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  • COVID-19 update for Feb. 5-6: Here’s the latest on coronavirus in B.C.

    COVID-19 update for Feb. 5-6: Here’s the latest on coronavirus in B.C.

    Here’s your daily update with everything you need to know on the novel coronavirus situation in B.C.

    Publishing date:

    Feb 06, 2022  •  9 hours ago  •  7 minute read  •  55 Comments

    Here's your daily update with everything you need to know on the novel coronavirus situation in B.C.
    Here’s your daily update with everything you need to know on the novel coronavirus situation in B.C. Photo by iStock/Getty Images Plus /PNG

    Here’s your daily update with everything you need to know on the novel coronavirus situation in B.C. for Feb. 5-6, 2022.

    We’ll provide summaries of what’s going on in B.C. right here so you can get the latest news at a glance. This page will be updated regularly throughout the day, with developments added as they happen.

    Check back here for more updates throughout the day. You can also get the latest COVID-19 news delivered to your inbox weeknights at 7 p.m. by subscribing to our newsletter here.

    B.C.’S COVID-19 CASE NUMBERS

    As of the latest figures given on Feb. 4:

    • Total number of confirmed cases: 330,942 (25,479 active)
    • New cases: 1,799
    • Total deaths: 2,675 (19 new deaths)
    • Hospitalized cases: 946
    • Intensive care: 139
    • Total vaccinations: 4,486,817 received first dose (90{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of eligible pop. 5+); 4,199,246 second doses (84.2{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}); 2,227,223 third doses (51.5{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of adults)
    • Recovered from acute infection: 301,573
    • Long-term care and assisted-living homes, and acute care facilities currently affected: 58

    IN-DEPTH:   Here are all the B.C. cases of the novel coronavirus in 2021 | in 2020

    B.C. GUIDES AND LINKS

    • COVID-19: B.C.’s vaccine passport is here and this is how it works

    • COVID-19: Afraid of needles? Here’s how to overcome your fear and get vaccinated

    • COVID-19: Here’s where to get tested in Metro Vancouver

    • B.C. COVID-19 Symptom Self-Assessment Tool

    LATEST NEWS on COVID-19 in B.C.

    Orca Realty says “rogue individual” drove company van in anti-vax rally

    A Vancouver real estate company has apologized after one of its vehicles was used in the anti-vax rally held in the city over the weekend — blaming a “rogue” individual.

    According to a statement posted on Sunday on the Orca Realty website, “Orca Realty did not participate in this convoy protest today. Orca Realty would never be part of this ever. We are reaching out to find out exactly who drove a vehicle with our name on it in this rally. We apologize profusely for this horrible incident. This was a rogue individual and in no way reflects the beliefs of Orca Realty or Orca Realty ownership.”

    The black Mercedes van with Orca Realty markings was photographed among the rally of vehicles that travelled from Langley to downtown Vancouver on Saturday.

    Hundreds converge on Vancouver to oppose health mandates

    Protesters disrupted the route of a truck convoy and other vehicles that travelled from Langley to downtown Vancouver on Saturday in opposition to COVID-19 health mandates and to show support for the “Freedom Convoy” that converged in Ottawa last weekend.

    At Kingsway and Broadway streets, protesters stood and biked in front of the convoy, blocking traffic until police temporarily rerouted several large trucks, to the cheers of protesters.

    “I don’t necessarily love the idea of blocking roads, because it does make things worse for any type of emergency service and ruins everyone’s day,” said a protester named Madeline, who called the convoy of trucks an act of racism, “because it’s throwing that in the face and billions of people in the world that don’t have access to that health care.”

    “But it was really good to see the trucks turn around,” she added.

    Read the full story here .

    — Nathan Griffiths, Tiffany Crawford

    Ottawa protesters outnumber police and are in control: Mayor

    Protesters camped out in the Canadian capital outnumber the police and control the situation, the Ottawa’s mayor said on Sunday, as a demonstration against vaccine mandates clogged parts of the city for a 10th day.

    The “Freedom Convoy” began as a movement against a Canadian vaccine requirement for cross-border truckers but has turned into a rallying point against public health measures and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government.

