There have been dramatic developments in recent days. The head of the country’s coronavirus task force was seen coughing and sweating during a press conference before testing positive for the virus. Days later, one of Iran’s vice-presidents became infected. As it stands, there are at least seven government officials combating the new coronavirus.
2:48 COVID-19: Iran health minister appears ill at news conference before coronavirus diagnosis
COVID-19: Iran health minister appears ill at news conference before coronavirus diagnosis
The surge in cases follows unwavering denial from Iran that the virus was even in the country. By dismissing the outbreak, experts believe it likely helped the virus spread even more rapidly.
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“The Iranian development is huge.”
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“It’s a country geographically very far from China with a large burden of infection,” said Isaac Bogoch, an infectious disease specialist based out of Toronto General Hospital.
“It shows that we’re either at the precipice of a pandemic or we’re in a pandemic. The word we choose to use at this point is irrelevant because it’s time we all prepare for this now.”
They, like many others, believe there are far more cases of the virus in Iran than being officially reported. Many more, in fact.
Their study looked at the volume of travel from Iran to other countries, including Canada, and the number of infected people arriving in other countries. It estimated there are more than 18,000 cases, as opposed to the government reported 139, which was the tally at the time of their first analysis.
2:29 Buses, trains sprayed with disinfectant as multiple COVID-19 cases reported in Iran
Buses, trains sprayed with disinfectant as multiple COVID-19 cases reported in Iran
When they revisited the study model with new case numbers days later, it jumped to around 20,000 cases, ultimately increasing the researchers’ confidence in their analysis.
“People keep asking me ‘are the most recent numbers based on the reported cases,’ but honestly, who cares? The point is there’s a lot of infection in the country, whether it’s 18,000 or 25,000, it’s identified as a place that has a high burden of infection,” he said.
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“That should be enough to help address some of the public health responses to travellers from Iran.”
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Of Canada’s 13 confirmed coronavirus cases so far, at least six of them have ties to Iran.
Quebec’s first presumptive case is a patient who had recently returned from Iran. In British Columbia, a woman who recently spent time in Iran was diagnosed with the virus. Later, a man who had close contact with that woman was confirmed infected. In Ontario, a woman who travelled to Iran tested positive for the virus and her husband later contracted it in Toronto. A third Iran-linked case was reported in Ontario on Friday.
“Compared to other countries, Canada has relatively low connectivity with Iran via air travel,” said Ashleigh Tuite, an adjunct lecturer at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health and co-author of the study.
“So the fact that we’re seeing cases in Canada linked to Iran suggests that the outbreak in Iran is much larger than has been officially reported. It’s likely been circulating in the country for a while.”
China has been the country under the microscope since the virus first emerged. The outbreak has been linked to a market in the central province of Hubei and the vast majority of deaths from the virus are found there. Nations around the world have reacted by closing borders, cancelling and suspending air travel to China, and screening recent arrivals for symptoms of the illness.
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But Iran’s outbreak is proving that China shouldn’t be the only one on under the scope, both Tuite and Bogoch agree.
3:49 Tips for travelling amid ongoing coronavirus concerns
Tips for travelling amid ongoing coronavirus concerns
“People returning from Iran who have compatible symptoms should come to medical care for testing. Does this mean we need to stigmatize Iranian-Canadians? Absolutely not. Does this mean we should change our practices and stop going to delicious Iranian restaurants or businesses? Absolutely not,” said Bogoch, adding that Italy is another example of a country that needs further scrutiny.
“This means we identify people who may be at a greater risk of having this infection so we can prevent further transmission in community settings.”
But, with the virus now in at least 60 countries, Tuite says relying on travel history to identify possible cases is growing futile.
If you travelled internationally at all recently, you should be screened, she said.
“We should be moving away from using travel history to a specific country at this point.”
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“History of international travel alone is probably sufficient enough of a flag for assessing Covid-19 risk,” she said.
She said Canada’s move toward “active case finding,” which involves more systematic surveillance particularly in healthcare, is the appropriate next step given the growing number of countries with cases.
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
