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Western Canada: As Omicron recedes, provinces look to open up – The Globe and Mail

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3 years ago

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Good morning. It’s James Keller in Calgary.

In Saskatchewan, where there are already few COVID-19 public-health measures in place, Premier Scott Moe says it’s time to start lifting restrictions and learn to live with the virus.

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says his province’s vaccine passport system could end within two months.

B.C.’s Provincial Health Officer says gathering restrictions could be lifted in the coming weeks.

And in Manitoba, officials there are striking a comparatively cautious tone but also plan to map out a reopening plan next week.

As the Omicron wave peaks and, in many places, recedes, provinces are looking toward what happens next. While hospital admissions are still increasing in some places (though they, too, may be slowing or have peaked, depending on the province), there are signs that infections are decreasing, such as through testing wastewater for the virus.

Saskatchewan has been the least restrictive of any of the Western provinces through the fifth wave, as Mr. Moe has repeatedly rejected the prospect of added public-health measures, even as hospitals filled up and as the province’s top doctor warned that more needed to be done.

Mr. Moe said this week that society needs to learn to live with COVID-19 while maintaining public-health and health care capacity, and he promised that some remaining restrictions, such as isolation protocols for students, would be lifted soon. The province also changed its isolation rules for people who test positive, setting that at five days for everyone, including the unvaccinated (it had previously been 10 for people without a vaccine).

B.C.’s health officer, Bonnie Henry, has made similar comments about living with COVID-19 recently and this week said limits on social gatherings are expected to be lifted by Feb. 21. Still, Dr. Henry foreshadowed a phased-in approach, warning that COVID-19 would be with the province for some time.

“New variants will surely emerge. Immunity will wane, whether that’s from infection or from vaccination. We know that there’s a seasonality, and next fall will bring the increased risk of transmission again. And we need to prepare for that.”

Mr. Kenney said Alberta’s vaccine passport system was always intended to be temporary, and noted that when it was announced, he said it would likely end by the end of March. He said he still hopes that happens, and the trends happening in Alberta and elsewhere make him optimistic.

He also pointed to hospital admissions. ICU numbers are far below the previous wave, when there were concerns doctors would be forced to ration care, and while non-ICU admissions are at their highest number ever, half of them were not admitted for COVID-19. The overall capacity of the health care system is “not unusual” and comparable to the same time of year in 2018, he said.

The Manitoba government extended public-health orders, including a cap on public gatherings and limits on guests in private homes, for another week, instead of letting them expire on Feb. 1. The province has been more cautious than other parts of Western Canada, in part to respond to hot spots of infections such as southern Manitoba.

Health officials there say they, too, are seeing signs that the Omicron peak may be at hand.

“Based on several data points, it appears that [the] Omicron wave may have peaked or is in the process of peaking or plateauing in Manitoba,’’ said Manitoba’s Chief Provincial Public Health Officer, Dr. Brent Roussin.

With reports from The Canadian Press

This is the weekly Western Canada newsletter written by B.C. Editor Wendy Cox and Alberta Bureau Chief James Keller. If you’re reading this on the web, or it was forwarded to you from someone else, you can sign up for it and all Globe newsletters here.

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The US is mailing Americans COVID tests again. Here’s how to get them

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1 day ago

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September 26, 2024

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans can once again order COVID-19 tests, without being charged, sent straight to their homes.

The U.S. government reopened the program on Thursday, allowing any household to order up to four at-home COVID nasal swab kits through the website, covidtests.gov. The tests will begin shipping, via the United States Postal Service, as soon as next week.

The website has been reopened on the heels of a summer COVID-19 virus wave and heading into the fall and winter respiratory virus season, with health officials urging Americans to get an updated COVID-19 booster and their yearly flu shot.

“Before you visit with your family and friends this holiday season, take a quick test and help keep them safe from COVID-19,” U.S. Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response Dawn O’Connell said in a statement.

U.S. regulators approved an updated COVID-19 vaccine that is designed to combat the recent virus strains and, they hope, forthcoming winter ones, too. Vaccine uptake is waning, however. Most Americans have some immunity from prior infections or vaccinations, but under a quarter of U.S. adults took last fall’s COVID-19 shot.

Using the swab, people can detect current virus strains ahead of the fall and winter respiratory virus season and the holidays. Over-the-counter COVID-19 at-home tests typically cost around $11, as of last year. Insurers are no longer required to cover the cost of the tests.

Before using any existing at-home COVID-19 tests, you should check the expiration date. Many of the tests have been given an extended expiration from the date listed on the box. You can check on the Food and Drug Administration’s website to see if that’s the case for any of your remaining tests at home.

Since COVID-19 first began its spread in 2020, U.S. taxpayers have poured billions of dollars into developing and purchasing COVID-19 tests as well as vaccines. The Biden administration has given out 1.8 billion COVID-19 tests, including half distributed to households by mail. It’s unclear how many tests the government still has on hand.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Free COVID tests are back. Here’s how to order a test to your home

Published

2 days ago

 on

September 26, 2024

By

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans can once again order free COVID-19 tests sent straight to their homes.

The U.S. government reopened the program on Thursday, allowing any household to order up to four at-home COVID nasal swab kits through the website, covidtests.gov. The tests will begin shipping, via the United States Postal Service, as soon as next week.

The website has been reopened on the heels of a summer COVID-19 virus wave and heading into the fall and winter respiratory virus season, with health officials urging Americans to get an updated COVID-19 booster and their yearly flu shot.

U.S. regulators approved an updated COVID-19 vaccine that is designed to combat the recent virus strains and, they hope, forthcoming winter ones, too. Vaccine uptake is waning, however. Most Americans have some immunity from prior infections or vaccinations, but under a quarter of U.S. adults took last fall’s COVID-19 shot.

Using the swab, people can detect current virus strains ahead of the fall and winter respiratory virus season and the holidays. Over-the-counter COVID-19 at-home tests typically cost around $11, as of last year. Insurers are no longer required to cover the cost of the tests.

Since COVID-19 first began its spread in 2020, U.S. taxpayers have poured billions of dollars into developing and purchasing COVID-19 tests as well as vaccines. The Biden administration has given out 1.8 billion COVID-19 tests, including half distributed to households by mail. It’s unclear how many tests the government still has on hand.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Disability rights groups launching Charter challenge against MAID law

Published

2 days ago

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September 26, 2024

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TORONTO – A coalition of disability rights groups says it is launching a Charter challenge against a part of Canada’s law on medical assistance in dying.

The group, which also includes two individual plaintiffs, argues that what’s known as track two of the MAID law has resulted in premature deaths.

Under the law, patients whose natural deaths are not reasonably foreseeable but whose condition leads to intolerable suffering can apply for a track-two assisted death.

The coalition says track two of the MAID law has had a direct effect on the lives of people with disabilities and argues medically assisted death should only be available to those whose natural death is reasonably foreseeable.

The executive vice-president of Inclusion Canada – which is part of the coalition – says there has been an alarming trend where people with disabilities are seeking assisted death due to social deprivation, poverty and a lack of essential supports.

Krista Carr says those individuals should instead be supported in order to live better lives.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 26, 2024.

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