The World Health Organization’s decision to classify the coronavirus outbreak as a pandemic has implications for every country in the world, but experts say Canada is well positioned to respond to the crisis.
“In the days and weeks ahead, we expect to see the number of COVID-19 cases, the number of deaths, and the number of affected countries climb even higher,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference on Wednesday.
“We are deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity, and by the alarming levels of inaction. We have therefore made the assessment that COVID-19 can be characterized as a pandemic.”
Some countries such as China, South Korea and Singapore have been able to control outbreaks. But other countries need to act more aggressively, he cautioned.
When asked which countries aren’t doing enough to control the outbreak, Dr. Mike Ryan, head of WHO’s health emergencies program, would not specify.
“You know who you are,” he said.
What is a pandemic?
WHO defines a pandemic as the consistent spread around the world of a new disease to which the population has not yet gained immunity. The definition does not take into account the severity of illness — just how common it is now.
Tedros said describing the situation as a pandemic does not change the WHO’s assessment of the threat posed by the coronavirus, or how countries or the WHO should respond.
What sets this apart from previous pandemics, such as the one caused by 2009 H1N1 flu, is that it was sparked by a coronavirus.
Ryan said health officials take the pandemic characterization seriously.
“The fact is right now in countries, we have front-line health workers who need our help,” he said. “We have hospitals who need our support.”
‘Glad they finally did it’
Dr. Michael Gardam, an infectious disease physician and chief of staff at Humber River Hospital in Toronto, welcomed the pandemic call.
“Truthfully, I’m glad they finally did it,” Gardam said on CBC News Network. “We’ve been seeing this spread around the world and clearly it’s not being stopped.”
Gardam said for anyone in Canada who’s been living in a “wishful bubble,” thinking the outbreak is happening elsewhere, the WHO’s decision bursts that bubble.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made the announcement. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images)
“This is really something which is a real threat to Canadians and we need to be thinking that way,” he said.
While travel from other affected regions accounted for all cases here at the beginning, Canadians “really need to think about control measures here at home now,” said Gardam.
“Now it’s a matter of symptoms or not. If you don’t have symptoms — go about your life. If you are feeling flu-like symptoms, then stay away from people.”
Gardam cited the example of Italy, where weeks ago there were just a handful of cases that have since exploded.
“By the time you start to get an inkling that you have spread in the broader general public, you need to act now if you’re going to slow this down,” he said. “It’s not a matter of stopping it, but it’s about slowing it down.”
‘U.S. probably the tipping point’
Jason Kindrachuk, an assistant professor and Canada Research Chair in emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba, said the reason the WHO made the decision Wednesday was because of the spread of the pandemic in Italy, Iran and the U.S.
“I think the U.S. was probably the tipping point in a lot of ways,” he said, adding there was a belief that their health care systems would be able to contain the outbreak.
“And we’ve seen that obviously that that is not been the case in the U.S.”
Chairs in the U.S. Pentagon briefing room are set far apart based on ‘social distancing’ protocols deployed by the U.S. military to try to stem the spread of COVID-19. (Phil Stewart/Reuters)
What changes for Canada?
Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam said late last month that Canada’s pandemic response plan is already in motion, and that Canada’s course of action would be much the same whether the WHO declared a pandemic or not.
Gardam says Canadians need to shift their thinking about the outbreak and focus on what’s known as “social distancing,” by avoiding large gatherings, cancelling conferences and staying away from others who may be ill — without going overboard and hoarding supplies.
A woman shops for toilet paper at a local market. Toilet paper, hand sanitizer and other supplies are running low in many affected areas. (Carlos Barria/Reuters)
“I’m definitely avoiding larger crowds now because I cannot afford to get sick in my work here,” he said.
“But I also haven’t run out to the store and bought four month supplies of water and toilet paper.”
Kindrachuk says that if each person is in close contact with fewer people, then the virus has fewer opportunities to spread.
We’re going to see a lot more conversation about what do we do about things like concerts or sporting events or even university classes.– Jason Kindrachuk, emerging viruses researcher, University of Manitoba
“Once we see large groups of people kind of conglomerating, that creates a perfect incubator for disease spread,” he said.
