OTTAWA —
With COVID-19 variants of concern continuing to spread across Canada, new national modelling shows that even the current level of public health measures will not be enough to prevent a resurgence of the virus nationwide.
The dire warning comes as part of the Public Health Agency of Canada’s (PHAC) new pandemic projections.
Looking at only non-variant COVID-19 spread, if Canadians maintain their current number of contacts the epidemic will continue to come under control. Factoring in the more contagious variants, the trajectory changes considerably and cases will spike again under Canadians’ current level of precautions and restrictions.
The presentation made by Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam and Deputy Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Howard Njoo notes that, with variants of concern now detected in all provinces with “increasing prevalence and spread,” if Canada wants to keep flattening the pandemic curve, more stringent public health measures and individual precautions are needed.
Based on the current projections, the current pandemic controls may not be enough to fully control the variants. The long-range forecast predicts a “strong resurgence” in March and April in all provinces.
Accordingly, if people let their guards down and if public health measures are lifted the variants are forecasted to send infection rates spiking to levels far past what was seen in either the first or second waves.
This could result in up to 20,000 new daily cases by the spring. Currently the average daily case count is approximately 2,900 new cases a day across the country, which is an improvement from last month when some provinces were reporting nearly that many new infections in a day.
On Thursday, Tam joined Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the weekly call with the premiers. She was asked Friday if she’s raised her concerns about easing restrictions with her provincial counterparts, as some provinces have already started scaling back on their lockdown measures.
In response, Tam said they are aware that in her view a robust plan to sequence variants and contact trace needs to be in place before restrictions are loosened, and “if you ease anything at all, it better be slow with a lot of surveillance testing.”
She offered the recent surge in cases in Newfoundland and Labrador as an example of how rapidly new outbreaks of these variants can spread.
During a press conference on Friday, Trudeau said that while what provinces and cities have been doing is working, the threat of the variants remains.
“We have to keep taking strong public health measures… Otherwise we could see a third wave that is even worse than the second or the first,” he said.
Noting that this is not news anyone wants to hear, Trudeau said provinces looking to ease measures must be ready to respond to new outbreaks with swift action and suggested updates to the national COVID Alert app may play a role.
The modelling is focused on three variants of concern: the B.1.1.7 variant first identified in U.K. the B.1.351 variant first identified in South Africa, and P.1 the variant first identified in Brazil.
As of Feb. 18, PHAC data indicates that there have been 664 confirmed B.1.1.7 variant cases, 39 B.1.351 variant cases, and one case of the P.1 variant. Tam said it’s possible that, at least in the case of the U.K.-originating variant that it becomes a “very common” strain of the virus over time.
Based on the current pandemic situation, daily case counts, deaths and hospitalizations are currently declining in most of Canada and fewer health regions are reporting high rates of infection across all age groups.
The short-term forecast predicts Canada will see up to 878,850 total cases by Feb. 28 and total deaths could reach up to 22,420 people by the end of the month.
IMPACT OF VACCINES?
The modelling does not explicitly factor in the increasing rates of vaccination in Canada. However, it shows that international experience with these variants have been that while vaccine programs expand, stringent adherence to proper mask-wearing, physical distancing and other precautions have helped control the spread.
“For the next months we’re not going to have a lot of people vaccinated, that’s a fact,” Tam said. “In order for the vaccine to have the best runway it can to take off, you need to make sure those cases are kept low.”
Referencing these new figures during question period in the House of Commons, Conservative health critic Michelle Rempel Garner asked whether the modelling shows the federal government’s “failure” on vaccinations, and whether it’s “made Canada vulnerable to variants, and is going to create more lockdowns?”
In response, the parliamentary secretary to the health minister Darren Fisher said the federal government remains proud with more than 1.5 million vaccines delivered across Canada to-date.
Later, at the House of Commons Health Committee, MPs began hearing from senior PHAC officials about the current outbreaks, occurrences, and modelling for COVID-19 variant spread in Canada as it relates to projected vaccination rollout timelines, including the capacity to surveil, assumptions on vaccine effectiveness, and the procurement of booster shots.
During his testimony, Roman Szumski, the senior vice-president of the vaccine acquisition branch at PACH, said that Canada’s current vaccine contracts don’t talk about the need for potential boosters to deal with variants, so in order to access those, new contracts would be required.
