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More than 500 COVID-19 infections in Canada linked to exposures at public places, new data suggests – CTV News
TORONTO —
New data suggests that more than 500 COVID-19 infections in Canada have been linked to public venues including stores, bars, restaurants, daycares and schools since the beginning of July as more businesses continue to reopen and restrictions are eased.
New numbers released on Monday by Project Pandemic report that at least 148 different stores, restaurants, bars, schools, daycares, and other public spaces have issued warnings about potential exposure to the virus.
Since July 4, the data found that 505 individual coronavirus infections were reported in connection with those public venues in 61 cities across seven provinces.
Project Pandemic is a collaborative mapping effort led by the Institute for Investigative Journalism at Montreal’s Concordia University. The project employs reporters from journalism schools across Canada along with traditional news media organizations such as CTV News to collect data about the coronavirus pandemic and to use analysis tools to allow a clearer picture of where the COVID-19 disease has spread.
While more than 500 infections may seem like a lot, infectious disease specialist Dr. Isaac Bogoch told CTVNews.ca that these numbers are expected.
“Those numbers are not really surprising. We see a few outbreaks associated with restaurants and bars. There has been a few, but really a small number of transmission, in other places like for example grocery stores or liquor stores,” Bogoch said in a phone interview on Monday. “It’s a good reflection of where some, but not all, of the virus is being transmitted in Canada.”
According to the new data, more than half of the recent infections involved food sales, with potential exposure to the virus reported at 85 grocery stores, liquor stores and restaurants. There were also at least eight reports of infections and exposures at day camps, eight at schools and daycares, and three at parks and pools.
Project Pandemic noted that the numbers are not a comprehensive dataset and said in a press release that it is likely that there may have been more exposure warnings and subsequent infection than those reported.
The data found that places most affected by potential exposure and infections include Loblaw grocery chains such as No Frills, Real Canadian Superstore and Shoppers Drug Mart throughout cities in Ontario and Alberta. Exposure warnings were also issued for some of Loblaw’s Provigo stores in Montreal.
In an emailed statement to CTVNews.ca, Loblaw said it continues to follow public health guidance on COVID-19 and has teams “working around the clock” to monitor the needs of customers and employees “as the situation continues to evolve.”
“With the community spread of COVID-19, it’s unfortunate but probable that some stores will be affected. That’s why we have invested heavily since the beginning of the pandemic to enhance our sanitization and protections as well as enforcing social distancing practices in stores since,” the statement read.
Other grocery stores affected included Walmart and IGA.
Despite accounting for a number of infections, Bogoch said the risk associated with virus transmission in grocery stores remains low.
“When you think about how many people go into those stores daily, there really are very few cases linked to those settings. Grocery stores are taking great care [in] ensuring people are physically distant, employees in the grocery stores are wearing masks and many places have Plexiglas set up to separate the cashiers from customers,” Bogoch explained.
“As long as people adhere to good public health measures, I think we’ll continue to see very few cases, transmitted in those settings.”
Another retailer that saw in a number of exposure warnings was various SAQ liquor store locations across Quebec with exposures reported in at least 10 different stores and depots.
In a statement emailed to CTVNews.ca, an SAQ spokesperson said its locations have followed the required protocol for confirmed COVID-19 cases including quarantining and self-isolation for those who may have come into close contact with the infected employee.
“Since the beginning of the pandemic, our priority is to ensure the health and safety of our employees and our customers. The SAQ has strictly complied with all recommendations issued by public health authorities,” the email said.
Bogoch said the main concern of virus transmission continues to be restaurants and bars.
“We know that in indoor environments like restaurants when there’s multiple people close together for prolonged periods of time, those are perfect environments for this virus to be transmitted and certainly if the virus is introduced to a setting like that, it would come to no one surprised that we’ll see subsequent cases,” Bogoch said.
Project Pandemic reported that various restaurants reported outbreaks across Canada however multiple restaurants in Calgary made the list with potential exposure warnings issued for multiple locations of Cactus Club Cafe, The Keg, Fire N Ice Lounge and Village Brewery.
To see fewer outbreaks in these settings, Bogoch said it is up to both restaurant owners and patrons to ensure everyone is following public safety measures. However, that may be easier said than done.
“If restaurants and bars really take the initiative to ensure people can stick to their tables and spread apart, it’ll be okay but the likelihood of that happening, we know it’s not that high,” Bogoch said. “We’ve seen cases in Canada and elsewhere in the world people go to bars to consume alcohol and, of course, it’s just more challenging to adhere to physical distancing in those settings.”
