Health

COVID-19 Update: 130 new cases over weekend | Will expanded patios be permanent? | Quebec to stage concert 'experiments' – Calgary Herald

Published

3 years ago

July 20, 2021

Harry Miller

Watch this page throughout the day for updates on COVID-19 in Calgary

Author of the article:

Postmedia News

Publishing date:

Jul 20, 2021 • 11 minutes ago • 9 minute read • Join the conversation

People spend the afternoon on Stephen Avenue in downtown Calgary while smoke from wildfires creates a poor air quality on Sunday, July 18, 2021. Photo by Azin Ghaffari/Postmedia

With news on COVID-19 happening rapidly, we’ve created this page to bring you our latest stories and information on the outbreak in and around Calgary.

What’s happening now

Alberta reports 130 new COVID-19 cases over weekend

Alberta has recorded 130 new COVID-19 cases over the weekend. Two people have died, bringing the provincial death toll to 2,316 people.
On Friday, Alberta saw 49 new cases from 5,517 completed tests. On Saturday, there were 43 new cases from 5,358 tests. On Sunday, another 38 new cases were found from 4,345 tests. The positivity rate has risen from 0.68 per cent to 0.82 per cent over three days.
According to the data released this afternoon, there are 100 people with COVID-19 in hospital, down from 110 recorded last Thursday. There are 27 people in intensive care.
Alberta currently has 605 active cases, up from 579 active cases recorded last Thursday. The Calgary zone continues to have the highest number of active cases in the province with 326, more than double the number of cases recorded in the Edmonton zone.
There are 366 active cases in Alberta caused by a variant of concern. On Sunday, 115 additional variant cases were reported.
More than five million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine had been administered in Alberta as of Sunday.
The data shows 74.1 per cent of eligible Albertans 12 or older have received at least one dose of a vaccine and 55.3 per cent are fully vaccinated.
Last weekend, Alberta recorded 90 new cases of COVID-19 over three days.

Apple delays office return by at least a month as COVID spikes

A customer wearing a protective mask tries out the Apple Inc. iMac computers at an Apple store in Palo Alto, California. Photo by Nina Riggio/Bloomber files

Apple Inc. is pushing back its return to office deadline by at least a month to October at the earliest, responding to a resurgence of COVID variants across many countries, people familiar with the matter said.

The iPhone maker becomes one of the first U.S. tech giants to delay plans for a return to normality as COVID-19 persists around the world and cases involving a highly transmissible variant increase.

Apple will give its employees at least a month’s warning before mandating a return to offices, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified discussing internal policy.

Olympic athletes’ village COVID-19 isolation bubble already ‘broken’: health expert

The Olympic Rings monument is seen outside the Japan Olympic Committee (JOC) headquarters near the National Stadium, the main stadium for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, in Tokyo, Japan on June 23, 2021. Photo by Issei Kato /Reuters

The isolation bubble system that Olympic organizers have set up at the Tokyo Games village to control COVID-19 is already broken, and there is a risk that infections could spread more widely from inside it, a prominent public health expert said on Tuesday.

Games officials on Sunday reported the first coronavirus case among competitors in the village in Tokyo where 11,000 athletes are expected to stay. There have been 67 cases detected among those accredited for the Games since July 1, organizers said on Tuesday.

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said last week that testing and quarantine protocols would leave “zero” risk of Games participants infecting residents in Japan.

Monday

Councillor says expanded patios should be summertime fixture

A Calgary city councillor says it’s time to make expanded restaurant patios a regular summer feature.

The city started giving businesses the option to expedite the process of extending patio space into parking lots and on sidewalks as Alberta’s first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic subsided last year. Permit fees were waived to make the process more accessible, helping eateries and bars seat more people outdoors amid capacity limits and spacing requirements.

Coun. Evan Woolley said Monday while the additional space was introduced to help businesses through pandemic restrictions, the patios should return in summers to come.

“They’re willing to invest in this,” said Woolley. “Some of these restaurants have put in a significant amount of money (for patios), but a lot of them are holding off, saying, ‘If we’re only doing this for one year, I’m not going to make the investment.’”