    Protesters have paralyzed downtown Ottawa for the past nine days, with some participants waving Confederate or Nazi flags and some saying they wanted to dissolve Canada’s government.

    “The situation at this point is completely out of control because the individuals with the protest are calling the shots,” Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson said on a local radio station. “They have far more people than we have police officers.”

    Read the full story here .

    — Reuters

    Vancouver Giants cancel home game over COVID concerns

    The Vancouver Giants‘ game against the Seattle Thunderbirds scheduled for Sunday afternoon at the Langley Events Centre has been put off due to COVID-19 issues with the Giants.

    In a statement, the Western Hockey League said it is “working in consultation with the WHL chief medical officer regarding the matter concerning the Vancouver Giants. Information on the rescheduling of Sunday’s game between the Thunderbirds and Giants will be provided at a later date.”

    The Giants are slated to visit the Kelowna Rockets on Wednesday.

    Read the full story here .

    — Steve Ewen

    U.S. surpasses 900,000 COVID deaths

    The coronavirus pandemic reached a grim new milestone in the United States on Friday with the nation’s cumulative death toll from COVID-19 surpassing 900,000, even as the daily number of lives lost has begun to level off, according to data collected by Reuters.

    The latest tally marks an rise of more than 100,000 U.S. COVID-19 fatalities since Dec. 12, coinciding with a surge of infections and hospitalizations driven by the highly contagious Omicron variant of the virus.

    Preliminary evidence has shown that Omicron, while far more infectious, generally causes less severe illness than earlier iterations of the virus, such as Delta. But the sheer volume of Omicron cases fuelled a surge in hospitalizations that has strained many U.S. health care systems to their limits in recent weeks.

    Experts have said the bulk of Omicron patients requiring hospitalization were unvaccinated individuals and people with other underlying chronic health conditions.

    Read the full story here .

    — Reuters

    Preparing for whatever post-pandemic’s ‘business as usual’ looks like

    The COVID pandemic has permanently changed things for theatre companies, tourism operators and event organizers, even though the rest of society wants to get back to normal.

    “(The pandemic) teaches me … that our business model has to be fluid and that you can’t get frustrated with endless planning cycles,” said Peter Cathie White, executive director of the Arts Club Theatre.

    So, while Cathie White is confident that patrons will get the same old in-theatre experience when the Arts Club raises the curtain on its production of Kim’s Convenience at the Stanley Industrial Stage on Feb. 24 (with everyone around them wearing masks), behind the scenes, things work a little differently.

    There are plans to use understudies in case of illness, and preparations to move shows if another COVID variant shows up, as well as to “COVID-proof ourselves to the best of our ability,” Cathie White said.

    The pandemic hasn’t finished with B.C. The province reported 1,799 new COVID cases Friday with 946 British Columbians still in hospital, 139 of whom are in intensive care, and 19 deaths in the last 24 hours.

    Read full story here .

    — Derrick Penner

    GoFundMe shuts down truck convoy fundraiser

    GoFundMe said it has removed the ‘Freedom Convoy 2022’ fundraiser from its website, citing reports of violence and harassment.

    In a statement Friday, the online fundraising platform said it believed the truck convoy, which made its way from B.C. and other parts of Canada to Ottawa last weekend and started with the intention of protesting vaccine mandates, was originally intended to be peaceful.

    “We now have evidence from law enforcement that the previously peaceful demonstration has become an occupation, with police reports of violence and other unlawful activity,” it said.

    The fundraiser has raised more than $10 million for the truckers and demonstrators protesting COVID-19 mandates in Ottawa.

    946 hospitalizations, 19 deaths

    The COVID-19 pandemic’s death toll continues to mount as B.C. records one of its highest single-day totals.

    On Friday, 19 COVID-related deaths were reported across the province, the second-highest daily tally this year, topped only by Jan. 26’s 21 deaths.

    Five of the deaths occurred in Fraser Health, six in Vancouver Coastal, six in Island Health, and two in Northern Health.

    There are 946 people who tested positive for COVID who are currently in hospital, 39 less than yesterday’s 985. Hospitalization figures include both those who were admitted to hospital with severe COVID-19 symptoms and those who happened to test positive while admitted to hospital for other reasons.