Bogoch said this does not mean that Canadians should avoid restaurants, but that patrons and employees must remain vigilant in preventing the spread of COVID-19.
“Businesses really have to be set up for success. That means protecting their employees and also protecting their customers. That means creating a safe environment for people to eat and drink. You can have the best laid plans but if they’re not adhered to, they’re meaningless,” he said.
In restaurants, Bogoch said the key to limiting possible exposure is customer adherence to safety measures, but it is the business’ responsibility to enforce those measures. However, he added that following public health guidelines is what makes restaurants a challenging environment.
“If the restaurant or bar is set up in a way that is safer and if they really ensure that customers are adhering to the right policies and if customers are vigilant… then it’ll be OK. But of course, when we put that into real world settings, we see that many places do that, but some do not,” Bogoch said.
“And in the places that are not adhering to these measures, we’re seeing outbreaks.”
This map from Project Pandemic tracks known cases of COVID-19 across the country. If you can’t see the map on your device, go here for the full experience.
Backstory:
“Project Pandemic: Canada Reports on COVID-19” is a national collaboration bringing together journalists and journalism students from news organizations and universities across Canada to gather information as a public service.
The consortium draws on data gathered by governmental health authorities, journalists and the nonprofit platform Flatten.ca. This project is co-ordinated by Concordia University’s Institute for Investigative Journalism, with the support of the Canadian Association of Journalists. For the full list of credits, please visit concordia.ca/projectpandemic.
The head of one of Canada’s largest police forces met with a Sri Lankan inspector general of police who two weeks earlier had been found by the South Asian country’s highest court to have “participated in the torture” of an arrested man.
Photos published by Sri Lankan media, including the Ceylon Today, an English-language daily newspaper, show Peel Regional Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah in uniform posing alongside senior Sri Lankan officers on Dec. 29, 2023 at police headquarters in the capital Colombo – a visit a Peel police spokesperson says Global Affairs Canada and the RCMP had been made aware of ahead of time.
One of the law enforcement officials in the photos was the inspector-general of Sri Lankan police, Deshabandu Tennakoon, who earlier that month was ordered to pay compensation for taking part in “mercilessly” beating a man.
Peel Regional Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah signs a guestbook at Sri Lankan police headquarters in Colombo, as the country’s inspector general Deshabandu Tennakoon stands behind him. Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court found he took part in the torture of an arrested man. (Credit: Ceylon Today).
Ceylon Today
On Dec. 14, 2023, Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court ruled Tennakoon was involved in the brutal arrest of a man suspected of theft, holding him in what the court called the “torture chamber” of the police station for more than 24 hours, striking and suffocating him, and rubbing chili powder on his genitals.
Dr. Thusiyan Nandakumar, a physician who also runs the London, U.K.-based outlet the Tamil Guardian, called it a “stain on Canada’s reputation.”
“To see someone of (Duraiappah’s) stature receive a guard of honour from that very same institution that’s responsible for so many abuses was shocking, to say the least,” Nandakumar said.
Duraiappah declined Global News’ request for an interview. In a statement, a Peel Regional Police spokesperson called his trip to Sri Lanka “personal” and said there is “no ongoing initiative or collaboration between Peel Regional Police and any organization in Sri Lanka.”
Peel Regional Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah wears his uniform and walks by Sri Lankan soldiers in a visit Peel police describe as a “personal” trip. (Credit: Ceylon Today).
Ceylon Today
Duraippah was photographed multiple times during his visit wearing his Peel police uniform.
Rathika Sitsabaiesan – a former NDP MP and Canada’s first Tamil member of Parliament – says when someone wears a uniform, “you’re representing the organization for which you are the chief.”
Duraippah is the only police chief of Sri Lankan descent outside the South Asian nation, according to Peel police, which operates in Mississauga and Brampton, Ont.
“(It’s) very harmful to me as a Canadian, as someone who grew up in the region of Peel, and all the people who continue to live in Peel and who identify as Tamil, in my opinion,” Sitsabaiesan said.
The Peel spokesperson said Duraiappah accepted an invitation from Sri Lankan police officers while he was on a family vacation to the country of his birth.
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The spokesperson would not confirm when asked if Duraiappah had met directly with Tennakoon beyond the photos, which show them holding a plaque together and Tennakoon standing behind Duraiappah while he signed a guestbook.
It’s not clear whether the event photographed was the only meeting or whether any additional ones were held, including whether Duraiappah and Tennakoon met outside of the moment they were photographed together.
Another Peel spokesperson added that “the Chief discussed the requests for meetings received with Global Affairs Canada and the RCMP.”
