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Tag: Canadian Covid Society

Topic: long COVIDView all posts for the topic: long COVID

1400 days with long COVID; the latest findings offering hope for a cure

Published April 25, 2026

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: Radio-Canada
Published on:
By Marie-Christine Gagnon

Although COVID-19 is no longer a hot topic, this disease still takes a toll on thousands of people who contract the virus and develop severe long-term symptoms. A meeting was held in Québec to discuss the latest findings on long COVID.

The daughter of Sylvain Thibault and Noémie Lévesque is 17 years old. She has been living with severe symptoms of long COVID since she was 13 years old, for 1400 days. Today, this teen’s daily routine is spent in bed for half the day. “She no longer has much of a life right now,” her father laments. “Her body is holding her back.”

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Topic: long COVIDView all posts for the topic: long COVID

Video | Doctors, patients raise awareness on Long COVID Awareness Day

Published March 15, 2026

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: CBC News BC
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Sunday marks International Long Covid Awareness Day, held annually on March 15. Six years after a global pandemic was declared, the affliction continues to be a battle for some long after their initial COVID-19 infection. The CBC’s Baneet Braich has more on the efforts to raise awareness about the illness.

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Topic: British ColumbiaView all posts for the topic: British Columbia

‘Abandoned and betrayed’: Removal of mask requirement in B.C. health care sparks outcry

Published April 1, 2025

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: Daily Hive
Published on:
By Amir Ali

We’ve come a long way from the days of general mask mandates for the public, but a recent move to eliminate the requirement in B.C. health care settings is causing some outcry.

According to a recent BC Ministry of Health release, “People are still encouraged to wear medical masks in health care settings as appropriate,” but it is not mandatory.

Some groups, including Protect Our Province BC and DoNoHarm BC, are questioning the decision. This response comes after B.C. announced that it was launching the spring immunization campaign on April 8.

Continue reading‘Abandoned and betrayed’: Removal of mask requirement in B.C. health care sparks outcry
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BC patients, health advocates slam removal of healthcare mask protectionsOrange, yellow and black graphic with an illustration of a person in an N95, fist raised, holding a sign that reads: Keep (and improve) masks in healthcare. Next to the DoNoHarm BC logo and a QR code, smaller text reads, New tools and actions: www.DoNoHarmBC.ca
Topic: British ColumbiaView all posts for the topic: British Columbia

BC patients, health advocates slam removal of healthcare mask protections

Published March 31, 2025

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: DoNoHarm BC
Published on:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DoNoHarm BC, Protect Our Province BC and the Canadian Covid Society warn the province’s decision endangers patients, healthcare workers, and the healthcare system

March 31, 2025 (British Columbia) – BC patients and health advocates are speaking out against the provincial government’s decision to drop healthcare mask requirements, at a time when there are multiple illness outbreaks in medical settings. Public health groups DoNoHarm BC, Protect Our Province BC, and the Canadian Covid Society warn that the move endangers vulnerable patients and frontline workers, while harming the sustainability and cost-effectiveness of BC’s healthcare system.

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Topic: VancouverView all posts for the topic: Vancouver

Long COVID sufferers converge outside the Vancouver Art Gallery to protest for better support

Published March 15, 2025

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: CTV News
Published on:
By Mina Kerr-Lazenby

Crowds of people suffering long COVID rallied outside the Vancouver Art Gallery Saturday afternoon to raise awareness of the debilitating effects felt by those still battling the disease.

People had gathered to call on the government to assist with funding for further research into symptoms and treatments, disability support, public awareness, and training for medical staff.

Via placards and speeches, protesters described their own various experiences and asked passers by and others in attendance to send letters to their MLA’s and MP’s, requesting support.

According to Statistics Canada, 3.5 million Canadians continue to suffer symptoms five years after the global outbreak of COVID-19.

Continue readingLong COVID sufferers converge outside the Vancouver Art Gallery to protest for better support
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Topic: QuebecView all posts for the topic: Quebec

Long COVID: “The small epidemic that has emerged from the pandemic”

Published March 15, 2025

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Published by: Radio-Canada
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By François Pouliot

“There are people who don’t believe that,” says Valérie, who was in front of the Quebec National Assembly on Saturday to mark the International Long COVID Awareness Day. After catching COVID-19 just over three years ago, she has never recovered.