Monday

Border opening welcome but too late to salvage the summer: tourism officials

The boardwalk in Canmore is pictured in this file photo. Tourism operators in Alberta welcomed news that Canada will open its borders to fully vaccinated Americans starting Aug. 9. Photo by Postmedia file

Canada’s commitment to open its borders over the next two months is a solid tonic for the local tourism sector but won’t rescue a summer starved of foreign visitors, says the hospitality industry.

Ottawa’s plan to open Canada’s borders to fully vaccinated Americans on Aug. 9 and other international travellers Sept. 7 is a watershed moment for a pandemic-battered industry, said Cindy Ady, CEO of Tourism Calgary.

But it’s one that brightens a slightly more distant horizon, she said.

“People have made this year’s vacation plans already and for our U.S. friends, their kids go back to school in mid-August,” said Ady. “So this is not for summer, but winter comes on its heels and the ski season is very active.

“Actually, we’re starting to see the phones light up,” she said.

Monday

Drop-in vaccine clinics open this week

Alberta Health Services is offering no-appointment drop-in clinics in northeast Calgary and Crossfield starting this Saturday. First and second doses will be offered to people born in 2009 or earlier.

There will be 300 doses of mRNA vaccine at each clinic. Remember to bring your Alberta Health Care card if you have one, along with a photo ID.

Here are the locations:

July 24 (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.) –Somali Cultural Centre, 3940 29th St. N.E., Calgary
July 27 (4 p.m. to 8 p.m.) – Crossfield Community Centre, 900 Mountain Ave., Crossfield
July 29 (4 p.m. to 8 p.m.) – Crossroads Community Centre, 1803 14th Ave. N.E., Calgary

Monday

Quebec to hold COVID-19 experiment in September involving two large-scale concerts

People wearing protective masks attend a Love of Lesbian concert at the Palau Sant Jordi, the first massive concert since the start of the pandemic, in Barcelona, Spain, March 27, 2021. Photo by REUTERS/Albert Gea

The Quebec government is planning two concerts involving a total of 25,000 spectators in September as an experiment to examine the impact of COVID-19 on large gatherings and to help relaunch the entertainment and tourism industries.

“The goal is to have a test concert sometime in September that would reproduce the conditions pre-pandemic,” Proulx told reporters in Quebec City. “The goal is to help the event industry, which has been severely hit by the pandemic, to fully resume its activities in a safe environment.”

Quebec is touting itself as the first province to attempt such an experiment; similar ones have been held in cities like Barcelona and Paris.

Monday

U.S. coronavirus cases rise, fuelling fears of resurgence

A woman receives a shot of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine at a pop-up vaccination centre at the beach, in South Beach, Florida, on May 9, 2021. Photo by EVA MARIE UZCATEGUI/AFP via Getty Images

A rapid increase in coronavirus cases in the United States and abroad is fueling fears of a pandemic resurgence and sending shockwaves through the stock market as the highly contagious Delta variant takes hold and vaccinations lag in several states.

Largely due to outbreaks in parts of the country with low vaccination rates, the number of new cases, hospitalizations and deaths due to COVID-19 have been on the rise in recent weeks.

Monday

Canada set to receive 7.1 million COVID-19 vaccine doses this week

A person unpacks a special refrigerated box of the Moderna vaccine. Getty Images, file

The federal government is expecting to receive about 7.1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines this week, as it adjusts its distribution strategy amid waning vaccination rates and substantial supply.

The new deliveries will include about 3.1 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and four million doses of Moderna.

“In the coming weeks, we will cross a symbolic threshold of 66 million doses, signalling that there are enough doses in Canada to vaccinate every currently eligible Canadian,” Brig.-Gen. Krista Brodie said Thursday at a virtual news conference from Ottawa.

Monday

‘Quite a ride’: Successful 2021 Stampede a pandemic blueprint, says exhibition

Visitors enjoyed free entry to the Calgary Stampede grounds on Sunday, July 18, 2021. Photo by Gavin Young/Postmedia

It rustled up half the usual attendance, but the 2021 edition of the Calgary Stampede was a galloping success that shows the way for other major events emerging from the pandemic, exhibition officials said Sunday.

With one day remaining in the annual western bash, final attendance figures weren’t released but its organizers said the 10-day affair attracted about 50,000 people a day, just as predicted.

