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.
Metro Vancouver Transit Police have taken conduct of the file and are recommending one charge of assault for a 50-year-old man of no fixed address, who is known to police. The suspect was released at the scene with a court appearance scheduled for June 8, 2022.
Travellers who arrive in Canada are subject to random COVID-19 tests and must answer public-health questions on the ArriveCan app. Interim president Monette Pasher says the extra steps mean it takes four times longer to process passengers who come through customs than it did before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Canada's third-largest telecom company says the investments will be in network infrastructure, operations and spectrum, and will help deliver 5G to remote communities.
The plan is to open 40 so-called family connections centres, or hubs, across the province. Four are slated to provide services under a pilot program from next year — three in northwestern B.C., and another in the central Okanagan.
Mchale Busch, 24, and her son, Noah McConnell, were found dead in an apartment complex in Hinton, about 250 kilometres west of Edmonton, on Sept. 17, 2021.
The strategy, which the Liberals have promised will be ready by this fall, is intended to set goals for Canada to adapt its built and natural environment, with deadlines in both 2030 and 2050.
