectious disease specialist, said that while the increase may in part be connected to growing testing numbers and contact tracing strategies, it is still a major concern. 

“It’s a few days now that this increase in the number of cases has been bothering us. It’s already been more than a week that we’re above 100 cases and it’s been a few days that we’ve been above 170,” said Quach. 

“There’s starting to be an upward trend.” 

Thursday saw the highest number of COVID-19 tests carried out since the beginning of the pandemic, with 20,219 people tested. 

But with summer vacation wrapping up and the long weekend coming to a close, Quach fears the increase in cases may also be related to people growing more lax toward the rules, especially when it comes to limits on private gatherings.

While the province increased the limit on public gatherings to 250 earlier this summer, private gatherings are still capped at 10 people or less. 

“It’s the last long weekend of the summer so probably they want to see each other, and stick close and act as though nothing is happening. But there’s nothing that says you won’t be symptomatic tomorrow and have exposed people over the weekend,” said Quach. 

“We still need to be careful. It’s exhausting but we don’t have a choice.” 

Quach noted the cases are no longer concentrated in Montreal but spread throughout different regions. 

For instance, 61 of the new cases recorded Monday were in Montreal, but Quebec City was not very far behind with 51 new cases. Montreal remains the region with the highest number of cases, with 30,148 cases reported since the start of the pandemic. 

She said that while some may be tempted to blame this increase on the reopening of schools, many of the cases found in schools so far are the result of community spread. 

“These are cases that were acquired in the community, whether they be linked to outbreaks we’ve seen or through their home contacts,” she said. 

The idea of a potential lockdown for certain regions has been floating around in recent days, and Quach believes that, if the numbers continue to trend upward, that might be something the government should look at implementing. 

Students are seen through individual plexiglass shields at an elementary school in Montreal. So far, the province has reported 46 schools with at least one case of COVID-19. (Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press)

“To be able to control those places where the measures currently in place — wearing a mask, physical distancing, 10 people per home — aren’t able to control transmission, it’s possible they’ll be obliged to enter confinement again,” she said. 

Last week, Premier François Legault warned Quebecers that he will be forced to re-impose lockdown measures if they don’t start obeying public-health rules more diligently.

In a tweet Sunday, Health Minister Christian Dubé added that this latest increase in cases means the province is dealing with significant community spread and urged Quebecers to follow public health guidelines diligently. 

Deaths remain low

Dr. Matthew Cheng, an infectious disease specialist at the MUHC and a researcher for the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 treatment trials, said there is a silver lining to the latest numbers. 

Despite the number of cases increasing, the number of new deaths, hospitalizations and patients in the intensive care unit have remained relatively low.

“The number of hospitalizations is remaining relatively steady and that’s probably because we’re seeing a shift in the demographic of patients who are being infected,” said Cheng. 

“Currently what we’re seeing are young adults who may not have followed the public health regulations and rules, and that were often seen to be having parties or other things indoors.” 

Cheng said he is bracing for the possibility that, if cases continue to trend upward, there could be more community spread and it may lead to more hospitalizations eventually. 

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Canada to donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to combat mpox outbreaks in Africa

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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.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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How many Nova Scotians are on the doctor wait-list? Number hit 160,000 in June

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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.

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Newfoundland and Labrador monitoring rise in whooping cough cases: medical officer

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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.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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