“We are engaged directly with the suppliers and keeping current with their tracking of vaccine performance and plans for boosters or updates to their vaccines. They currently do not have boosters that are available,” he said.
In her remarks to the committee, Chair of the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI), Dr. Caroline Quach-Thanh, said the variants are on NACI’s radar and many questions remain to be answered, though initial data around vaccine efficacy indicates the mRNA vaccines—which both Moderna and Pfizer shots are— show effectiveness against the U.K. strain, where as the others may pose more of a challenge.
“NACI is monitoring the data and will issue a statement if a booster or new dose is needed, including consideration of any new vaccine candidates that are authorized by Health Canada,” she said.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain, rose 0.4 per cent to $82.7 billion in July.
The increase came as sales in the miscellaneous subsector gained three per cent to reach $10.5 billion in July, helped by strength in the agriculture supplies industry group, which rose 9.2 per cent.
The food, beverage and tobacco subsector added 1.7 per cent to total $15 billion in July.
The personal and household goods subsector fell 2.5 per cent to $12.1 billion.
In volume terms, overall wholesale sales rose 0.5 per cent in July.
Statistics Canada started including oilseed and grain as well as the petroleum and petroleum products subsector as part of wholesale trade last year, but is excluding the data from monthly analysis until there is enough historical data.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa sustained a concussion for the third time in his NFL career, leaving his team’s game Thursday night against Buffalo after running into defensive back Damar Hamlin and hitting the back of his head against the turf.
Tagovailoa remained down for about two minutes before getting to his feet and walking to the sideline after the play in the third quarter. He made his way to the tunnel not long afterward, looking into the stands before smiling and departing toward the locker room.
The Dolphins needed almost no time before announcing it was a concussion. The team said he had two during the 2022 season, and Tagovailoa was diagnosed with another concussion when he was a college player at Alabama.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Tagovailoa would get “proper procedural evaluation” and “appropriate care” on Friday.
“The furthest thing from my mind is, ‘What is the timeline?’ We just need to evaluate and just worry about my teammate, like the rest of the guys are,” McDaniel said. “We’ll get more information tomorrow and take it day by day from here.”
Some players saw Tagovailoa in the locker room after the game and said they were encouraged. Tagovailoa spoke with some players and then went home after the game, McDaniel said.
“I have a lot of love for Tua, built a great relationship with him,” said quarterback Skylar Thompson, who replaced Tagovailoa after the injury. “You care about the person more than the player and everybody in the organization would say the same thing. Just really praying for Tua and hopefully everything will come out all right.”
Tagovailoa signed a four-year, $212 million extension before this season — a deal that makes him one of the highest-paid players in the NFL — and was the NFL’s leading passer in Week 1 this season. Tagovailoa left with the Dolphins trailing 31-10, and that was the final score.
“If you know Tua outside of football, you can’t help but feel for him,” Bills quarterback Josh Allen said on Amazon following the game. “He’s a great football player but he’s an even greater human being. He’s one of the best humans on the planet. I’ve got a lot of love for him and I’m just praying for him and his family, hoping everything’s OK. But it’s tough, man. This game of football that we play, it’s got its highs and it’s got its lows — and this is one of the lows.”
Tagovailoa’s college years and first three NFL seasons were marred by injury, though he positioned himself for a big pay bump with an injury-free and productive 2023 as he led the Dolphins into the playoffs. He threw for 29 touchdowns and a league-best 4,624 yards last year.
When, or if, he can come back this season is anyone’s guess. Tagovailoa said in April 2023 that the concussions he had in the 2022 season left him contemplating his playing future. “I think I considered it for a time,” he said then, when asked if he considered stepping away from the game to protect himself.
McDaniel said it’s not his place to say if Tagovailoa should return to football. “He’ll be evaluated and we’ll have conversations and progress as appropriate,” McDaniel said.
Tagovailoa was hurt Thursday on a fourth-down keeper with about 4:30 left in the third. He went straight ahead into Hamlin and did not slide, leading with his right shoulder instead.
Hamlin was the player who suffered a cardiac arrest after making a tackle during a Monday night game in January 2023 at Cincinnati, causing the NFL to suspend a pivotal game that quickly lost significance in the aftermath of a scary scene that unfolded in front of a national television audience.
Tagovailoa wound up on his back, both his hands in the air and Bills players immediately pointed at him as if to suggest there was an injury. Dolphins center Aaron Brewer quickly did the same, waving to the sideline.