Visitor satisfaction levels and a successful approach to screening for COVID-19 at the popular Nashville North music venue are a beacon to organizers of other major events, said Stampede president Steve McDonough.

“Throughout our 109-year history, we have been a trailblazer but never more than this year,” said McDonough.

“This year, our community celebration was a first step to the return to live events for this city and this country and we are proud to lead the way.

“There is light after the darkness of the past 16 months.”

Monday

Banff forges ahead but tourism trade can’t shake pandemic’s grip

Bear St. Plaza nearing completion. Photo by supplied

While the town of Banff prepares to unveil a transformational leap for its downtown, the mountain resort’s tourist lifeblood remains at a low ebb.

For a second consecutive summer, the dearth of foreign visitors is casting a pall over Banff, even as the town puts the finishing touches on the Bear Street Plaza which has turned one of its busy core arteries into a pedestrian mecca.

After more than a year of construction-related disruptions, the nearly $10-million project undergirded by 90,000 interlocking bricks is set to open Monday.

“We’re creating a hospitality-friendly street … one of the goals was to redistribute traffic downtown and draw people to Bear Street more,” said Darren Enns, director of planning and development for the Town of Banff.

“We’re looking forward to welcoming the world back — it’s going to be a huge hit with our visitors.”

But with the country’s borders still largely closed, it won’t rescue the summer of 2021, said Jonathan Welsh, co-owner of Banff Trail Riders.

“Not much has changed since last year,” said Welsh.

“I’m hoping for somewhat of a return to normal travel this winter and a return to that booking window (for 2022).”

Monday

Canada surpasses U.S. in COVID-19 vaccinations, despite its slow start

People receive a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at a mass vaccination clinic at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Sunday, June 27, 2021. Photo by Cole Burston /The Canadian Press

Canada has fully vaccinated 48.8 per cent of its population against COVID-19, overtaking the U.S. rate for the first time after a delayed start caused by procurement troubles and distribution bottlenecks.

In the U.S, where vaccinations are plateauing in some regions, 48.5 per cent of the population is fully inoculated.

Of those old enough to get the vaccine in Canada, 55 per cent have now received two doses, according to calculations by CTV News based on provincial and federal government data. Health authorities have approved the Pfizer Inc. shot for children 12 years and older.

Rapid progress in the vaccine campaign — Canada had fully vaccinated only 3 per cent of its population as of the middle of May — is paving the way for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government to relax travel restrictions on the eve of a likely election campaign.

Trudeau said last week that Canada will be able to welcome fully-vaccinated travellers from the U.S. as early as mid-August, and from all other countries by September, if “the current positive path of vaccination rate and public health conditions continue.”

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Health

What’s the greatest holiday gift: lips, hair, skin? Give the gift of great skin this holiday season

Published

2 weeks ago

October 31, 2024

Press Release

Give the gift of great skin this holiday season

Skinstitut Holiday Gift Kits take the stress out of gifting

Toronto, October 31, 2024 – Beauty gifts are at the top of holiday wish lists this year, and Laser Clinics Canada, a leader in advanced beauty treatments and skincare, is taking the pressure out of seasonal shopping. Today, Laser Clincs Canada announces the arrival of its 2024 Holiday Gift Kits, courtesy of Skinstitut, the exclusive skincare line of Laser Clinics Group.

In time for the busy shopping season, the limited-edition Holiday Gifts Kits are available in Laser Clinics locations in the GTA and Ottawa. Clinics are conveniently located in popular shopping centers, including Hillcrest Mall, Square One, CF Sherway Gardens, Scarborough Town Centre, Rideau Centre, Union Station and CF Markville. These limited-edition Kits are available on a first come, first served basis.

“These kits combine our best-selling products, bundled to address the most relevant skin concerns we’re seeing among our clients,” says Christina Ho, Senior Brand & LAM Manager at Laser Clinics Canada. “With several price points available, the kits offer excellent value and suit a variety of gift-giving needs, from those new to cosmeceuticals to those looking to level up their skincare routine. What’s more, these kits are priced with a savings of up to 33 per cent so gift givers can save during the holiday season.

There are two kits to select from, each designed to address key skin concerns and each with a unique theme — Brightening Basics and Hydration Heroes.

