COVID-19 pandemic is still ‘raging,’ experts say. How to stay safe heading into fall
Global News
Experts said Canadians should be reminded that the COVID-19 pandemic is not over, adding that vaccination, masking and ventilation of indoor spaces are crucial.
The COVID-19 pandemic is not over, experts warn, and they say that Canadians should still take precautions heading into the fall months to protect themselves and the health-care system against the virus and other seasonal illnesses.
Raywat Deonandan, an epidemiologist and associate professor with the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Ottawa, warns that the COVID-19 pandemic is not yet over.
“(The pandemic) is raging around as wildly as it has ever been,” Deonandan told Global News.
For the week of Aug. 7 to Aug. 13, Canada had 24,161 cases of COVID-19, with Ontario having the highest number of 10,655 cases, according to Health Canada.
Although most areas in Canada appear to be at or past the peak of the current wave of COVID-19, the regional increase in COVID-19 case counts and hospitalizations continues, Canada’s top doctor Theresa Tam said in a tweet on Friday.
“As well, with SARSCoV2 continuing to circulate worldwide, Canada must prepare for renewed COVID-19 activity, including with potential new variants in the months ahead,” wrote Tam. “In particular, as part of readying ourselves for the fall, with more people returning to in-person work and children going back to school, getting vaccinations up-to-date is a top priority.”
Deonandan says the key concern for now and the upcoming season is the ability of Canada’s health-care system to absorb patients’ needs.
B.C. health authorities have announced the first case of a human avian flu infection acquired in Canada, with the teenage patient in critical condition in hospital.
People have been hearing a lot about H5N1 bird flu — or highly pathogenic avian influenza — since a B.C. teen became the first human to get the virus in Canada and is in hospital.
The Liberal government and the NDP negotiated the substance of a pharmacare bill as part of their now-defunct supply-and-confidence agreement.
Kennedy ran as an independent presidential candidate but gave Trump his endorsement with a promise to have a role in health policy in the next Trump administration.
Emergency services are at the scene of a train derailment Thursday morning on Montreal's south shore, where they are urging citizens to stay away from the area.
"I was yelling at them saying get the F** away it’s a wild animal," resident Josh Merrin told Global News. "Sorry about my language."
H5 bird flu is widespread in wild birds worldwide and is causing outbreaks in poultry and U.S. dairy cows, with several recent human cases in U.S. dairy and poultry workers.
The Calgary Zoo announced that one of its lowland gorillas unexpectedly passed away on November 12, 2024.
Edmontonians have had mixed feelings and now the city is asking people to share their thoughts officially. The findings of a survey could bring some changes.
Dr. Anna Wolak, a family physician in Vancouver, said many parents are likely having flashbacks to the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, despite this flu being a single case.
WHO acknowledged that testing for mpox is still not widespread, making it difficult to understand how exactly the virus is spreading.