    DEATHS BY HEALTH AUTHORITY

    B.C. VACCINE TRACKER

    WHAT’S HAPPENING ACROSS CANADA

    LOCAL RESOURCES for COVID-19 information

    Here are a number of information and landing pages for COVID-19 from various health and government agencies.

    • B.C. COVID-19 Symptom Self-Assessment Tool

    • Vancouver Coastal Health — Information on Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)

    • HealthLink B.C. — Coronavirus (COVID-19) information page

    • B.C. Centre for Disease Control — Novel coronavirus (COVID-19)

    • Government of Canada — Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): Outbreak update

    • World Health Organization — Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak

    —with files from The Canadian Press

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  • February 4 update from Health Department on COVID-19 cases

    February 4 update from Health Department on COVID-19 cases

    The Tompkins County Health Office says there have now been 17,058 whole optimistic scenarios in Tompkins County, 75 additional than on Thursday, with a whole of 1,788,474 assessments executed. The Well being Office is shifting its facts reporting as of this 7 days, and will no extended contain lively instances or unveiled from isolation statistics, and will not have updates about the weekend.

    The Overall health Section is also now reporting beneficial self-exam effects that have been submitted via their online portal. They say there are 12 new favourable self-examination effects today for a overall of 1,562 submitted.

    Linked: TCHD: If you check constructive on an at-home examination

    As of Friday at 7:45am, the Health and fitness Office claims 2,262 checks were performed considering the fact that the last update. The Tompkins County Wellness Office publishes NYS vaccine tracking data, showing 83,373 Tompkins County residents have a very first dose and 75,776 have accomplished vaccination (which could be 1 or two doses, depending on vaccine).

    The Health Office claims 15 persons are now hospitalized for COVID-19, the exact as in Thursday’s update. As of a change in information final wintertime, “TCHD is reporting only lively scenarios who are hospitalized,” alternatively than which include people recovered from COVID who keep on being hospitalized for other factors.

    There have been 54 deaths from COVID-19 recorded amongst Tompkins County people, like the loss of life of one location resident reported Tuesday early morning.

    Tompkins County Public Wellbeing Director Frank Kruppa suggests, “of the the latest uptick in hospitalizations, a large bulk have been of unvaccinated persons. Of the couple of vaccinated persons who have been hospitalized, the trend holds that they have been admitted for a non-COVID linked issue and analyzed constructive upon admittance.”

    On February 3, Cornell College described 34 new good circumstances for February 2, 94 energetic scholar scenarios, and 46 active staff circumstances. Cornell only updates its dashboard on weekdays, and the timing of their updates does not make it possible for a immediate comparison to the county’s figures.

    As of February 3, Ithaca College reported 7 energetic pupil circumstances, with 347 recovered, and 9 lively personnel instances and 123 recovered workforce.

    “All constructive conditions are exceptional men and women,” the Wellbeing Office says. Some of the negative examination results are men and women necessary to be tested various periods, and so this rely is probable to mirror the exact human being many situations in a lot of situations.

    The Wellbeing Department states its data involve screening that Cornell College started conducting on July 16, 2020. Cornell released its personal COVID-19 info dashboard on August 25, 2020.

    Associated: New Cornell COVID-19 dashboard shows check effects and alert level

    The Health Office suggests the public wants to reduce the distribute of COVID-19 not just to protect them selves, but many others in our neighborhood who are most vulnerable to having incredibly sick – older grownups, those who are immune-compromised, and those with underlying chronic health and fitness circumstances. Absolutely everyone can get these techniques to halt the distribute of COVID-19 and “flatten the curve” in our local community.

    TCHD’s Frank Kruppa claims, “There is a extremely high vaccination amount for our neighborhood, in particular with the successes that have been noted by our local colleges. In addition to the arrival and surveillance tests, several of our new conditions are arising from sustained near make contact with with a good particular person, that means far more than 10 minutes inside of 6 feet of a constructive situation. These near contacts are transpiring a lot more often in big indoor gatherings that blend unique groups of men and women.”

    “Tompkins County is now in the ‘High’ transmission amount as defined by the CDC,” the Overall health Division says. “High transmission fee takes place when there are more than 100 optimistic conditions for every 100,000 people above a 7-day period of time. The advisory for County citizens to put on a mask indoors whilst all-around others proceeds to be in location.”

