Though case reporting doesn’t accurately reflect COVID-19 activity because of decreased testing and reporting, the number reported over the past month increased by 63%, with increased cases reported in three regions, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in its latest weekly update yesterday.
Comments closedTag: COVID-19
Topic: wastewater monitoringView all posts for the topic: wastewater monitoring
A look inside Waterloo Region’s wastewater surveillance program
You may not have heard as much about the spread of COVID-19 lately, but the threat remains.
Wastewater testing continues in Waterloo Region and over the last several weeks, it’s been picking up increased signals of the virus.
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Topic: Ottawa-GatineauView all posts for the topic: Ottawa-Gatineau
Ottawa-Gatineau community update | 2023‑08‑30
COVID-19 wastewater viral signal
The COVID-19 wastewater viral signal for Ottawa has increased substantially (+732%) since a low on July 12, 2023. The viral signal is still lower than the extremely high peaks in early January and early April.
Comments closedTopic: researchView all posts for the topic: research
COVID infection risk rises the longer you are exposed — even for vaccinated people
Prolonged exposure in close proximity to someone with COVID-19 puts people at high risk of catching the disease, even if they’ve had both the disease and vaccinations against it, a study shows.
Comments closedTopic: universal maskingView all posts for the topic: universal masking
School mask mandates again? Why some experts believe it’s a good idea
“Children are not going to wear masks unless there’s a mask mandate, because we saw how quickly kids stopped wearing masks when they didn’t have to. The peer pressure that affects children in school, it’s really extraordinary. We’re still going to need to make it a rule for children and young adults to wear masks in school.”
Comments closedTopic: disinformationView all posts for the topic: disinformation
It’s Time to “Cancel” Covid Minimizing Doctors
“We’ve had enough Covid minimizing. We’re tired of hearing “no cause for alarm” every single time a wave begins. We’ve done this for three years now. Every single time, there was a desperate need to bring back masks and install proper clean air technologies in our public spaces. Every single time, Covid minimizing doctors got in the way and stalled progress. We’ve had enough of the media outlets who continue to platform them.”
Comments closedTopic: life expectancyView all posts for the topic: life expectancy
L’espérance de vie diminue pour une deuxième année d’affilée au Canada
COVID-19 was the fourth leading cause of death, although it caused fewer deaths. More than 14,000 people died in 2021 due to the virus, compared to more than 16,000 deaths the previous year.
However, Statistics Canada notes that COVID-19 has hit younger groups more than in the first year of the pandemic.
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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.
Comments closedTopic: indoor air qualityView all posts for the topic: indoor air quality
Covid Closed the Nation’s Schools. Cleaner Air Can Keep Them Open.
C.D.C. researchers have estimated that air purifiers may decrease the exposure to aerosols — tiny floating droplets that might contain virus — by up to 65 percent.
Comments closedTopic: long COVIDView all posts for the topic: long COVID
Long COVID is debilitating children. Doctors worry there aren’t enough centers to treat them
Last month, the National Institutes of Health updated its considerations for long COVID to say the burden of the condition in children “may be quite large.” Studies estimating its prevalence in pediatric populations are limited and conflicting, estimating up to 25% of children infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus could go on to develop long COVID, though it’s more likely between 2% and 10%. Older children with existing chronic diseases or who had a more severe COVID-19 infection have an increased risk.
Comments closedTopic: OntarioView all posts for the topic: Ontario
COVID outbreak declared at Cambridge Memorial Hospital
Cambridge Memorial Hospital is declaring a COVID-19 outbreak in its Inpatient Surgery Unit.
Comments closedTopic: hospital-acquired infectionsView all posts for the topic: hospital-acquired infections
The CDC Doesn’t Care if You Get Sick and Die in The Hospital
“You might’ve heard the CDC is about to make things even more dangerous for patients when they vote on new, lower standards for infection control this November. This decision will hurt everyone. It will hurt doctors and nurses. It will hurt seniors. It will hurt children. It will hurt young, healthy adults (who goes to the hospital when they’re feeling great?) There’s only one small group it will help, and that’s healthcare CEOs and their bottom lines.”
Comments closedTopic: vaccinesView all posts for the topic: vaccines
Updated Covid-19 vaccines are coming mid-September, officials say
Covid-19 vaccines that have been tweaked to teach the body how to fend off the current crop of circulating variants are now expected to land in drugstores and clinics in mid-September, CDC and FDA officials said.
Comments closedTopic: British ColumbiaView all posts for the topic: British Columbia
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.”
Comments closedTopic: ChinaView all posts for the topic: China
Study: China saw almost 2 million excess deaths just after zero-COVID policy ended
In JAMA Network Open, authors describe how the all-cause mortality rate in China increased after the nation lifted its “zero COVID” policy, resulting in an estimated 1.87 million excess deaths during the first 2 months following the end of the policy.
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Topic: PirolaView all posts for the topic: Pirola
This latest covid variant could be the best yet at evading immunity
A highly mutated form of the coronavirus that threatens to be the most adept yet at slipping past the body’s immune defenses is capturing the attention of virologists and health officials.
Comments closedTopic: long COVIDView all posts for the topic: long COVID
Existential crisis: how long COVID patients helped us understand what it’s like to lose your sense of identity and purpose in life
Comments closedThis isn’t who I am – I don’t recognise myself. I panic if I get on the Tube and there’s no seat. It’s a very strange feeling, like not being in your own body. My fear is I’ll never really get better, and that I’m always going to be at 70% of my former self.
Topic: pandemic responseView all posts for the topic: pandemic response
COVID response confounds SARS expert
Comments closedWe don’t understand all the implications of long COVID. Basically, this virus gets into your body and it doesn’t leave. […] And it invades the lining of the blood vessels and every organ of your body.