After her brief visit to the public awareness event organized by the Canadian COVID Society on Saturday, “it’s the rest of my day coming to an end,” says Valérie. When she returns home, she knows that she will have to stay in bed and avoid all contact.

Continue readingLong COVID: “The small epidemic that has emerged from the pandemic”
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Topic: British ColumbiaView all posts for the topic: British Columbia

Mask Rules Are Back in BC Hospitals

Published January 9, 2025

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: The Tyee
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By Michelle Gamage

Masks are back for British Columbia’s health-care sector.

On Wednesday the province said it had reintroduced masking requirements for all health-care workers, volunteers, contractors, patients and visitors.

The masking requirements kicked off on Monday and will last for the duration of respiratory season, which usually ends once the weather improves in the spring.

Masks will be required “in areas where patients are actively receiving care, except when eating and/or drinking,” the Health Ministry said in a statement Wednesday.

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Topic: British ColumbiaView all posts for the topic: British Columbia

B.C. orders masks for hospitals, care facilities as flu, respiratory illness increase

Published January 8, 2025

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Published by: The Canadian Press
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VICTORIA – Medical masks are again required in British Columbia health-care facilities as provincial authorities say cases of respiratory illness are rising.

A statement from B.C.’s Health Ministry says workers, volunteers and visitors in facilities operated by provincial health authorities must wear masks in areas where patients are receiving care in order to prevent the spread of the flu, RSV and COVID-19.

The requirement spans hospitals, long-term care and assisted living facilities, outpatient clinics and ambulatory care settings, and it’s expected to remain in effect until the risk of illness decreases, likely in the spring.

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Topic: British ColumbiaView all posts for the topic: British Columbia

Masking required at all B.C. health-care facilities once again

Published January 8, 2025

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: CBC News
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Masks must again be worn in health-care facilities across B.C., according to the province’s Health Ministry.

In an email to CBC News, the Ministry of Health said the requirement came into effect on Jan. 6, and everyone in health-care facilities, including staff, patients, visitors and volunteers, must wear medical masks “in areas where patients are actively seeking care.”

The move is in response to what the ministry says is a rise in influenza and RSV infections in B.C. COVID-19, it said, is “stable but showing early signs of an increase.”

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Topic: AlbertaView all posts for the topic: Alberta

Over 300 COVID outbreaks hit Alberta acute care facilities last year

Published December 15, 2024

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: St. Albert Gazette
Published on:
By Brett McKay

The reality is that people are dying from COVID in our hospitals, and we really are doing very little to prevent them getting ill and getting infected. And we wouldn’t do the same for any other infectious disease.

— Dr. Joe Vipond, an emergency physician in Calgary and co-founder of the Canadian Covid Society
Continue readingOver 300 COVID outbreaks hit Alberta acute care facilities last year
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Advocates Urge BC to Reinstate Healthcare Mask Protections Amid Rising RisksBold yellow and charcoal graphic with an illustration of a person in an N95, fist raised, holding a sign that reads: There is no acceptable level of avoidable healthcare infections. WE NEED MASKS IN HEALTHCARE. Next to the DoNoHarm BC logo and a QR code, smaller text reads, Add your voice today: www.DoNoHarmBC.ca
Topic: British ColumbiaView all posts for the topic: British Columbia

Advocates Urge BC to Reinstate Healthcare Mask Protections Amid Rising Risks

Published December 10, 2024

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: DoNoHarm BC
Published on:

DoNoHarm BC, Protect Our Province BC and the Canadian Covid Society warn of infection risks in healthcare

December 10, 2024 (British Columbia, Canada) – Advocacy groups in BC are calling on policy-makers to immediately reinstate healthcare mask requirements. The call comes as BC faces severe risks from COVID-19, a rise in “walking pneumonia,” local measles warnings, and Canada’s first human case of H5N1 avian influenza – which health officials warn could potentially turn into another pandemic.

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The Risks of Killing a COVID Early Warning SystemPhoto of a person wearing an elastomeric respirator, with an outstretched, gloved hand reaching forward towards the viewer. On the light blue glove, the text reads: Stop COVID-19. With a bokeh effect, there is a sharp image of the glove, and the person’s face and respirator are blurred in the background. Photo: fernando zhiminaicela via Pixabay.
Topic: OntarioView all posts for the topic: Ontario

The Risks of Killing a COVID Early Warning System

Published August 1, 2024

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: The Tyee
Published on:
By Andrew Nikiforuk

COVID-19 is surging in parts of North America and Europe, and even played a role in ending the presidential campaign of 81-year-old Joe Biden, who was infected for the third time last month.