    For more, stick to 14850.com on Fb, Instagram, and Twitter or subscribe to the 14850 Journal Every day newsletter.

    Associated: Coronavirus coverage in 14850 Now

  • Missouri is struggling to update its health care technology

    Missouri is struggling to update its health care technology

    In October, when Jamie Taylor’s domestic regular income match in new point out profits limitations immediately after Missouri’s 2021 enlargement of Medicaid, she utilized for overall health coverage. She been given a rejection letter in just days, stating that her earnings exceeded the suitable limit.

    It was the latest blow in Taylor’s ongoing marketing campaign to get guidance from Missouri’s security net. Taylor, 41, has expended hrs on the cellular phone, enduring 4-hour hold instances and dropped calls. Time-sensitive files ended up mailed to her residence in Sikeston but by the time they arrived she had minor time to act.

    Her hottest rejection – she would later on discover out – resulted from a preprogrammed glitch in her software that a technician enrolling her failed to capture.

    Taylor’s struggles to get a profit she was in point capable for are not uncommon in Missouri or nationally. They stem from really out-of-date technological know-how applied by a humongous world wide web of governing administration companies, from regional general public well being to state-operate added benefits applications. Matt Salo, the Countrywide Affiliation of Point out Medicaid Directors government director, phone calls the need to have for engineering upgrades “the following excellent obstacle that federal government has to clear up.”

    The COVID crisis exposed just how antiquated and sick-outfitted lots of units are to cope with the unparalleled demand. When private-sector firms beefed up the capability to stream Tv reveals, established applications for food deliveries, and moved workplaces on the internet, some community health officials tracked COVID outbreaks by fax device.

    020322_provided_KHNheadshot.jpeg
    Jamie Taylor dealt with four-hour hold moments and dropped calls when attempting to secure general public benefits in Missouri. Other people have encountered comparable challenges across the nation as the pandemic has highlighted the pitfalls of dated federal government technologies.

    Jamie Taylor dealt with four-hour keep occasions and dropped phone calls whilst hoping to protected public advantages in Missouri. Other people have encountered related challenges across the nation as the pandemic has highlighted the pitfalls of dated authorities technologies.

    But momentum is finally setting up for government tech updates. With once-in-a-era pools of funds available from pandemic reduction funding and larger than envisioned tax revenues, some attempts are underway. President Joe Biden issued an govt purchase in December contacting on rewards enrollment to be streamlined. Point out lawmakers are urging the use of unspent COVID relief dollars to handle the concern.

    That’s vital because outdated information and facts programs can cause ripple results through the community advantages process, according to Jessica Kahn, who is a associate at the McKinsey & Co. consulting agency and earlier led facts and units for Medicaid at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Products and services. A single example: Really hard-to-navigate on the web gains apps can press extra applicants to get in touch with mobile phone help traces. That can pressure phone centers that, like quite a few industries, are obtaining issues meeting staffing wants.

    Some states are presently eyeing enhancements:

    In Wisconsin, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has directed up to $80 million to exchange the state’s previous unemployment infrastructure.

    Kansas is among the the initial states performing with the U.S. Division of Labor’s newly created Office environment of Unemployment Insurance Modernization set to handle $2 billion in money appropriated by the American Rescue Plan Act last 12 months.

    In Missouri, a bipartisan condition Senate committee proposed applying surplus COVID relief resources for the Section of Social Providers to update the reward personal computer methods. The division also has proposed utilizing federal pandemic funds on artificial intelligence to approach some 50,000 files for every week. That perform is at present performed manually at an ordinary of two minutes for each doc.

    Underfunding is nothing new to community wellness and protection-internet programs. General public officials have been hesitant to allocate the income important to overhaul dated laptop or computer systems — jobs that can value tens of millions of pounds. But even when the cash is there, new heritage suggests these advancements could be less complicated stated than accomplished.

    A lot more than 10 many years in the past, the Obama administration invested $36 billion to acquire and mandate the countrywide use of electronic wellbeing records for individuals. Despite the billions invested, the digitizing of patients’ information has been plagued with challenges. Indeed, to advantage from the new Biden administration prerequisite that insurers reimburse them for immediate exams, clients have to fax or mail in promises and receipts.

