The latest developments on COVID 19 in Canada on Feb. 18, 2021 - Toronto Star | Canada News Media
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The latest developments on COVID 19 in Canada on Feb. 18, 2021 – Toronto Star

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The latest developments on the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada (all times eastern):

2:55 p.m.

Transport Canada has issued fines to two passengers who knowingly boarded a flight to Canada from Mexico on Jan. 23 after having tested positive for COVID-19 a few days earlier.

The passengers have been fined $10,000 and $7,000 respectively, for presenting a false or misleading COVID-19 test and for making a false declaration about their health status.

2:45 p.m.

Saskatchewan is reporting 146 new cases of COVID-19.

The province says there have been no additional deaths linked to the virus.

There are 174 people in hospital with COVID-19, and 23 of them are in intensive care.

Premier Scott Moe is touring a mass vaccination clinic today in Regina that is to open in April.

1:40 p.m.

Nunavut is reporting six new cases of COVID-19 today.

All the new cases are in Arviat, which is the only community in Nunavut with active COVID cases.

Chief public health officer Dr. Michael Patterson encouraged Arviat residents who haven’t already been vaccinated to contact their health centre to do so.

To date, 6,850 doses of the Moderna vaccine have been administered in Nunavut.

There are 27 active cases of COVID-19 in Nunavut, all in Arviat.

1:40 p.m.

Manitoba is reporting 138 additional COVID-19 cases and two deaths.

Northern areas, on a per capita basis, continue to be the hardest hit.

Provincial government data shows large case numbers in Cross Lake, Thompson and the Island Lake district.

1:10 p.m.

Health officials in New Brunswick are saying that people who are less at risk for severe complications from COVID-19 can wait longer for a second dose of vaccine.

Chief medical officer of health Dr. Jennifer Russell says the shorter, two-dose schedule will continue for the most vulnerable, but others will get their second dose within 90 days.

Officials are reporting four new cases of COVID-19 today, all in the Edmundston region in the northwest of the province, which will be moved to the lower, “orange” pandemic-alert level at midnight tonight.

New Brunswick says it has 111 active reported cases of COVID-19 and five patients in hospital with the disease, including one in intensive care.

12:40 p.m.

Newfoundland and Labrador health authorities are reporting 48 new confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Officials say there are also 46 presumed positive cases awaiting confirmation through further testing.

All of the 48 new cases are in the eastern health region, which includes the metro area of St. John’s, where an outbreak has been growing since last week.

Six people have recovered since yesterday and there are now 380 active reported infections across the province, with two people in hospital as a result of the disease.

12 p.m.

Health Minister Christine Elliott says Ontario is carefully considering a plea from health officials in Toronto and Peel to delay loosening pandemic restrictions in their regions.

Elliott says the province’s top doctor will be looking at new data today that will inform his recommendation on what should be done for the two COVID-19 hot spots.

Toronto and Peel are among the Ontario regions that have yet to move back to the province’s colour-coded framework.

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The two local medical officers have asked that the current stay-at-home order stay in place in their regions until at least March 9.

11:15 a.m.

Quebec is reporting 900 new cases of COVID-19 today and 10 more deaths linked to the virus.

Four of those deaths occurred within the past 24 hours.

Health officials say the number of hospitalizations dropped by 19, to 747, and 129 people were in intensive care, a drop of one.

The province says it administered 2,234 doses of vaccine yesterday, for a total of 302,118.

10:55 a.m.

Ontario’s fiscal watchdog says the province lost more than 355,000 jobs last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Financial Accountability Officer says in a report today that the job losses represent the single largest annual decline on record.

The report says that in addition to job losses, more than 765,000 Ontario residents worked fewer hours because of the pandemic.

The FAO says young workers were the hardest hit group, as youth unemployment jumped to 22 per cent.

10:30 a.m.

The Manitoba government is now letting people who have received a COVID-19 vaccine carry proof with them.

A government website allows people to view their vaccination data and print it.

It’s a temporary measure until formal vaccination cards are available, similar to ones in British Columbia.

10:15 a.m.

Ontario says there are 1,038 new cases of COVID-19 in the province and 44 more deaths linked to the virus.

Health Minister Christine Elliott says that 376 of those new cases are in Toronto, 142 are in Peel Region and 122 are in York Region.

Another 12,383 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine were administered in the province since the last update.

Ontario has now given out more than 500,000 vaccine doses to date.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 18, 2021.

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Canada to donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to combat mpox outbreaks in Africa

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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.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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How many Nova Scotians are on the doctor wait-list? Number hit 160,000 in June

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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.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Newfoundland and Labrador monitoring rise in whooping cough cases: medical officer

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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.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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