Nevertheless, on Wednesday the Ontario government shut down its early warning system to detect COVID and other emerging diseases.

Doctors, citizens and researchers are calling the decision to kill the province’s wastewater disease surveillance program both wrong-headed and dangerous. Ending the program will make it harder to track and thwart viral outbreaks, they say, and thereby increase the burden on Ontario’s understaffed hospitals, which experienced more than 1,000 emergency room closures last year.

“Pandemics do not end because science has been muzzled,” Dr. Iris Gorfinkel, a well-known Toronto physician and clinical researcher, told the CBC.

In emails to politicians, more than 5,000 citizens have demanded restoration of the program, with little effect.

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Topic: Ottawa-GatineauView all posts for the topic: Ottawa-Gatineau

Staying COVID-conscious is getting harder to do, advocates say that should change

Published July 20, 2024

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: Ottawa Citizen
Published on:
By Elizabeth Payne

It was a familiar scene, but one that is becoming less common in Ottawa and across the country.

On a recent Friday, people arriving for an outdoor concert and dance at Saw Gallery in downtown Ottawa were greeted with signs telling them that masks were mandatory. The same signs thanked them for supporting their community.

Participants happily complied. Some said they have continued to mask and seek out COVID-safe spaces since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. Others said they don’t always wear masks in public, but do so when there is a higher risk or they are protecting those who are more vulnerable.

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Topic: advocacyView all posts for the topic: advocacy

La Société canadienne de la COVID lancée pour contrer les effets à long terme

Published March 6, 2024

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: Radio-Canada
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A national not-for-profit group called the Canadian Covid Society was launched on Wednesday. Its co-founders say the organization is needed because public health agencies have given up on COVID-19 prevention and awareness campaigns.

“I feel that somehow we are filling a void that public health has left,” explained Dr. Joe Vipond, one of the society’s five co-founders, at a press conference.

In his home province of Alberta, “there is virtually no mention of COVID. There is no mention of long COVID. It really fell off the radar for a lot of public health at this point,” said Dr. Vipond, who is an emergency physician in Calgary.

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Topic: advocacyView all posts for the topic: advocacy

New Canadian Covid Society aims to address long-term effects

Published March 6, 2024

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: Global News / The Canadian Press
Published on:
By Nicole Ireland

A national non-profit group called the Canadian Covid Society launched on Wednesday, with co-founders saying the organization is needed as public health agencies have pulled back on COVID-19 prevention measures and awareness campaigns.

“I feel in some ways we’re filling a gap where public health has left open,” Dr. Joe Vipond, one of the society’s five co-founders, said at a news conference.

In his home province of Alberta, “there’s basically no mention of COVID. There’s no mention of long COVID. It’s really fallen off the radar for a lot of public health at this point,” said Vipond, who is an emergency physician in Calgary.

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Topic: advocacyView all posts for the topic: advocacy

Canadian Covid Society launches to address long-term effects, prevent further illness

Published March 6, 2024

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: CityNews / The Canadian Press
Published on:
By Nicole Ireland

A national non-profit group called the Canadian Covid Society launched on Wednesday, with co-founders saying the organization is needed as public health agencies have pulled back on COVID-19 prevention measures and awareness campaigns.

“I feel in some ways we’re filling a gap where public health has left open,” Dr. Joe Vipond, one of the society’s five co-founders, said at a news conference.

In his home province of Alberta, “there’s basically no mention of COVID. There’s no mention of long COVID. It’s really fallen off the radar for a lot of public health at this point,” said Vipond, who is an emergency physician in Calgary.

“While the acute phase of the pandemic has ended, the virus continues to cause significant chronic illness,” the Canadian Covid Society’s website says.

COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death across Canada in 2022, behind heart disease and cancer, it says.

“It still continues to be a stressor on our health system up to this present day. It is contributing to poor health and excess deaths,” said Dr. Kashif Pirzada, another co-founder of the society.

Continue readingCanadian Covid Society launches to address long-term effects, prevent further illness
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