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Ottawa records 1st case of coronavirus – CBC.ca

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A case of the novel coronavirus has been reported in Ottawa, according to Ontario’s Ministry of Health and Ottawa Public Health (OPH).

The man in his 40s contracted the virus while travelling in Austria, according to the ministry’s website.

At a news conference Wednesday afternoon, the city’s medical officer of health, Dr. Vera Etches, said the man travelled recently and was not symptomatic during his return flight to Ottawa. He’s not considered a risk to other passengers on that plane because someone with no symptoms is not likely to have a high viral load, Etches said.

The man is currently in self-isolation at home with mild symptoms after being tested at the Ottawa Hospital’s General campus. 

“The individual has been conscientious about his self-isolation, and he’s been accepting guidance from Ottawa Public Health,” Etches said.

Etches said OPH is in the process of following up with “a small number of close contacts” of the individual, including family members and friends.

There are currently 182 confirmed cases of the virus in Austria, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

WHO declares a pandemic

News of Ottawa’s first case came just hours before the WHO declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic. In Ontario, there are currently 37 confirmed cases of COVID-19. Five more cases in the province have been “resolved,” meaning the patient is no longer showing signs of infection based on two consecutive tests performed 24 hours apart.

Etches said the new case will not change the approach of public health officials, who remain focused on detecting cases that result from international travel. She said there is no evidence of community transmission at this time.

Etches urged anyone returning from international travel to self-monitor for symptoms including fever, coughing and shortness of breath, and to contact public health if they experience these symptoms.

“I would like to assure residents that as a system we are prepared to respond to this case and to continue to support our community in monitoring, detecting and containing this virus,” Etches said. “I know anxiety levels can be high, and we need to help each other with seeking accurate information.”

Assessment centres coming

Dr. Andrew Willmore, the medical director for emergency management at The Ottawa Hospital, said at Wednesday’s  news conference that the city will be opening community assessment centres to monitor for COVID-19.

The assessment centres are a way of diverting people with questions about coronavirus from hospitals. Patients showing symptoms will be able to get tested at the assessment centres instead of going to hospital emergency rooms, as is currently required.

Willmore said the first assessment centre will open within a week. While he wouldn’t disclose details on hours or location, he did say the first centre would be in a “central location,” and that additional centres would open up in other areas of the city. 

“We’re working very closely with public health and the city of Ottawa to essentially stage a distribution model that will allow us to have patients essentially seen across the city,” Willmore said. “The areas will be accessible and they’re taking into mind the needs of the city.”

The continued uptick in cases in Ontario caused a number of employers to take measures to limit.

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A linebacker at West Virginia State is fatally shot on the eve of a game against his old school

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A linebacker at Division II West Virginia State was fatally shot during what the university said Thursday is being investigated by police as a home invasion.

The body of Jyilek Zyiare Harrington, 21, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was found inside an apartment Wednesday night in Charleston, police Lt. Tony Hazelett said in a statement.

Hazelett said several gunshots were fired during a disturbance in a hallway and inside the apartment. The statement said Harrington had multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said they had no information on a possible suspect.

West Virginia State said counselors were available to students and faculty on campus.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with Jyilek’s family as they mourn the loss of this incredible young man,” West Virginia State President Ericke S. Cage said in a letter to students and faculty.

Harrington, a senior, had eight total tackles, including a sack, in a 27-24 win at Barton College last week.

“Jyilek truly embodied what it means to be a student-athlete and was a leader not only on campus but in the community,” West Virginia State Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Nate Burton said. “Jyilek was a young man that, during Christmas, would create a GoFundMe to help less fortunate families.”

Burton said donations to a fund established by the athletic department in Harrington’s memory will be distributed to an organization in Charlotte to continue his charity work.

West Virginia State’s home opener against Carson-Newman, originally scheduled for Thursday night, has been rescheduled to Friday, and a private vigil involving both teams was set for Thursday night. Harrington previously attended Carson-Newman, where he made seven tackles in six games last season. He began his college career at Division II Erskine College.

