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Tag: COVID-19 Resources Canada

Advocates Urge BC to Reinstate Healthcare Mask Protections Amid Rising Risks

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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Opinion: This holiday season, let’s spread kindness, not COVID

It can be surprisingly simple to protect our health and the health of others — by masking in public with high-quality masks (such as KN95 or N95), testing before gatherings, increasing ventilation, and staying home if sick.

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B.C. posts highest COVID-19 hospitalizations since January in latest monthly update

The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in B.C. has risen to its highest level since January, according to the B.C. Centre for Disease Control’s latest monthly update.

There were 214 test-positive COVID patients in provincial hospitals as of Thursday, according to the BCCDC. That’s the second-highest total the agency has published all year, only slightly below the 219 seen on Jan. 4, the first – and still highest – total reported in 2024.

Thursday’s update showed the number of lab-confirmed cases rose each week in August, with 365 new positive tests recorded during the week of Aug. 4 to 10 and 462 recorded last week.

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No Longer an Official Emergency, COVID Remains a Crisis

British Columbia’s top doctor has ended the COVID-19 public health emergency, which began nearly 1,600 days ago on March 17, 2020.

Declaring COVID-19 a public health emergency gave provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry the ability to issue mask mandates, travel and gathering restrictions and vaccination requirements for health-care workers to curb the spread of the virus.

While experts The Tyee spoke with agree the public health emergency may no longer be needed, they stressed that COVID-19 still poses a serious and potentially deadly threat to the general public.

“COVID is still a major, ongoing health issue and crisis,” said Tara Moriarty, an associate professor at the University of Toronto, an infectious disease expert and co-founder of the COVID-19 Resources Canada database.

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COVID-19 experts warn of risks of summer surge as N.B. hazard index leads country

Two infectious disease experts are warning New Brunswickers about the risks of COVID-19 heading into the summer, when they say many people mistakenly believe infections decrease.

New Brunswick has the highest COVID-19 risk index in the country right now — more than double the national average, according to Tara Moriarty, an infectious disease researcher and lead of COVID-19 Resources Canada, which produces a weekly forecast.

The province is listed as “severe” for June 22 to July 5, with a score of 28.2, based on current infections and spread, health-care system impact and mortality. Canada’s overall rate is 13.6.

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How to stay informed on COVID-19

BC public health has made it too confusing to keep up on COVID-19 information. With the government changing information about COVID-19 data and obscuring data collection, knowingly downplaying risks about transmission, and overall unclear messaging, it’s no wonder people are misinformed.

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