    The Reasonably priced Care Act also available a likelihood to increase condition know-how infrastructure. From 2011 as a result of 2018, the federal authorities offered to address up to 90{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of the money important to replace or update previous Medicaid IT units, quite a few of which have been programmed in COBOL, a pc programming language dating to 1959. All those updates could have benefited other elements of the authorities basic safety web as well, considering the fact that point out-administered support programs commonly share engineering and personnel.

    But, Salo says, the ACA necessary these new Medicaid computer system devices to communicate instantly with the health and fitness treatment exchanges created under the law. States faced various levels of difficulties. Tennessee applications got missing, leading to a course-action lawsuit. Several states by no means absolutely overhauled their gain devices.

    Through the pandemic, tech issues became not possible to ignore. Amid the early lockdowns, hundreds of thousands of individuals waited months for unemployment support as states this kind of as New Jersey, Kansas, and Wisconsin struggled to plan recently developed advantages into existing computer software. Area and point out vaccine registration websites were plagued with so quite a few complications they were being inaccessible to many, including blind people, a violation of federal incapacity legislation.

    In Missouri, in which Jamie Taylor life, a 2019 McKinsey assessment of the state’s Medicaid plan observed the system was designed up of about 70 components, partly created in just a mainframe from 1979, that was “not positioned to satisfy both equally present-day and potential requirements.”

    In a 2020 report for the point out, Office of Social Providers staffers called the benefits enrollment method “siloed” and “created on workarounds,” while members identified as it “dehumanizing.”

    Taylor professional that initially-hand. 8 several years back, a mysterious professional medical problem compelled her out of the workforce, causing her to drop her task-primarily based well being insurance coverage. At different instances, she’s been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s ailment, gastritis, inflammatory bowel sickness, and gastroparesis, but lacking insurance policy and not able to qualify for Medicaid, she was compelled to search for treatment in crisis rooms. She has been hospitalized repeatedly above the a long time. She believed her clinical personal debt tops $100,000.

    At the behest of clinic social workers, Taylor used for Medicaid, the federal-point out community health insurance plan for people today with very low incomes, six times commencing in 2019, even though she didn’t meet up with the state’s profits necessities that ended up between the lowest in the country prior to voters accepted growing the application. Her very first two rejection letters started, “Very good information,” a mistake point out officers blame on a programming mistake.

    The October rejection was the most heartbreaking for the reason that that time she knew she certified under the state’s new recommendations.

    At a loss, Taylor reached out to state Rep. Sarah Unsicker. The Democratic lawmaker represents a district 145 miles away in St. Louis, but Taylor experienced witnessed her championing Medicaid expansion on Twitter. Following Unsicker queried the division, she realized that a default response in her application that a technician enrolling her skipped is what experienced disqualified Taylor from obtaining Medicaid. It incorrectly listed her as receiving Medicare — the community insurance developed for more mature Us citizens that Taylor does not qualify for.

    “In 24 hrs, I had a message back again from Sarah indicating that an additional letter was on the way and I must be significantly happier with the remedy,” Taylor remembers.

    Ultimately enrolled in Medicaid, Taylor is now battling to get nourishment support, called SNAP, which in Missouri is processed as a result of a different eligibility procedure. Medicaid and SNAP applications are merged in 31 states, in accordance to a 2019 investigation from the Code for America advocacy group. But not in hers. The applications have equivalent income specifications, but Taylor was not ready to verify her revenue more than the phone for SNAP as she could for Medicaid.

    Alternatively, she obtained a letter on Nov. 26 requesting her tax returns by Nov. 29. By the time she was capable to identify and electronic mail those documents on Dec. 1, she had been denied. Each get in touch with to form out the challenge has been fulfilled with keep occasions upward of 4 hours or queues so whole that her get in touch with receives dropped, she said.

    “It just doesn’t make sense to me why Medicaid can validate my tax cash flow around the cellular phone, but SNAP wants me to ship them a duplicate of the whole matter,” Taylor suggests.

    Sooner or later, she gave up and started off the total method over. She’s nonetheless ready.

