Even as Ontario began reopening its economy and returning to some semblance of normalcy this year, COVID-19 was wreaking havoc on the lives of older residents — killing them at higher rates than the past two waves, new data shows.
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Topic: indoor air qualityView all posts for the topic: indoor air quality
All Yukon classrooms will have HEPA filters soon
Every Yukon classroom will have a portable air filtration unit by the end of the school year, according to the territory’s Department of Education.
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Anti-vaccine protest in Canada spurs outrage
In a scene at odds with Canadians’ reputation for niceness and rule-following, thousands of protesters railing against vaccine mandates and other COVID-19 restrictions descended on the capital over the weekend, deliberately blocking traffic around Parliament Hill.
Some urinated and parked on the National War Memorial. One danced on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. A number carried signs and flags with swastikas.
In the aftermath of Canada’s biggest pandemic protest to date, the demonstrators have found little sympathy in a country where more than 80% are vaccinated. Many people were outraged by some of the crude behavior.
Comments closedTopic: human rightsView all posts for the topic: human rights
Human rights complaint filed against B.C. health-care authority over N95 respirator ban
A class complaint has been filed at the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal against a regional health-care authority over their policy prohibiting hospital patients and visitors from using N95 respirators.
The complaint was filed by Vancouver resident Lena Patsa on Wednesday against Fraser Health, the province’s largest health-care authority by population.
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High schoolers walk out to protest lax COVID policies
High school students across Manitoba walked out of class last Monday to demand improved COVID-19 safety measures as in-person learning resumes.
Organized by the group MB Students for COVID Safety, the walkout’s demands included the option to return to remote learning if students wish and increased funding for safety measures for those who prefer in-person learning.
Comments closedTopic: N95 respiratorsView all posts for the topic: N95 respirators
Burnaby mask maker that says B.C. isn’t following science donates 100K N95 respirators to teachers
Burnaby mask company Vitacore is being thanked by the union that represents B.C. teachers for donating 100,000 respirators to its members.
Comments closedTopic: OntarioView all posts for the topic: Ontario
Citing Omicron’s airborne ‘potential’, Ontario hospitals, LTC homes will now use N95 respirators with COVID patients
Ontario health officials are changing a key recommendation on the use of hospital personal protective equipment (PPE) in response to the “potential” that the highly-transmissible Omicron variant can spread at a distance through the air.
Health-care workers providing care to a “suspected or confirmed” COVID-19 patient in hospitals, long-term-care homes, or in a home-care situation will now be required to also use a “fit-tested, seal-checked N95 respirator,” according to interim guidance issued by Public Health Ontario Wednesday.
Comments closedTopic: hospital-acquired infectionsView all posts for the topic: hospital-acquired infections
1,619 people likely caught COVID-19 in B.C. hospitals and 274 of them have died
For the first time, B.C.’s Ministry of Health has provided information about people who likely caught COVID-19 after going to acute care settings for medical treatment or work, with 1,619 getting the virus and 274 of them dying.
Comments closedTopic: Newfoundland and LabradorView all posts for the topic: Newfoundland and Labrador
Osborne ‘optimistic’ about getting 4,000 air purifiers before school starts. But is it realistic?
Newfoundland and Labrador’s education minister says 4,000 classrooms across the province will likely have an air purification system by the time school starts in September.
Comments closedTopic: droplet dogmaView all posts for the topic: droplet dogma
Canada’s culture of silence on airborne virus transmission leaves many confused on how to best avoid infection
It’s the dog days of the pandemic. We continue to follow public health guidance, which is getting less restrictive, as we wait for vaccines to end this crisis. We have learned so much over the last year about how to better protect ourselves, including critical information that COVID is likely transmitted predominantly via airborne spread.
And yet, many of our infectious disease and public health specialists — including our chief medical officers of health — seem to be unable to say the word “airborne” or “aerosol” out loud, and instead continue to emphasize measures such as deep cleaning and plexiglass panels.
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How the COVID-19 pandemic lowered life expectancy in Canada last year
COVID-19 deaths led to a five-month decrease in life expectancy at birth last year, recent data released by Statistics Canada suggest, potentially putting the country at a level not seen in seven years.
Comments closedTopic: labour rightsView all posts for the topic: labour rights
Almonte hospital workers file grievance to access N95 masks
One of the country’s top arbitrators has been asked to settle a pandemic-related grievance filed by Almonte General Hospital health care workers, who want N95 respirators made available to them.
The hospital now issues N95 masks only to staff involved in aerosol-generating medical procedures, such as intubations.
Comments closedTopic: universal maskingView all posts for the topic: universal masking
Opinion: Want to save lives and the economy? We need mandatory masks laws
Mandatory public masking has been saving lives and leading to an earlier (and safer) reopening of societies around the world. Despite this, Canadian officials have been reticent to support this cheap, effective measure.
As of May 12, 13 U.S. states, including Illinois, New York and Massachusetts, and 84 countries, including Israel, Germany, Austria, Czechia and France, have laws mandating public masking. And zero Canadian jurisdictions.
Comments closedTopic: N95 respiratorsView all posts for the topic: N95 respirators
Ontario, Alberta change policy limiting N95 masks as health-care workers demand greater access
At least two provinces have bowed to union pressure to let some health professionals use specialized respirator face masks when treating COVID-19 patients, sparking concern among infection-control experts this will undermine health workers’ trust in their advice.
Alberta and Ontario have reached agreements with unions to allow some health-care workers to use N95 respirator masks if they feel it is necessary. Nova Scotia’s largest nursing union is now calling on provincial officials to do the same.
Comments closedTopic: OntarioView all posts for the topic: Ontario
Roughly 55 million N95 masks in Ontario expired before coronavirus hit
Millions of face masks stockpiled by Ontario in the aftermath of the SARS outbreak to protect healthcare workers during a future epidemic have expired, according to provincial officials and documents, raising questions about the readiness of Canada’s most populous province to deal with the spreading coronavirus.
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