“Carson-Newman joins West Virginia State in mourning the untimely passing of former student-athlete Jyilek Harrington,” Carson-Newman Vice President of Athletics Matt Pope said in a statement. “The Harrington family and the Yellow Jackets’ campus community is in our prayers. News like this is sad to hear anytime, but today it feels worse with two teams who knew him coming together to play.”

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Hall of Famer Joe Schmidt, who helped Detroit Lions win 2 NFL titles, dies at 92

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DETROIT (AP) — Joe Schmidt, the Hall of Fame linebacker who helped the Detroit Lions win NFL championships in 1953 and 1957 and later coached the team, has died. He was 92.

The Lions said family informed the team Schmidt died Wednesday. A cause of death was not provided.

One of pro football’s first great middle linebackers, Schmidt played his entire NFL career with the Lions from 1953-65. An eight-time All-Pro, he was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973 and the college football version in 2000.

“Joe likes to say that at one point in his career, he was 6-3, but he had tackled so many fullbacks that it drove his neck into his shoulders and now he is 6-foot,” said the late Lions owner William Clay Ford, Schmidt’s presenter at his Hall of Fame induction in 1973. “At any rate, he was listed at 6-feet and as I say was marginal for that position. There are, however, qualities that certainly scouts or anybody who is drafting a ballplayer cannot measure.”

Born in Pittsburgh, Schmidt played college football in his hometown at Pitt, beginning his stint there as a fullback and guard before coach Len Casanova switched him to linebacker.

“Pitt provided me with the opportunity to do what I’ve wanted to do, and further myself through my athletic abilities,” Schmidt said. “Everything I have stemmed from that opportunity.”

Schmidt dealt with injuries throughout his college career and was drafted by the Lions in the seventh round in 1953. As defenses evolved in that era, Schmidt’s speed, savvy and tackling ability made him a valuable part of some of the franchise’s greatest teams.

Schmidt was elected to the Pro Bowl 10 straight years from 1955-64, and after his arrival, the Lions won the last two of their three NFL titles in the 1950s.

In a 1957 playoff game at San Francisco, the Lions trailed 27-7 in the third quarter before rallying to win 31-27. That was the NFL’s largest comeback in postseason history until Buffalo rallied from a 32-point deficit to beat Houston in 1993.

“We just decided to go after them, blitz them almost every down,” Schmidt recalled. “We had nothing to lose. When you’re up against it, you let both barrels fly.”

Schmidt became an assistant coach after wrapping up his career as a player. He was Detroit’s head coach from 1967-72, going 43-35-7.

Schmidt was part of the NFL’s All-Time Team revealed in 2019 to celebrate the league’s centennial season. Of course, he’d gone into the Hall of Fame 46 years earlier.

Not bad for an undersized seventh-round draft pick.

“It was a dream of mine to play football,” Schmidt told the Detroit Free Press in 2017. “I had so many people tell me that I was too small. That I couldn’t play. I had so many negative people say negative things about me … that it makes you feel good inside. I said, ‘OK, I’ll prove it to you.’”

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Coastal GasLink fined $590K by B.C. environment office over pipeline build

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VICTORIA – British Columbia‘s Environment Assessment Office has fined Coastal GasLink Pipeline Ltd. $590,000 for “deficiencies” in the construction of its pipeline crossing the province.

The office says in a statement that 10 administrative penalties have been levied against the company for non-compliance with requirements of its environmental assessment certificate.

It says the fines come after problems with erosion and sediment control measures were identified by enforcement officers along the pipeline route across northern B.C. in April and May 2023.

The office says that the latest financial penalties reflect its escalation of enforcement due to repeated non-compliance of its requirements.

Four previous penalties have been issued for failing to control erosion and sediment valued at almost $800,000, while a fifth fine of $6,000 was handed out for providing false or misleading information.

The office says it prioritized its inspections along the 670-kilometre route by air and ground as a result of the continued concerns, leading to 59 warnings and 13 stop-work orders along the pipeline that has now been completed.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.

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