    KHN (Kaiser Overall health News) is a nationwide newsroom that creates in-depth journalism about health troubles. KHN is an editorially independent procedure application of KFF (Kaiser Family members Basis). KFF is an endowed nonprofit firm delivering information on wellbeing problems to the nation.
    Copyright 2022 Kaiser Well being Information. To see extra, pay a visit to Kaiser Health and fitness Information.

  • COVID-19 update for Feb. 5-6: Here’s the latest on coronavirus in B.C.

    COVID-19 update for Feb. 2: Here’s the latest on coronavirus in B.C.

    Here’s your daily update with everything you need to know on the novel coronavirus situation in B.C.

    Publishing date:

    Feb 02, 2022  •  10 hours ago  •  7 minute read  •  101 Comments

    Here's your daily update with everything you need to know on the novel coronavirus situation in B.C.
    Here’s your daily update with everything you need to know on the novel coronavirus situation in B.C. Photo by iStock/Getty Images Plus /PNG

    Here’s your daily update with everything you need to know on the novel coronavirus situation in B.C. for Feb. 2, 2022.

    We’ll provide summaries of what’s going on in B.C. right here so you can get the latest news at a glance. This page will be updated regularly throughout the day, with developments added as they happen.

    Check back here for more updates throughout the day. You can also get the latest COVID-19 news delivered to your inbox weeknights at 7 p.m. by subscribing to our newsletter here.

    B.C.’S COVID-19 CASE NUMBERS

    As of the latest figures given on Feb. 2:

    • Total number of confirmed cases: 327,625 (25,959 active)
    • New cases: 1,236
    • Total deaths: 2,643 (18 new deaths)
    • Hospitalized cases: 988
    • Intensive care: 136
    • Total vaccinations: 4,483,908 received first dose (90{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of eligible pop. 5+); 4,191,486 second doses (84.1{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}); 2,176,872 third doses (50.3{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of adults)
    • Recovered from acute infection: 293,488
    • Long-term care and assisted-living homes, and acute care facilities currently affected: 54

    IN-DEPTH:   Here are all the B.C. cases of the novel coronavirus in 2021 | in 2020

    B.C. GUIDES AND LINKS

    • COVID-19: B.C.’s vaccine passport is here and this is how it works

    • COVID-19: Afraid of needles? Here’s how to overcome your fear and get vaccinated

    • COVID-19: Here’s where to get tested in Metro Vancouver

    • B.C. COVID-19 Symptom Self-Assessment Tool

    LATEST NEWS on COVID-19 in B.C.

    Number of people in hospital falls as 18 people die

    Latest health data shows that 279 people were admitted to hospital over the past day either because of COVID-19, or for other reasons but they tested positive upon arrival.

    According to provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry around 40 per cent of all COVID-19 cases in hospital are there because of the disease.

    There are now 988 people in total in hospital that have COVID-19. There are 136 people who are seriously sick with the disease and being treated in intensive care.

    There were 1,776 cases reported over the past day and 25,959 active cases. Both these numbers are understated by a factor of four due to limited PCR testing.

    Eighteen people died because of COVID-19 over the past day, with that total now at 2,643.

    More provinces preparing to loosen COVID-19 restrictions in coming weeks

    More provinces are loosening COVID-19 restrictions as hospitalizations in some parts of the country appear to plateau, but health officials caution that eased measures could lead to increased infections in the coming weeks.

    “We really certainly hope that we will not have to get back (to restrictions) in any way, but there’s a risk,” said Dr. Luc Boileau, Quebec’s interim director of public health.

    COVID-19 hospitalizations in Quebec dropped Wednesday by 122 to 2,730, and the number of people in intensive care decreased by 14 to 204.

    Quebec released modelling that showed the decrease may not last long. Boileau said the number of infections, and ultimately hospitalizations, is likely to rise again with children going back to school and the softening of health measures.

    Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, said the daily number of people with COVID-19 in hospitals is dipping slightly at the national level. But, she added, it remains high and is still rising in some jurisdictions.

    “Where some public health measures are easing, layers of personal protective practices remain crucial for reducing spread and preventing resurgence,” she said in a social media post.

    Alberta and Saskatchewan reported record numbers of people in hospital with COVID-19 this week as both provinces announced plans to remove vaccine passport requirements by the end of the month.

