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.
On Thursday, May 12, Burnaby RCMP received a report that a driver was seen masturbating inside a vehicle while at a red light beside a westbound 136 bus on Lougheed Highway near Gaglardi Way around 3:55 p.m. A teenage victim on the bus took video of the suspect, which has been provided to police.
The male was sitting on a bench at a bend in the pathway on the Spirit Trail in Waterfront Park, where it faces the water, and exposed himself as the woman walked past. The woman was physically unharmed in the incident.
The 15-year-old victim was walking in Pacific Centre Mall around 11:45 a.m. on May 8 when a man approached him from behind and leg-swept him to the ground. The alleged suspect fled after the assault, but was followed by mall security.
Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair says it's advancing $416 million to rebuild homes lost in the 2021 fires, including the razed village of Lytton, in response to a provincial request for disaster financial assistance.
The micro-blogging platform had 229 million users in the first quarter. Musk has signed a $44 billion deal to take over Twitter, of which he will pay $21 billion from his own pocket while the rest will come as a loan from a consortium of banks.
Special weather statements covered mountain passes along the Coquihalla Highway and Highway 3, as flurries added to the two to 10 centimetres dumped earlier in the week.
