Ottawa, July 21 (IANS) The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) confirmed a total of 604 cases of monkeypox in the country as of Wednesday.
The cases included 320 from Quebec, 230 from Ontario, 40 from British Columbia, 12 from Alberta and two from Saskatchewan, Xinhua news agency reported.
The Canadian federal government said on Wednesday that it will fund to support community-based organisations in addressing monkeypox.
According to the PHAC, provinces and territories are reviewing case data in their jurisdictions, and those meeting the case definition will be reported to the PHAC to be included in the national investigation.
The National Microbiology Laboratory is performing diagnostic testing for the virus that causes monkeypox. In addition, the laboratory is conducting whole genome sequencing, an enhanced fingerprint analysis, on Canadian samples of monkeypox, the PHAC said.
Monkeypox is a sylvatic zoonosis that may cause infections in humans and the disease usually occurs in forested parts of Central and West Africa. It is caused by the monkeypox virus which belongs to the orthopoxvirus family, according to the World Health Organization.
Anand also says she's in the process of working on the "unwritten chapter" of Canada's defence strategy: modernizing the outdated continental defence system it shares with the U.S.
Environment Canada posted wind warnings on Wednesday for much of Vancouver Island, the Sunshine Coast and the southern Gulf Islands. The forecast called for very strong southwesterly winds of 70 kilometres per hour, gusting to 90 km/h, but easing by afternoon.
The changes would allow the Canada Border Services Agency to deny entry to, and remove, people who have been sanctioned, and would enable Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada officials to deny visas.
At issue is whether Canada should be hosting Iran given the Canadians who died on Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 when it was shot down on Jan. 8, 2020, minutes after taking off from Tehran, by an Iranian surface-to-air missile. The Canadian government says 55 Canadian citizens and 30 permanent residents were among the 176 people killed.
Environment Canada has issued special weather statements for all of Vancouver Island, the Sunshine Coast, Whistler, Howe Sound, the Fraser Valley and Metro Vancouver. The storm is predicted to bring up to 60 millimetres of rain in several of those areas.
The report, published this month by the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction, says scientists found the root cause was "easily ignitable structures and homes, and not just a wildfire problem."