    Read the full story here.

    — Canadian Press

    Lockdowns only reduced COVID deaths by 0.2 per cent, Johns Hopkins study finds

    A new study out of Johns Hopkins University is claiming that worldwide pandemic lockdowns only prevented 0.2 per cent of COVID-19 deaths and were “not an effective way of reducing mortality rates during a pandemic.”

    “We find no evidence that lockdowns, school closures, border closures, and limiting gatherings have had a noticeable effect on COVID-19 mortality,” reads the paper, which is based on a review of 34 pre-existing COVID-19 studies.

    Given the “devastating effects” that lockdowns have caused, the authors recommended they be “rejected out of hand as a pandemic policy instrument.”

    In both Europe and the United States, researchers found that a lockdown could only be expected to bring down mortality rates by 0.2 per cent “as compared to a COVID-19 policy based solely on recommendations.” For context, 0.2 per cent of total Canadian COVID-19 fatalities thus far is equal to about 70 people.

    The impact of border closures was found to be even less effective, with death rates only going down about 0.1 per cent.

    Read the full story here.

    — Tristin Hopper, National Post

    Seniors advocate welcomes new long term care rules, but outbreak murkiness presents ‘risk’

    Every long term care resident in B.C. can now choose a designated visitor who will be granted unlimited visits even if an outbreak is declared in the facility.

    Provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, Tuesday said this effort is in “adjusting our outbreak management approach in long term care.”

    “We are acutely aware of the impact of the extended social isolation that comes with the full closures of long term care homes,” said Henry. “And we’ve been trying to find the balance between limiting the risks to residents in long term care, minimizing transmission of the virus as well as having that all-important contact with loved ones.”

    B.C.’s seniors advocate and families of long term care residents have been calling for that change for close to a year.

    Read full story here.

    —Lisa Cordasco

    These doctors and COVID-19 experts are pushing for quicker return to pre-pandemic normal

    It’s been a tough two years in the intensive care unit of Dr. Kwadwo Kyeremanteng’s Ottawa hospital.

    The hours have been horrendous and burnout among staff widespread, not least due to a unique characteristic of the COVID-19 sufferers who have flooded the ward.

    While the typical ICU patient is unconscious for much of his or her stay, those with COVID often arrive awake and can chat with the doctors and nurses, which makes it all the harder when some grow desperately ill and succumb to the virus, said Kyeremanteng, the unit’s head.

    “You could have a conversation with them, they’re relatable,” he said. “That was a very under-recognized source of stress.”

    But despite the pressures of grappling head-on with the world’s worst public-health crisis in generations, Kyeremanteng has a perhaps surprising take on the pandemic and its impact.

    As some of his colleagues balk at any easing yet of public-health restrictions, the critical-care specialist is pushing for schools to move more quickly toward open, pre-pandemic norms, and questions the need for some of the other limits still in place.

    Read the full story here.

    —Tom Blackwell

    COVID-19 vaccine for toddlers in B.C. will not happen in the short term, says provincial health officer

    Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says a COVID-19 vaccine for infants and toddlers will not arrive in B.C. in the short term.

    Henry was reacting to news that Pfizer had been asked by U.S. health regulators to accelerate its application for emergency approval of a vaccine that could be used in people aged six months to four years.

    At the moment, vaccines are approved for use in Canada and the U.S. for anyone aged five and up.

    In a statement released on Tuesday, Pfizer said it had begun submitting data to U.S. regulators including the Food and Drug Administration for authorization of its vaccine for children under five. This was done at the request of the FDA.

    A panel of outside advisers is scheduled to meet Feb. 15 to consider the request, with the agency stating it wants a vaccine available for this age group as a matter of priority.

    B.C. registers nine deaths over past day

    The B.C. Ministry of Health is reporting nine new COVID-19 deaths over the past day, bringing that total to 2,625. There were 1,236 new cases reported, and 28,302 active cases of the disease in B.C. — both these numbers are underestimates due to limited PCR testing being done.

    Interior Health is now accounting for more cases than any other health authority, despite it being smaller than Vancouver Coastal Health and Fraser Health. According to the  ministry, there were 406 new cases reported in Interior Health compared to 253 in Fraser Health and 212 in Vancouver Coastal Health.