Tagovailoa appeared to be making a fist with his right hand as he lay on the ground. It was movement consistent with something that is referred to as the “fencing response,” which can be common after a traumatic brain injury.
Tagovailoa eventually got to his feet. McDaniel grabbed the side of his quarterback’s head and gave him a kiss on the cheek as Tagovailoa departed. Thompson came into the game to take Tagovailoa’s spot.
“I love Tua on and off the football field,” Bills edge Von Miller said. “I’m a huge fan of him. I can empathize and sympathize with him because I’ve been there. I wish him the best.”
Tagovailoa’s history with concussions — and how he has since worked to avoid them — is a huge part of the story of his career, and now comes to the forefront once again.
He had at least two concussions during the 2022 season. He was hurt in a Week 3 game against Buffalo and cleared concussion protocol, though he appeared disoriented on that play but returned to the game.
The NFL later changed its concussion protocol to mandate that if a player shows possible concussion symptoms — including a lack of balance or stability — he must sit out the rest of the game.
Less than a week later, in a Thursday night game at Cincinnati, Tagovailoa was concussed on a scary hit that briefly knocked him unconscious and led to him being taken off the field on a stretcher.
His second known concussion of that season came in a December game against Green Bay, and he didn’t play for the rest of the 2022 season. After that, Tagovailoa began studying ways where he may be able to fall more safely and protect himself against further injury — including studying jiu-jitsu.
“I’m not worried about anything that’s out of my hands,” McDaniel said. “I’m just worried about the human being.”
TORSBY, Sweden (AP) — David Beckham and former England coach Roy Hodgson were among the soccer dignitaries who attended the funeral of Sven-Goran Eriksson on Friday in the Swedish manager’s small hometown of Torsby.
Eriksson’s wooden coffin was covered in white flowers and surrounded by six tall candles and other floral wreaths as the ceremony began inside the 600-seat Fryksande church.
“It is a day of grief but also a day of thankfulness,” the priest, Ingela Älvskog, told those in attendance.
Beckham, who arrived by private jet on Thursday, greeted Eriksson’s 95-year-old father Sven and other family members with hugs inside the church before the funeral started.
Eriksson became England’s first foreign-born coach when he led the national team from 2001-06, and made Beckham his captain.
Eriksson, who also won trophies at club level in Italy, Portugal and Sweden, died on Aug. 26 at the age of 76, eight months after he revealed he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and had at most one year to live.
Some 200 seats in the neo-Gothic church from 1898 were reserved for his family, friends and players from his career in the football world, according to his agent. The remaining seats were open for the public, according to Eriksson’s wish, with a big screen set up outside the church where hundreds more gathered to watch the ceremony. The funeral was also broadcast live on some Swedish media websites.
The wooden coffin was wheeled in by pallbearers at the church Friday morning as fog wrapped Torsby — a town of about 4,000 people located about 310 kilometers (193 miles) west of Stockholm. Next to the casket was a photo of Eriksson on a small table. The floral wreaths included ones sent by FIFA and Lazio, the Italian team that Eriksson led to the Serie A title in 2000.
The ceremony began with somber piano and organ music, but later took on a more upbeat note with Swedish singer Charlotta Birgersson performing Elton John’s song “Candle In The Wind” and then “My Way” in a duet with Johan Birgersson, who later intoned the popular Italian song “Volare” after the family had gathered around the casket to lay flowers.
Beckham also visited Eriksson in Sweden in June to say goodbye. Others attending the funeral included the Swedish coach’s longtime partner Nancy Dell’Olio. Eriksson’s agent had said that guests from England, Italy and Spain were expected.
After the funeral, the casket was carried out of the church by eight men to the hearse. The guests then walked in a procession accompanying the coffin to a nearby museum where speeches and eulogies to the coach fondly known as “Svennis” were planned on an outdoor stage. A brass band played during the procession through Torsby, including the tune “You never walk alone” from the musical “Carousel” which has become the anthem of Liverpool, the club Eriksson supported since childhood.
The local soccer club Torsby IF, where Eriksson started his career in the 1960s, wrote on its webpage that “you also showed your greatness by always being yourself, the caring Svennis who talked to everyone and took the time, for big and small, asking how things were and how the football was going. We will miss you.”