“We’re going to see a lot more conversation about what do we do about things like concerts or sporting events or even university classes. I think all these things are going to be on the table very quickly for discussion.”
One area that experts agree on, is that Canada’s health care system needs to stay alert and prepared for the spread of the outbreak domestically.
“I think we’re very early on in the course of the epidemic in Canada and we will certainly be seeing more and more cases in the days and weeks ahead,” Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious disease physician at Toronto General Hospital.
“We’re likely going to see more cases imported from a growing number of countries and then we’re also going to see more locally-acquired cases here in the country as well.”
Montreal Alouettes wide receiver Tyson Philpot has announced he will be out for the rest of the CFL season.
The Delta, B.C., native posted the news on his Instagram page Thursday.
“To Be Continued. Shoutout my team, the fans of the CFL and the whole city of Montreal! I can’t wait to be back healthy and write this next chapter in 2025,” the statement read.
Philpot, 24, injured his foot in a 33-23 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Aug. 10 and was placed on the six-game injured list the next week.
The six-foot-one, 195-pound receiver had 58 receptions, 779 yards and five touchdowns in nine games for the league-leading Alouettes in his third season.
Philpot scored the game-winning touchdown in Montreal’s Grey Cup win last season to punctuate a six-reception, 63-yard performance.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 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.”
NEW YORK (AP) — When her husband turns on the television to hear news about the upcoming presidential election, that’s often a signal for Lori Johnson Malveaux to leave the room.
It can get to be too much. Often, she’ll go to a TV in another room to watch a movie on the Hallmark Channel or BET. She craves something comforting and entertaining. And in that, she has company.
While about half of Americans say they are following political news “extremely” or “very” closely, about 6 in 10 say they need to limit how much information they consume about the government and politics to avoid feeling overloaded or fatigued, according to a new survey from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and USAFacts.
Make no mistake: Malveaux plans to vote. She always does. “I just get to the point where I don’t want to hear the rhetoric,” she said.
The 54-year-old Democrat said she’s most bothered when she hears people on the news telling her that something she saw with her own eyes — like the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol — didn’t really happen.
“I feel like I’m being gaslit. That’s the way to put it,” she said.
Sometimes it feels like ‘a bombardment’
Caleb Pack, 23, a Republican from Ardmore, Oklahoma, who works in IT, tries to keep informed through the news feeds on his phone, which is stocked with a variety of sources, including CNN, Fox News, The Wall Street Journal and The Associated Press.
Yet sometimes, Pack says, it seems like a bombardment.
“It’s good to know what’s going on, but both sides are pulling a little bit extreme,” he said. “It just feels like it’s a conversation piece everywhere, and it’s hard to escape it.”
Media fatigue isn’t a new phenomenon. A Pew Research Center survey conducted in late 2019 found roughly two in three Americans felt worn out by the amount of news there is, about the same as in a poll taken in early 2018. During the 2016 presidential campaign, about 6 in 10 people felt overloaded by campaign news.
But it can be particularly acute with news related to politics. The AP-NORC/USAFacts poll found that half of Americans feel a need to limit their consumption of information related to crime or overseas conflicts, while only about 4 in 10 are limiting news about the economy and jobs.
It’s easy to understand, with television outlets like CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC full of political talk and a wide array of political news online, sometimes complicated by disinformation.
“There’s a glut of information,” said Richard Coffin, director of research and advocacy for USAFacts, “and people are having a hard time figuring out what is true or not.”
Women are more likely to feel they need to limit media
In the AP-NORC poll, about 6 in 10 men said they follow news about elections and politics at least “very” closely, compared to about half of women. For all types of news, not just politics, women are more likely than men to report the need to limit their media consumption, the survey found.
White adults are also more likely than Black or Hispanic adults to say they need to limit media consumption on politics, the poll found.
Kaleb Aravzo, 19, a Democrat, gets a baseline of news by listening to National Public Radio in the morning at home in Logan, Utah. Too much politics, particularly when he’s on social media sites like TikTok and Instagram, can trigger anxiety and depression.
“If it pops up on my page when I’m on social media,” he said, “I’ll just scroll past it.”
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Sanders reported from Washington. David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder.
The AP poll of 1,019 adults was conducted July 29-August 8, 2024, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.0 percentage points.
