COVID-19 cases are on the rise in British Columbia, with the BC Centre for Disease Control reporting hospitalizations have increased 58 per cent in the past two weeks.
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Topic: VictoriaView all posts for the topic: Victoria
COVID-19 outbreak declared at Victoria hospital
Health authorities have declared a COVID-19 outbreak at Victoria General Hospital after 11 patients were found to have contracted the illness on an acute-care ward.
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New masking rules for health-care settings in B.C. coming into force Oct. 3, officials confirm
B.C. Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix have announced that mandatory masking is returning to the province’s health-care facilities next week as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise.
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‘Continuous’ masking returning to B.C. hospitals, clinics, care homes
Some health-care workers in British Columbia have started receiving notification that they will once again be expected to wear masks in medical settings, but the language is ambiguous about what exactly will be required and for whom.
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‘COVID was never gone’: As cases rise in B.C., so do worries about normalizing the coronavirus
New figures show COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths have increased in the province.
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267 in hospital with COVID-19 as BCCDC returns to biweekly data updates
After publishing COVID-19 data just once a month over the summer, the B.C. Centre for Disease Control returned to biweekly updates this week.
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B.C. politicians vote against lifting vaccine mandate for health-care workers
A vote was held at the Union of B.C. Municipalities this week about the mandate requiring health-care workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
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Advocacy group calls for stronger COVID-19 measures this fall
On August 28, DoNoHarm BC hosted a protest in front of the Minister of Health, Adrian Dix’s office to call for the return of universal mask protections in healthcare settings. The in-person protest featured 25–30 people, but thousands of postcards were mailed to MLAs as part of a campaign to amplify the experiences of those affected by the removal of masks in healthcare. The event organizers read some of the submitted stories to represent those who could not attend.
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BC’s first annual clean air festival promotes immunocompromised accessibility
On September 2, BC’s first annual Clean Air Festival occurred at Trout Lake in East Vancouver. The event is supported by Protect Our Province, Safe Schools Coalition BC, Masks4EastVan, and DoNoHarm BC. It promoted an accessible space where immunocompromised individuals can find sanctuary among peers who relate to ongoing concerns around airborne pathogens, like COVID-19, and pollutants that significantly affect air quality.
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Does COVID-19 spread in a hospital mean there’s an outbreak? Not anymore, says B.C. health ministry
Several B.C. hospitals and long term care facilities have seen a spike in COVID-19 cases recently according to the provincial health ministry, but these cases are not being named or reported publicly.
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Parents call for better air quality in schools to protect against viruses, wildfire smoke
Several grassroots groups of parents, health-care workers and teachers have sprung up across Canada to lobby for safer schools, including improved air quality.
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B.C. considers restarting mask mandate in hospitals: Health minister
British Columbians may soon be required to wear masks in hospitals once again.
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COVID-19 cases spike in B.C. but no more cases of new variant detected
British Columbia is experiencing a spike in COVID-19 numbers, with cases, test positivity, hospitalizations and deaths all up in recent weeks.
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Number with COVID-19 in B.C. hospitals has tripled since early August
The number of COVID-positive patients in B.C. hospitals has more than tripled in the last month, according to the latest data from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.
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B.C. hospital sees fast spread of COVID-19, but no outbreak declared due to ‘negative connotations’
Health-care workers at a hospital on Vancouver Island are sounding the alarm about the fast spread of COVID-19 at the facility in the last few weeks, after public health officials said they would not declare it an outbreak because of “negative connotations.”
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Topic: British ColumbiaView all posts for the topic: British Columbia
First-person stories from British Columbians
CW: cancer, surgery, medical negligence, denial of care, disability grief
As part of DoNoHarm BC’s #Postcards4PublicHealth campaign, we’ve invited British Columbians to share their stories about the lack of Covid safety in BC – particularly the loss of mask protections in healthcare. Many wrote directly to policy makers. Some generously gave us permission to share their stories with the public and the press.
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Four months after healthcare mask mandate dropped, a protest calls for its return
“It’s now obvious we’ve started a COVID surge with a new variant, right when flu and RSV [respiratory syncytial virus] are about to hit. Our healthcare system is on its knees. We have the tools, and we need to use them. Not restoring mask protections to healthcare would be criminal.”
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British Columbians protest calling to restore mask protections in healthcare
On Monday, August 28th at 12:00 pm, British Columbians will gather outside the MLA office of Health Minister Adrian Dix to demand the restoration of universal masking in healthcare settings, alongside other key safety measures like clean air. Echoing guidance from the WHO and calls from BC’s Human Rights Commissioner (and doctors and researchers worldwide), healthcare workers, patients and caregivers will tell their stories, and demand measures to protect the most vulnerable.
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