Manitoba has detected an unknown number of cases of the latest Omicron subvariant, EG.5, of COVID-19 that has become dominant in the United States.
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Topic: British ColumbiaView all posts for the topic: British Columbia
Group warns of ‘tripledemic’ repeat without B.C. government action to combat COVID-19 in schools
Comments closedCurrently in B.C., we have no mask protections in schools, no proof of indoor air quality in schools including monitoring of carbon dioxide levels during full class occupancy, no [high-efficiency particulate air] filtration units available in most classrooms, almost non-existent [nucleic acid] testing, and only the occasional provincial public health report (and those reports we do see are of limited value).
Topic: ErisView all posts for the topic: Eris
What to know about EG.5, the latest Omicron subvariant in Canada
The hyperinfectious Omicron subvariant called EG.5 has been designated a variant of interest by the World Health Organization (WHO).
EG.5 has been circulating in Canada since at least May, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). The subvariant and its offshoots are estimated to have made up 36 per cent of cases in Canada between July 30 and August 5, according to PHAC.
Comments closedTopic: British ColumbiaView all posts for the topic: British Columbia
Dozens sign open letter urging ‘safe return to school’ amid respiratory illness concerns
With students returning to B.C. classrooms in four weeks, an open letter to the province is outlining five things the signatories say must be addressed to ensure “a safe return to school.”
Comments closedTopic: ErisView all posts for the topic: Eris
A new COVID-19 variant has emerged. Here’s what we know about EG.5 so far
A new SARS-CoV-2 variant has emerged, serving as a reminder that the pandemic is not over. The World Health Organization (WHO) has added EG.5 (includes EG.5.1) to the list of variants under monitoring (VUMs).
Comments closedTopic: opinionView all posts for the topic: opinion
The World of Health Privilege: Why The Rich Can Finally “Ignore” Covid (and You)
“It’s not public health to go around pretending everyone has access to the same protections and treatments, when they’re reserved for the rich. It’s not public health to tell anyone they can ignore a virus that disables 20 percent of those infected.”
Comments closedCTV News / The Canadian Press
August 4, 2023
Health Canada has approved the first vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) for adults age 60 and over, but its use may be “limited” during this fall’s respiratory virus season.
Comments closedTopic: researchView all posts for the topic: research
Scientists develop breath test that rapidly detects COVID-19 virus
Comments closedWith this test, there are no nasal swabs and no waiting 15 minutes for results, as with home tests. A person simply blows into a tube in the device, and an electrochemical biosensor detects whether the virus is there. Results are available in about a minute.
Topic: long COVIDView all posts for the topic: long COVID
Nouvelles études pour traiter la COVID-19 longue
The National Institutes of Health in the United States have begun a series of studies to test possible treatments for long COVID, a step eagerly awaited in the efforts of the United States to fight this mysterious disease that affects millions of people.
Comments closedJohn Snow Project
July 29, 2023
Comments closedCTV News / The Associated Press
July 29, 2023
Comments closedTopic: wastewater monitoringView all posts for the topic: wastewater monitoring
What’s the future of wastewater testing for COVID‑19?
Wastewater surveillance became an important tool for detecting COVID-19 outbreaks in communities throughout the pandemic, and it continues to be used in search for coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 as well as other pathogens.
But it’s unclear whether current levels of government funding to monitor wastewater for SARS-CoV-2 will continue beyond next year. Experts are calling on the federal government to create a standardized system for wastewater surveillance to bolster and replace the patchwork being used today.
Comments closedTopic: hospital-acquired infectionsView all posts for the topic: hospital-acquired infections
Hospital-acquired COVID infections worsened as the pandemic progressed, research finds
The chances of becoming infected with COVID-19 while hospitalized increased as the pandemic progressed, according to recent Canadian research.
In fact, significantly more Canadians became infected with hospital-acquired COVID-19 during the fifth and sixth waves of the pandemic — the first two Omicron waves from late 2021 until the spring of 2022 — than during earlier waves, according to the study published in the journal JAMA Network Open. Researchers looked at cases of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 between March 2020 and May 2022.
Comments closedTopic: long COVIDView all posts for the topic: long COVID
Fatigue Can Shatter a Person
Everyday tiredness is nothing like the depleting symptom that people with long COVID and ME/CFS experience.
Comments closedTopic: British ColumbiaView all posts for the topic: British Columbia
B.C. woman sentenced to 18 months probation for coughing at grocery employee during pandemic
A British Columbia judge has sentenced a Vancouver Island woman to 18 months of probation for deliberately coughing in the face of a grocery store employee and shoving her shopping cart into another worker during the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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