The RCMP says the force provided information to Duraiappah about Tennakoon, including about the recent court ruling, ahead of time.
“The Government of Canada did not organize the visit, which was considered a personal visit. However, given the RCMP’s close working relationship with Peel Regional Police, the RCMP Liaison Officer for Sri Lanka offered to facilitate Chief Duraiappah with arrangements involving police agencies in Sri Lanka,” an RCMP spokesperson said in response to questions from Global News.
“Information was provided to Chief Duraiappah for his situational awareness about recent developments in Sri Lanka, including the Sri Lankan Supreme Court’s ruling on Chief Tennakoon.”
Global Affairs Canada also said the visit was “personal.”
“The Government of Canada did not organize the visit” and “as is customary for meetings with high-level officials, staff from the High Commission of Canada to Sri Lanka accompanied the Chief as a courtesy,” Global Affairs Canada spokesperson Marilyn Guèvremont said.
Sitsabaiesan says “alarm bells should have gone off” given the country’s human rights record.
In October 2022, Canada adopted a United Nations Human Rights Council resolution calling on Sri Lanka to address the “human rights, economic and political crises” in the country.
The following year it sanctioned four government officials for “human rights violations on the island” and commemorated the Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day for the first time – marking the deaths of tens of thousands of Tamils during the country’s 26-year civil war.
“Canada is well-versed in the crimes that took place. It’s not something that Ottawa is blind to,” Nandakumar said.
While it’s not unusual for western officers to visit, collaborate or train police forces in developing countries, some have recently distanced themselves from Sri Lankan authorities.
In 2021, Scotland ended its training program for officers in the country over allegations of human rights abuses.
In January of this year, the United Nations criticized Sri Lankan police for their “heavy handed” anti-drug crackdown, with reports of arbitrary arrests, torture and public strip searches.
Tennakoon’s recent appointment as police chief shows “much about how law enforcement authorities in the island operate with impunity,” Neil DeVotta, an expert on South Asia and politics professor at Wake Forest University in North Carolina, said in an e-mail to Global News.
Nandakumar says the Peel chief’s visit to the Sri Lankan police headquarters raises questions about judgement.
“When a senior Canadian official goes to meet with forces accused of such egregious crimes … to see something like that take place, it was very disconcerting.”
“I think an apology is needed,” he said.
The RCMP say a body that was recovered by authorities in Washington state is believed to be one of two kayakers reported missing off Vancouver Island on Saturday.
Const. Alex Bérubé said the identity of the body found on San Juan Island, just south of the border, is still to be confirmed by the coroner.
A search has been underway in the waters off Sidney, B.C., about 25 kilometres north of Victoria, since the two kayakers were reported missing.
RCMP previously said Daniel MacAlpine, 36, and Nicolas West, 26, went missing while kayaking from D’Arcy Island to View Beach on Saturday afternoon. They were in a teal blue, fibreglass, two-person kayak.
Police said members of the Central Saanich Police Department and Peninsula Emergency Measures Organization search and rescue were involved in the search, and the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre and Canadian Coast Guard were also assisting.
Digital WritersThe Weather Network
Updated on Apr. 23, 2024, 1:30 PM
Prepare for multiple rounds of April snowfall this week, as Labrador braces for wintry conditions. This onslaught of snow is expected to blanket the region, potentially leading to hazardous travel conditions and disruptions throughout the week
As we march even deeper into the heart of the spring season, many parts of Canada are finding it tough to find any consistent signs of warming weather. Add to the mix periods of snow and wintry precipitation, and it’s safe to say the winter season is certainly not going out without a strong fight.
This week, parts of the East Coast will bear the brunt of the winter weather, with multiple rounds of April snowfall stacking up in Labrador. The chances for snow flurries will stick around all week long, bringing as much as 25 cm for some.
MUST SEE: Extreme pattern over Arctic produces 50+ degree temperature spread
Although 25+ cm of snow in April may seem extreme, for this part of the country, it’s definitely nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, the month as a whole brings about 40-50 cm of snow to Labrador on average.
Some communities, including Nain, even have snowfall chances stretch all the way into June!
“This week will be a little bit different however, as some regions could reach about half of Labrador’s monthly averages alone,” says Rachel Modestino, a meteorologist at The Weather Network. “The first round on Tuesday will pack quite the punch, with heavy snow and gusty winds stretching from Labrador city to the coast.”
Winds will be gusting between 70-90 km/h at times, and travel conditions will likely deteriorate quickly due to potential whiteouts and reduced visibility.
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