Canada added 2,140 new COVID-19 cases and four new deaths on Friday despite a high level of vaccination — marking the beginning of a fourth wave of the pandemic, according to Canada’s top public health official.
Canada’s cases are up from 226 a little over two weeks ago, during the July 24-25 weekend, an increase of 846 per cent.
Dr. Theresa Tam, chief public health officer of Canada, said Thursday that the fourth wave of COVID-19 is now underway in the country as 13,000 active cases were reported, more than double from two weeks ago.
More than 1,500 cases are being reported daily, the majority of them in people between 20 and 29 years old, according to Tam.
An average of 511 people are being treated in hospitals every day, Tam said, which is up 12 per cent from last week.
There are currently 206 people in ICU for COVID-19, Tam said, a number that has stabilized.
Canada also averages around seven deaths per week, a low number after close to 82 per cent of Canadians have been partially vaccinated and 71 per cent are fully vaccinated.
2:22 Concerns about holding federal election during 4th wave
Concerns about holding federal election during 4th wave
Ontario reported 513 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, marking the first time the province has seen over 500 cases in nearly a month.
Of the new cases recorded, 360 were among unvaccinated people and 56 were partially vaccinated. No new deaths were recorded.
Quebec reported 369 new cases and no new deaths, as the number of hospitalizations rose for a third straight day to 81 after 14 more patients were admitted.
This includes 28 people in intensive care units, an increase of six in the past 24 hours.
B.C. reported 513 new cases, one new death and nine hospital admissions to bring that total to 81, with 33 in the ICU after adding four more.
The province also mandated vaccines for those working in long-term care homes and assisted-living facilities. Currently, 82.3 per cent of eligible British Columbians have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, with 71.6 per cent of eligible residents being fully vaccinated.
Alberta added 550 new cases on Thursday, with 146 people receiving care for COVID-19 in hospital and 36 of those in the ICU, but no new deaths.
Saskatchewan added 141 new cases and two more deaths, and Manitoba added 34 new cases and one death as well.
New Brunswick reported 11 new cases while Nova Scotia added seven and Yukon added two.
— with files from Aaron D’Andrea, Jessica Patton, Kalina Laframboise, Amy Judd, Kirby Bourne and Aya Al-Hakim
OTTAWA – The Federal Court of Appeal has dismissed a bid by the Prince Edward Island Potato Board to overturn a 2021 decision by the federal agriculture minister to declare the entire province as “a place infested with potato wart.”
That order prohibited the export of seed potatoes from the Island to prevent the spread of the soil-borne fungus, which deforms potatoes and makes them impossible to sell.
The board had argued in Federal Court that the decision was unreasonable because there was insufficient evidence to establish that P.E.I. was infested with the fungus.
In April 2023, the Federal Court dismissed the board’s application for a judicial review, saying the order was reasonable because the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said regulatory measures had failed to prevent the transmission of potato wart to unregulated fields.
On Tuesday, the Appeal Court dismissed the board’s appeal, saying the lower court had selected the correct reasonableness standard to review the minister’s order.
As well, it found the lower court was correct in accepting the minister’s view that the province was “infested” because the department had detected potato wart on 35 occasions in P.E.I.’s three counties since 2000.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.
FREDERICTON – New Brunswick health officials are urging parents to get their children vaccinated against measles after the number of cases of the disease in a recent outbreak has more than doubled since Friday.
Sean Hatchard, spokesman for the Health Department, says measles cases in the Fredericton and the upper Saint John River Valley area have risen from five on Friday to 12 as of Tuesday morning.
Hatchard says other suspected cases are under investigation, but he did not say how and where the outbreak of the disease began.
He says data from the 2023-24 school year show that about 10 per cent of students were not completely immunized against the disease.
In response to the outbreak, Horizon Health Network is hosting measles vaccine clinics on Wednesday and Friday.
The measles virus is transmitted through the air or by direct contact with nasal or throat secretions of an infected person, and can be more severe in adults and infants.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.
PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Donald Trump is refusing to say how he voted on Florida’s abortion measure — and getting testy about it.
The former president was asked twice after casting his ballot in Palm Beach, Florida, on Tuesday about a question that the state’s voters are considering. If approved, it would prevent state lawmakers from passing any law that penalizes, prohibits, delays or restricts abortion until fetal viability — which doctors say is sometime after 21 weeks.
If it’s rejected, the state’s restrictive six-week abortion law would stand.
The first time he was asked, Trump avoided answering. He said instead of the issue that he did “a great job bringing it back to the states.” That was a reference to the former president having appointed three conservative justices to the U.S. Supreme Court who helped overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision in 2022.
Pressed a second time, Trump snapped at a reporter, saying “you should stop talking about it.”
Trump had previously indicated that he would back the measure — but then changed his mind and said he would vote against it.
In August, Trump said he thought Florida’s ban was a mistake, saying on Fox News Channel, “I think six weeks, you need more time.” But then he said, “at the same time, the Democrats are radical” while repeating false claims he has frequently made about late-term abortions.
In addition to Florida, voters in eight other states are deciding whether their state constitutions should guarantee a right to abortion, weighing ballot measures that are expected to spur turnout for a range of crucial races.
Passing certain amendments in Arizona, Missouri, Nebraska and South Dakota likely would lead to undoing bans or restrictions that currently block varying levels of abortion access to more than 7 million women of childbearing age who live in those states.