    There are now 55 active outbreaks in health-care facilities, mostly in long-term care homes.

    DEATHS BY HEALTH AUTHORITY

    B.C. VACCINE TRACKER

    WHAT’S HAPPENING ACROSS CANADA

    LOCAL RESOURCES for COVID-19 information

    Here are a number of information and landing pages for COVID-19 from various health and government agencies.

    • B.C. COVID-19 Symptom Self-Assessment Tool

    • Vancouver Coastal Health – Information on Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)

    • HealthLink B.C. – Coronavirus (COVID-19) information page

    • B.C. Centre for Disease Control – Novel coronavirus (COVID-19)

    • Government of Canada – Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): Outbreak update

    • World Health Organization – Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak

    –with files from The Canadian Press

    Comments

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  • COVID-19 update for Henderson, Kentucky, and Green River District

    COVID-19 update for Henderson, Kentucky, and Green River District

    COVID-19 update for Henderson, Kentucky, and Green River District

    HENDERSON, Ky. — With the number of new COVID-19 cases in the region showing a significant decline in the latest update from the Green River District Health Department Tuesday, health officials are warning people to stay cautious as incidence rates remain “extremely high.” 

    The health department reported 1,729 new cases in the seven-county district, with 299 in Henderson County. There were 874 cases in Daviess County, 185 in Ohio County, 118 in Webster, 96 in Union, 87 in McLean and 70 in Hancock. Four COVID-related deaths reported were three residents of Daviess County and one resident of Hancock County.

    The GRDHD’s report spans four days from Jan. 28-31. In its previous report Friday, the health department counted 2,533 cases and six deaths. Tuesday’s report marked the first decrease in new case numbers since early November.

  • 2,694 hospitalized, 3,947 new cases

    2,694 hospitalized, 3,947 new cases

    INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Section of Wellbeing described 2,694 folks hospitalized with COVID-19 along with 3,947 new beneficial instances in its latest update.

    There are some promising signals that the omicron wave is letting up. Hospitalizations are dropping sharply although the positivity price is eventually on the drop.

    The agency’s dashboard puts the state’s 7-day all-take a look at positivity charge at 29.6{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} with a amount of 44.8{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} optimistic for distinctive folks.

    The omicron variant is dominant in Indiana, in accordance to point out details, accounting for 87.8{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of samples examined. Delta, which experienced beforehand been the dominant strain in the point out, was located in 12{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of samples examined.

    Dashboard knowledge signifies instances and fatalities that transpired about a range of dates but were being claimed to the condition in the very last 24 hours, according to the Indiana Office of Health and fitness.

    The company claimed 6,170 more Hoosiers are now fully vaccinated. To date, 3,734,020 1st doses of the two-dose vaccine have been administered and 3,643,508 people are absolutely vaccinated. The state has administered a lot more than 1.6 million booster doses.

    • The county metric map for January 26, 2022
    • Monitoring the state’s county transmission map from Oct. 7, 2021, by means of Jan. 26, 2022

    The County Metric map demonstrates all 92 Indiana counties in Red, with zero in the Orange, Yellow or Blue groups.

    The map is up to date every single Wednesday. The weekly score is determined by every county’s Weekly Instances For each 100,000 residents and its 7-Day All Take a look at Positivity Level.

    Given that the get started of the pandemic, the point out has claimed 1,623,439 total favourable scenarios and 20,556 verified COVID-19 fatalities. There are also 800 probable COVID-19 fatalities in which a health practitioner listed COVID-19 as a contributing result in of loss of life but no constructive take a look at was documented.

    The hottest hospitalization numbers present 2,694 whole COVID-19 individuals: 2,406 verified and 288 below investigation. IDOH noted a history 3,519 COVID-19 hospitalizations on Jan. 13. In advance of the omicron surge, the earlier highwater mark was 3,460 sufferers in late November 2020.

    The section mentioned 14.6{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of ICU beds and 69.6{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of ventilators are readily available across the condition.

    To routine an appointment for a COVID-19 vaccine, visit Ourshot.In.Gov or contact 211 if you do not have entry to a laptop or computer or involve guidance.