Brightening Basics is a mix of everyday essentials for glowing skin for all skin types. The bundle comes in a sleek pink, reusable case and includes three full-sized products: 200ml gentle cleanser, 50ml Moisture Defence (normal skin) and 30ml1% Hyaluronic Complex Serum. The Brightening Basics kit is available at $129, a saving of 33 per cent.

Hydration Heroes is a mix of hydration essentials and active heroes that cater to a wide variety of clients. A perfect stocking stuffer, this bundle includes four deluxe products: Moisture 15 15 ml Defence for normal skin, 10 ml 1% Hyaluronic Complex Serum, 10 ml Retinol Serum and 50 ml Expert Squalane Cleansing Oil. The kit retails at $59.

In addition to the 2024 Holiday Gifts Kits, gift givers can easily add a Laser Clinic Canada gift card to the mix. Offering flexibility, recipients can choose from a wide range of treatments offered by Laser Clinics Canada, or they can expand their collection of exclusive Skinstitut products.

	Brightening Basics 2024 Holiday Gift Kit by Skinstitut, available exclusively at Laser Clincs Canada clinics and online at skinstitut.ca.

Hydration Heroes 2024 Holiday Gift Kit by Skinstitut – available exclusively at Laser Clincs Canada clinics and online at skinstitut.ca.

Health

Here is how to prepare your online accounts for when you die

Published

3 weeks ago

October 24, 2024

Anne Joseph

LONDON (AP) — Most people have accumulated a pile of data — selfies, emails, videos and more — on their social media and digital accounts over their lifetimes. What happens to it when we die?

It’s wise to draft a will spelling out who inherits your physical assets after you’re gone, but don’t forget to take care of your digital estate too. Friends and family might treasure files and posts you’ve left behind, but they could get lost in digital purgatory after you pass away unless you take some simple steps.

Here’s how you can prepare your digital life for your survivors:

Apple

The iPhone maker lets you nominate a “ legacy contact ” who can access your Apple account’s data after you die. The company says it’s a secure way to give trusted people access to photos, files and messages. To set it up you’ll need an Apple device with a fairly recent operating system — iPhones and iPads need iOS or iPadOS 15.2 and MacBooks needs macOS Monterey 12.1.

For iPhones, go to settings, tap Sign-in & Security and then Legacy Contact. You can name one or more people, and they don’t need an Apple ID or device.

You’ll have to share an access key with your contact. It can be a digital version sent electronically, or you can print a copy or save it as a screenshot or PDF.

Take note that there are some types of files you won’t be able to pass on — including digital rights-protected music, movies and passwords stored in Apple’s password manager. Legacy contacts can only access a deceased user’s account for three years before Apple deletes the account.

Google

Google takes a different approach with its Inactive Account Manager, which allows you to share your data with someone if it notices that you’ve stopped using your account.

When setting it up, you need to decide how long Google should wait — from three to 18 months — before considering your account inactive. Once that time is up, Google can notify up to 10 people.

You can write a message informing them you’ve stopped using the account, and, optionally, include a link to download your data. You can choose what types of data they can access — including emails, photos, calendar entries and YouTube videos.

There’s also an option to automatically delete your account after three months of inactivity, so your contacts will have to download any data before that deadline.

Facebook and Instagram

Some social media platforms can preserve accounts for people who have died so that friends and family can honor their memories.

When users of Facebook or Instagram die, parent company Meta says it can memorialize the account if it gets a “valid request” from a friend or family member. Requests can be submitted through an online form.

The social media company strongly recommends Facebook users add a legacy contact to look after their memorial accounts. Legacy contacts can do things like respond to new friend requests and update pinned posts, but they can’t read private messages or remove or alter previous posts. You can only choose one person, who also has to have a Facebook account.

You can also ask Facebook or Instagram to delete a deceased user’s account if you’re a close family member or an executor. You’ll need to send in documents like a death certificate.

TikTok

The video-sharing platform says that if a user has died, people can submit a request to memorialize the account through the settings menu. Go to the Report a Problem section, then Account and profile, then Manage account, where you can report a deceased user.

Once an account has been memorialized, it will be labeled “Remembering.” No one will be able to log into the account, which prevents anyone from editing the profile or using the account to post new content or send messages.

It’s not possible to nominate a legacy contact on Elon Musk’s social media site. But family members or an authorized person can submit a request to deactivate a deceased user’s account.

