In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what’s on the radar of our editors for the morning of May 4 …
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COVID-19 in Canada …
A new phase in the COVID-19 pandemic starts today with several provinces beginning the process of slowly loosening some of their lockdown restrictions.
Quebec, hardest hit of all provinces by coronavirus, is reopening retail stores outside Montreal while those in the greater Montreal area are to reopen next week.
Ontario, the other epicentre for the virus, is allowing a small list of mostly seasonal businesses to reopen, including garden centres with curbside pick-ups, lawn care and landscaping companies, and automatic car washes.
Manitoba’s museums, libraries and retail businesses — including restaurant patios — can reopen today, though at only half capacity. The province, along with Saskatchewan and Alberta, are also allowing non-essential medical activities, such as dentistry and physiotherapy to resume.
B.C. has yet to release its reopening plan, however, details are expected this week.
The Maritime provinces, where COVID-19 caseloads have been trending downward, began relaxing some restrictions over the past week, while Newfoundland and Labrador plans to loosen some public health and recreation restrictions on May 11.
Though some restrictions are being eased, physical distancing rules still apply.
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In other Canadian news …
VANCOUVER — A British Columbia psychiatrist specializing in youth mental health says academics will initially need to take a back seat to students’ emotional needs when schools reopen across the country.
Doctor Shimi Kang says some students have taken to using substances to self medicate during the pandemic while others are spending far too much time online outside of their schoolwork or ignoring physical distancing needs.
She says teens in particular are having a tough time coping with the disruptions and uncertainty brought on by COVID-19.
Most schools already have a way to help them when they resume classes, but Kang says so-called social emotional learning aimed at teaching students how to be more aware of their emotions and becoming more resilient must now be made a priority.
Shelley Morse, president of the Canadian Teachers’ Federation, echoes that sentiment and says some students will have experienced trauma without support from the usual connections they make at school.
Morse says she’s concerned Quebec may not be prepared to deal with such issues as primary schools reopen this month, though the Education Ministry there says teachers will be vigilant in supporting students.
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Also this …
MISSION, B.C — A justice advocacy group says it wants prisoners at a federal institution in Mission, British Columbia ravaged by a COVID-19 outbreak to know there are people in the community fighting for their safety.
Meenakshi Mannoe of the Vancouver Prison Justice Day Committee says members were rallying outside Mission Institution Sunday and making noise from their cars or at a safe physical distance.
The committee is calling for the urgent care of all prisoners across Canada and the immediate release of detainees to ensure adequate physical distancing and quarantine measures.
Mannoe says inmates’ sentences should not include exposure to a potentially fatal respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
The group is also calling for broader testing of all prisoners, and daily updates with details of the situation for their family members.
Mission Institution is experiencing the largest prison outbreak in Canada. The B.C. government said Saturday that 133 inmates and staff have tested positive for COVID-19.
Across Canada, 290 federal inmates have been infected, with 155 having recovered, according to federal figures released Saturday.
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COVID-19 in the U.S. …
WASHINGTON — The Senate will gavel in today as the coronavirus rages.
The senators face a deepening national debate over how best to confront the deadly pandemic and its economic devastation.
With the House staying away due to the health risks, but the 100 senators meeting for the first time since March, the conflicted Congress reflects an uneasy nation.
Tops on the Senate agenda isn’t the next virus aid package, but confirming President Donald Trump’s nominees.
Senate Republicans are reluctant to spend more money on virus relief and are counting on the country’s re-opening to kick start the economy and reduce the need for aid.
But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is quietly crafting the next relief package and Democrats say more must be done.
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COVID-19 around the world …
There are signs today the coronavirus pandemic is easing significantly in some parts of Europe but getting worse in India and Russia.
While people around the world started taking advantage of an easing in lockdowns to enjoy the outdoors, health experts warned of a potential second wave of infections unless testing is expanded dramatically.
As Italy prepared to reopen parks and public gardens today, health officials reported 174 deaths, the lowest number since a national lockdown began on March 10.
Like Italy, Spain has seen a significant downward trend in reported new cases. And Belgium was also relaxing some of its lockdown measures, confident enough that the outbreak there was on the wane.
But in India, new infections have been rising rapidly. The lockdown of the country’s 1.3 billion people was extended two more weeks, but with some measures relaxed, as reported cases reached 42,000 with nearly 1,400 deaths.
And in Russia, new reported cases exceeded 10,000 for the first time, bringing total cases to about 135,000 with nearly 1,300 deaths.
Meanwhile, in Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he got so sick from the coronavirus that doctors had discussed what to say if he had died.
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COVID-19 in Entertainment
NEW YORK — Lesley Stahl says that instead of covering COVID-19 news for C-B-S News, she’s become part of the story.
The “60 Minutes” correspondent says she’s finally feeling better after a battle with COVID-19 left her in the hospital for a week.
Stahl says she fought pneumonia caused by the virus for two weeks before being admitted, a journey she says left her “really scared.”
Stahl is 78, and is the dean of correspondents at the C-B-S newsmagazine.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 4, 2020.
VANCOUVER – Mayors and other leaders from several British Columbia communities say the provincial and federal governments need to take “immediate action” to tackle mental health and public safety issues that have reached crisis levels.
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim says it’s become “abundantly clear” that mental health and addiction issues and public safety have caused crises that are “gripping” Vancouver, and he and other politicians, First Nations leaders and law enforcement officials are pleading for federal and provincial help.
In a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier David Eby, mayors say there are “three critical fronts” that require action including “mandatory care” for people with severe mental health and addiction issues.
The letter says senior governments also need to bring in “meaningful bail reform” for repeat offenders, and the federal government must improve policing at Metro Vancouver ports to stop illicit drugs from coming in and stolen vehicles from being exported.
Sim says the “current system” has failed British Columbians, and the number of people dealing with severe mental health and addiction issues due to lack of proper care has “reached a critical point.”
Vancouver Police Chief Adam Palmer says repeat violent offenders are too often released on bail due to a “revolving door of justice,” and a new approach is needed to deal with mentally ill people who “pose a serious and immediate danger to themselves and others.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024
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.
