Health
B.C. reports 832 new COVID cases and five deaths as third wave continues – North Island Gazette
B.C. is reporting 832 new COVID-19 cases and five deaths as of Thursday (April 1), provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said.
By health authority, it breaks down to 310 new cases in Vancouver Coastal Health, 388 in Fraser Health, 53 in Island Health, 42 in Interior Health and 39 in Northern Health.
There are 296 people in hospital, of whom 79 are in ICU with the virus and another 11,600 isolating at home. There have been a total of 100,880 cases in B.C. since the pandemic began., of which approximately 7,500 are currently active. B.C.’s death toll from the virus has reached 1,463.
There have been 90 new cases of variants of concern identified in the past two days; it breaks down to 80 cases of the B1.1.7 U.K. variant, nine cases of the B.1.351 South African variant and one of the P1 Brazil variant. Henry said while the usual COVID prevention measures continue to apply, “we just have to do them more carefully.”
That margin of error is that much less, it can spread more easily,” she added. There are currently 192 active cases of variants of concern, 35 of whom are in hospital. Henry said the people hospitalized with a variant of concern are mostly between the age of 19 and 50, with the P1 variant hitting the 19 to 39 age group especially hard.
READ MORE: Younger people with COVID now requiring longer hospital, ICU stays
Henry tried to assuage concerns over the AstraZeneca vaccine, which as pulled back from younger frontline workers after concerns over extremely rare blood clots.
“The vaccine is effective and much safer than COVID-19,” she said, adding that anyone more than 20 days out from their shot is no longer at risk. Henry said there is a study ongoing about mixing and matching vaccines, which could provide a solution if the AstraZeneca vaccine remains not advised for people younger than 55. The frontline worker vaccination plan is on hold for now, while researchers decide whether or not it is safe to use it for younger people.
There have been a total of 787, 649 vaccine doses administered with all three approved vaccines, including 87,394 second doses, leading to about 16 per cent of people in B.C. vaccinated with one dose. Vaccine appointments opened up at noon for people born in 1949 or earlier.
READ MORE: B.C. seniors ages 72 and up can now call to book a COVID vaccine
READ MORE: Lower Mainland pharmacists face ‘overwhelming’ demand for AstraZeneca shots
Next week, B.C. is expecting 138,060 doses of Pfizer and 111,900 of Moderna. An additional 43,000 doses of AstraZeneca is expected to arrive Friday, to be used for people aged 55 to 66 in the Lower Mainland.
With the number of people vaccinated creeping up, Henry urged British Columbians to continue to hold the line and not spend time together in groups indoors over the Easter long weekend.
“This is not time time for any of us to be travelling for leisure,” she said. “If you choose to spend time with someone outside your household it must be outdoors.”
B.C. in the past week has implemented a “circuit breaker,” banning indoor dining, indoor adult fitness activities and indoor worship services. Outdoor versions of all the activities are still allowed.
READ MORE: B.C. stops indoor dining, fitness, religious service due to COVID-19 spike
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Health
RCMP warn about benzodiazepine-laced fentanyl tied to overdose in Alberta – Edmonton Journal
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Grande Prairie RCMP issued a warning Friday after it was revealed fentanyl linked to a deadly overdose was mixed with a chemical that doesn’t respond to naloxone treatment.
The drugs were initially seized on Feb. 28 after a fatal overdose, and this week, Health Canada reported back to Mounties that the fentanyl had been mixed with Bromazolam, which is a benzodiazepine.
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Mounties say this is the first recorded instance of Bromazolam in Alberta. The drug has previously been linked to nine fatal overdoses in New Brunswick in 2022.
The pills seized in Alberta were oval-shaped and stamped with “20” and “SS,” though Mounties say it can come in other forms.
Naloxone treatment, given in many cases of opioid toxicity, is not effective in reversing the effects of Bromazalam, Mounties said, and therefore, any fentanyl mixed with the benzodiazepine “would see a reduced effectiveness of naloxone, requiring the use of additional doses and may still result in a fatality.”
From January to November of last year, there were 1,706 opioid-related deaths in Alberta, and 57 linked to benzodiazepine, up from 1,375 and 43, respectively, in 2022.
Mounties say officers responded to about 1,100 opioid-related calls for service, last year with a third of those proving fatal. RCMP officers also used naloxone 67 times while in the field, a jump of nearly a third over the previous year.
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Health
CFIA continues surveillance for HPAI in cattle, while sticking with original name for disease – RealAgriculture
The Canada Food Inspection Agency will continue to refer to highly pathogenic avian influenza in cattle as HPAI in cattle, and not refer to it as bovine influenza A virus (BIAV), as suggested by the American Association of Bovine Practitioners earlier this month.
Dr. Martin Appelt, senior director for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, in the interview below, says at this time Canada will stick with “HPAI in cattle” when referencing the disease that’s been confirmed in dairy cattle in multiple states in the U.S.
The CFIA’s naming policy is consistent with the agency’s U.S. counterparts’, as the U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has also said it will continue referring to it as HPAI or H5N1.
Appelt explains how the CFIA is learning from the U.S. experience to-date, and how it is working with veterinarians across Canada to stay vigilant for signs of the disease in dairy and beef cattle.
As of April 19, there has not been a confirmed case of HPAI in cattle in Canada. Appelt says it’s too soon to say if an eventual positive case will significantly restrict animal movement, as is the case with positive poultry cases.
This is a major concern for the cattle industry, as beef cattle especially move north and south across the U.S. border by the thousands. Appelt says that CFIA will address an infection in each species differently in conjunction with how the disease is spread and the threat to neighbouring farms or livestock.
Currently, provincial dairy organizations have advised producers to postpone any non-essential tours of dairy barns, as a precaution, in addition to other biosecurity measures to reduce the risk of cattle contracting HPAI.
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Health
Toronto reports 2 more measles cases. Use our tool to check the spread in Canada – Toronto Star
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Canada has seen a concerning rise in measles cases in the first months of 2024.
By the third week of March, the country had already recorded more than three times the number of cases as all of last year. Canada had just 12 cases of measles in 2023, up from three in 2022.
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