Passwords

Besides the major online services, you’ll probably have dozens if not hundreds of other digital accounts that your survivors might need to access. You could just write all your login credentials down in a notebook and put it somewhere safe. But making a physical copy presents its own vulnerabilities. What if you lose track of it? What if someone finds it?

Instead, consider a password manager that has an emergency access feature. Password managers are digital vaults that you can use to store all your credentials. Some, like Keeper,Bitwarden and NordPass, allow users to nominate one or more trusted contacts who can access their keys in case of an emergency such as a death.

But there are a few catches: Those contacts also need to use the same password manager and you might have to pay for the service.

___

Is there a tech challenge you need help figuring out? Write to us at onetechtip@ap.org with your questions.

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Pediatric group says doctors should regularly screen kids for reading difficulties

Published

3 weeks ago

October 23, 2024

Anne Joseph

The Canadian Paediatric Society says doctors should regularly screen children for reading difficulties and dyslexia, calling low literacy a “serious public health concern” that can increase the risk of other problems including anxiety, low self-esteem and behavioural issues, with lifelong consequences.

New guidance issued Wednesday says family doctors, nurses, pediatricians and other medical professionals who care for school-aged kids are in a unique position to help struggling readers access educational and specialty supports, noting that identifying problems early couldhelp kids sooner — when it’s more effective — as well as reveal other possible learning or developmental issues.

The 10 recommendations include regular screening for kids aged four to seven, especially if they belong to groups at higher risk of low literacy, including newcomers to Canada, racialized Canadians and Indigenous Peoples. The society says this can be done in a two-to-three-minute office-based assessment.

Other tips encourage doctors to look for conditions often seen among poor readers such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder; to advocate for early literacy training for pediatric and family medicine residents; to liaise with schools on behalf of families seeking help; and to push provincial and territorial education ministries to integrate evidence-based phonics instruction into curriculums, starting in kindergarten.

Dr. Scott McLeod, one of the authors and chair of the society’s mental health and developmental disabilities committee, said a key goal is to catch kids who may be falling through the cracks and to better connect families to resources, including quicker targeted help from schools.

“Collaboration in this area is so key because we need to move away from the silos of: everything educational must exist within the educational portfolio,” McLeod said in an interview from Calgary, where he is a developmental pediatrician at Alberta Children’s Hospital.

“Reading, yes, it’s education, but it’s also health because we know that literacy impacts health. So I think that a statement like this opens the window to say: Yes, parents can come to their health-care provider to get advice, get recommendations, hopefully start a collaboration with school teachers.”

McLeod noted that pediatricians already look for signs of low literacy in young children by way of a commonly used tool known as the Rourke Baby Record, which offers a checklist of key topics, such as nutrition and developmental benchmarks, to cover in a well-child appointment.

But he said questions about reading could be “a standing item” in checkups and he hoped the society’s statement to medical professionals who care for children “enhances their confidence in being a strong advocate for the child” while spurring partnerships with others involved in a child’s life such as teachers and psychologists.

The guidance said pediatricians also play a key role in detecting and monitoring conditions that often coexist with difficulty reading such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, but McLeod noted that getting such specific diagnoses typically involves a referral to a specialist, during which time a child continues to struggle.

He also acknowledged that some schools can be slow to act without a specific diagnosis from a specialist, and even then a child may end up on a wait list for school interventions.

“Evidence-based reading instruction shouldn’t have to wait for some of that access to specialized assessments to occur,” he said.

“My hope is that (by) having an existing statement or document written by the Canadian Paediatric Society … we’re able to skip a few steps or have some of the early interventions present,” he said.

McLeod added that obtaining specific assessments from medical specialists is “definitely beneficial and advantageous” to know where a child is at, “but having that sort of clear, thorough assessment shouldn’t be a barrier to intervention starting.”

McLeod said the society was partly spurred to act by 2022’s “Right to Read Inquiry Report” from the Ontario Human Rights Commission, which made 157 recommendations to address inequities related to reading instruction in that province.

He called the new guidelines “a big reminder” to pediatric providers, family doctors, school teachers and psychologists of the importance of literacy.

“Early identification of reading difficulty can truly change the trajectory of a child’s life.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.

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