Tragically, this past weekend has proven to be the most fatal time period that B.C. has witnessed during the course of the pandemic so far, with the largest number of deaths over a three-day period.
Meanwhile, new case counts remain high and the number of active and hospitalized cases continue to climb.
There were also five new healthcare outbreaks, and 14 stores and 23 flights with confirmed cases.
Henry explained that the process is “arduous” and involves many epidemiologists across the province, and that as case numbers increase, the process becomes even more challenging.
The data error announced on November 25 was rectified over the weekend, with changes reflected in today’s case numbers.
Accordingly, Henry said that they will be further automating their process, which will allow epidemiologists to spend more time on understanding the outbreaks and clusters in the community.
She said the daily numbers are important but that they look more at trends rather than individual days, which she has explained in the past can reflect a number of factors.
She said they will be adding the seven-day rolling daily average and talking more about it in the coming weeks to help people understand it.
B.C. Health Minister Adrian DixProvince of British Columbia
At today’s in-person briefing, Henry provided updates for the past three time periods:
750 new cases from November 27 to 28;
731 new cases from November 28 to 29;
596 new cases from November 29 to 30.
In addition, due to the correction to the data-reporting error from Fraser Health (based on a technical issue which has since been rectified), there were an additional 277 historical cases added.
Accordingly, there was a total of 2,354 new cases (including 10 epi-linked cases) over the weekend period.
The new case count includes, by region:
1,365 new cases (including 277 historical cases) in Fraser Health;
212 in Interior Health;
73 in Northern Health;
58 in Island Health;
one person from outside Canada.
Active cases have increased by 383 cases since November 20, rising to a total of 8,855 active cases as of today.
At the moment, there are 316 people in hospital (15 more than November 20), with 75 of those patients in intensive care units (six more than November 20).
One area that has decreased is the number of people being monitored by public health—the number dropped by 291 people since November 20 to 10,139 people today.
A total of 23,111 people have now recovered.
Sadly, B.C. had 46 deaths over the past three days, which Henry said is the highest-ever count. She also said that about 80 percent of the deaths were people in longterm care facilities. The eldest person who died this past weekend was 103 years old, Henry said.
Of the 46 deaths, Dix said there were:
15 deaths from November 27 to 28;
17 deaths from November 28 to 29—which establishes a new high;
14 deaths from November 29 to 30.
The previous record was 13 deaths on November 26, which all three of the past days surpassed.
Dix also explained that 35 of those deaths in Fraser Health with the other 11 deaths in Vancouver Coastal Health.
The total number of deaths is now at 441 people who have died during the pandemic.
B.C. has recorded a cumulative total amount of 33,238 cases, which includes:
21,070 cases in Fraser Health;
8,850 in Vancouver Coastal Health;
1,750 in Interior Health;
845 in Northern Health;
629 in Island Health;
94 people from outside Canada.
Unfortunately, there are five new healthcare outbreaks:
Veterans Memorial Lodge at Broadmead (4579 Chatterton Way) in Victoria, where Island Health stated that one staff member has tested positive and is limited to one unit;
St. Judes Anglican Home (810 W 27th Avenue) in Vancouver, where Vancouver Coastal Health imposed restrictions on November 26;
Lakeview Care Centre (3490 Porter Street) in Vancouver, where Vancouver Coastal Health imposed restrictions on November 26;
Fleetwood Villa (16028 83rd Avenue) in Surrey, where Fraser Health stated the one resident has tested positive;
Mountainview Village (1540 KLO Road) in Kelowna, where Interior Health stated that one resident and one staff member tested positive, and that the outbreak applies to both east and west units on the second floor.
In addition, one facility that wasn’t on Henry’s list was PICS Assisted Living Centre (12075 75A Avenue) in Surrey, where Fraser Health stated today that one resident and one staff member have tested positive.
One healthcare outbreak has been declared over: Louis Brier Home in Vancouver.
Henry said there are active outbreaks in 57 longterm care facilities and five acute care units for a total of 62 healthcare facilities.
She also said there are 1,338 active cases (847 residents and 487 staff) involved in healthcare outbreaks.
Fraser Health declared one community outbreak at Newton Elementary (13359 81st Avenue) in Surrey, which has been temporarily closed for two weeks.
The list of schools with new exposures will be published in a separate forthcoming article.
Over the past three days, there have been 14 stores with employees who have tested positive.
Sobeys announced that four of its Safeway locations had staff members who tested positive:
one employee who last worked on November 18 at the 1766 Robson Street location in Vancouver;
one employee who last worked on November 19 at the 1780 East Broadway location in Vancouver.
one employee who last worked on November 24 at the 2101 Lahb Avenue location in Vancouver;
one employee who last worked on November 26 at the 6564 East Hastings Street location in Burnaby.
In addition, Sobeys announced an employee who last worked on November 18 at the FreshCo location at 7165 138th Street in Surrey tested positive.
Meanwhile, Loblaw announced seven of its stores had staff members who tested postive.
One employee who tested positive last worked on November 23 at Joti’s No Frills (310 West Broadway) in Vancouver.
Another employee who tested positive last worked on November 25 at Your Independent Grocer (1255 Davie Street) in Vancouver’s West End.
The remaining five stores were Real Canadian Superstore locations, including:
two employees who last worked on November 18 and 21 at the 2332 160th Street location in Surrey;
two employees who last worked on November 19 and 23 at the 3185 Grandview Highway location in Vancouver;
one employee who last worked on November 23 at the 8195 120th Street location in Delta;
one employee who last worked on November 23 at the 2280 Baron Road location in Kelowna;
one employee who last worked on November 24 at the 14650 104th Avenue location in Surrey.
Meanwhile, T&T Supermarket reported that a backroom employee who last worked on November 26 at the Metrotown location (147–4800 Kingsway Avenue) in Burnaby has tested positive.
Canadian Tirereported an employee who tested positive last worked on November 16 at its Prince George location (5008 Domano Boulevard).
The B.C. Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) added 23 flights to its lists of flights confirmed with COVID-19:
November 15: Air Canada 45, Delhi to Vancouver;
November 15: Air Canada 114, Vancouver to Toronto;
November 17: Air Canada 314, Vancouver to Montreal;
November 17: Air Canada 8421, Kelowna to Vancouver;
November 18: Air Canada 202, Vancouver to Calgary;
November 19: Air Canada 103, Vancouver to Toronto;
November 19: Air Canada 114, Vancouver to Toronto;
November 19: Air Canada 225, Calgary to Vancouver;
November 20: Flair 8102, Calgary to Vancouver;
November 22: Aeromexico AM696, Mexico City to Vancouver;
November 22: Air Canada 1126, Kelowna to Vancouver;
November 22: WestJet WS139, Calgary to Vancouver;
November 22: Air Canada AC311, Montreal to Vancouver;
November 22: WestJet Flight 3455, Calgary to Abbotsford;
November 23: Air Canada AC854, Vancouver to London;
November 24: Air Canada Flight 554, Vancouver to Los Angeles;
November 25: United Airlines Flight 5312, San Francisco to Vancouver;
November 25: Cathay Pacific 865, Vancouver to Hong Kong;
November 25: United Airlines 1641, Denver to Vancouver;
November 26: Air Canada AC121, Toronto to Vancouver;
November 26: Air Canada AC8081, Vancouver to Victoria;
November 27: Air Canada AC0044, Vancouver to Delhi;
November 27: Air Canada 8417, Kelowna to Vancouver.
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.
