One day after B.C. provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry warned new restrictions could be coming due increased cases from weddings and workplaces, regional health authorities issued notifications about public exposure incidents or outbreaks related to both of those situations.
Meanwhile, new case numbers remain above the 200-case mark, active and monitored cases are still increasing, there are two new healthcare outbreaks, and new exposure events at 14 schools in the Lower Mainland.
While today’s count is lower than yesterday’s record high of 274 new cases, it is higher than the previous record of 203 new cases set a day before on October 21.
Henry and B.C. Deputy Health Minister Stephen Brown announced in a joint statement that there are 223 new cases (including five epi-linked cases) today.
For yet another consecutive day, active cases rose, this time up 89 cases to 2,009 active cases.
Hospitalized cases increased by four people to 75 patients, with 24 of those patients (the same number as yesterday) in intensive care units.
The number of people public health is monitoring continues to grow—an increase of 212 people from yesterday to 4,637 people today.
Unfortunately, Fraser Health declared outbreaks at two healthcare facilities after individual staff members tested positive at these locations:
• Laurel Place (9688 137a Street) in Surrey;
• Fair Haven Homes Burnaby Lodge (7557 Sussex Avenue) in Burnaby.
The good news is that Fraser Health has declared outbreaks at the following facilities as over:
• PICS Assisted Living;
• Good Samaritan Delta View Care Centre;
• Chartwell Carrington House Retirement Residence;
• Thornebridge Gardens Retirement Residence.
Active outbreaks remain in 18 healthcare facilities—16 longterm care or assisted-living facilities and two acute-care facilities.
At yesterday’s briefing, Henry had warned that there has been a noticeable increase in the number of cases linked to workplaces. Today, Fraser Health announced that there are two new community outbreaks at two facilities (both of which have been ordered closed):
• Coast Spas Manufacturing (6315 202nd Street) in Langley, where 12 employees have tested positive;
• Pace Processing, a food processing facility (19495 55th Avenue) in Surrey, where 10 employees tested positive.
Thankfully, no new deaths were announced. The total number of deaths remain at 256 people who have died during the pandemic.
A total of 10,247 people have now recovered.
A cumulative total of 12,554 cases have been confirmed in B.C. during the pandemic, including:
At yesterday’s briefing, Henry also raised concerns about a heightened number of cases linked to social gatherings such as weddings, celebrations, and funerals.
Today, Fraser Health added an exposure event that took place at wedding events held at Lake Errock and Saint St. Grill (2514 St Johns Street) in Port Moody from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. on October 10. In a statement on social media, the restaurant stated that they were informed that three people had tested positive.
Loblaw announced that two of its stores had employees who tested positive:
Real Canadian Superstore (19800 Lougheed Highway) in Pitt Meadows—the employee last worked there on October 19;
Shoppers Drug Mart (2121 Trans-Canada Highway) in Kamloops—the employee last worked there on October 18.
The B.C. Centre for Disease Control added only one flight confirmed with COVID-19 to its list today: Air Canada flight 8187 from Vancouver to Fort St. John on October 15.
If you were in rows 2 to 6 on this flight, you should monitor yourself for symptoms for 14 days. If you develop symptoms, immediately self-isolate and call 811 (if in B.C.) or your local healthcare provider for testing information.
Point Grey SecondaryPoint Grey Secondary
Vancouver Coastal Health added new exposure events at six schools to its list.
In Vancouver, new exposures took place at three schools:
Point Grey Secondary School (5350 East Boulevard) had an exposure on October 16;
Ideal Mini School (855 West 59th Avenue) also on October 16;
Sir James Douglas Elementary School (2150 Brigadoon Avenue) on October 20.
In North Vancouver, Handsworth Secondary School (1044 Edgewood Road), which previously had exposures from October 13 to 14, added October 20 as an exposure date.
In Richmond, two schools had new exposures:
H.J. Cambie Secondary School (4151 Jacombs Road) had exposures from October 13 to 16, and on October 19;
Pythagoras Academy (8671 Odlin Crescent) from October 13 to 14.
Meanwhile, Fraser Health had new exposure incidents at eight schools.
In Coquitlam, Centennial Secondary (570 Poirier Street) had exposures from October 15 to 16.
In Langley, Belmont Elementary (20390 40th Avenue) had an exposure event from October 13 to 15.
Princess Margaret SecondaryPrincess Margaret Secondary
In Surrey, there were new exposure events at six schools that all have had previous exposure events:
• Khalsa Secondary—Old Yale Road campus (10589 124th Street) had previous exposure events from September 9 and 10 and September 30 to October 2, had its third exposure event from October 13 to 15;
• Princess Margaret Secondary (12870 72nd Avenue), which previously had an exposure on September 11, had additional exposures on October 12, 15, and 16;
• Queen Elizabeth Elementary School (4102 West 16th Avenue West), which previously had exposures on September 14 and October 13, has added exposure dates of October 14 to 16, 19, 21, and 22;
• Tamanawis Secondary School (12600 66 Avenue), which previously hadincidents on September 17 and 30 and October 2 and 6, has had further exposures from October 13 to 14;
• W.E. Kinvig Elementary (13266 70b Avenue), which previously had exposures on October 6 to 9, added the additional dates of October 14 to 16;
• Westerman Elementary (7626 122 Street), which previously had an exposure event from October 5 to 7, had another exposure event from October 15 to 16.
Island, Interior, and Northern Health did not add any new exposure incidents to their lists.
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.
