Close X
Sunday, November 24, 2024
ADVT 
National

China Omicron claim on Canada 'ludicrous': expert

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 17 Jan, 2022 01:19 PM
  • China Omicron claim on Canada 'ludicrous': expert

OTTAWA - A claim by Chinese health authorities that the Omicron variant was introduced to a resident of Beijing through a piece of regular mail from Canada is being dismissed as ludicrous.

A Chinese state-controlled news outlet first reported that the Jan. 7 infection of a Beijing resident was the result of receiving a letter or parcel from Canada that passed through Hong Kong.

The Chinese report attributed the possibility of that having happened to the deputy director of the Beijing Centre for Disease Control in a briefing, even though organizations such as the World Health Organization and Canada Post say the risk of contracting coronavirus from a piece of mail is low.

Margaret McCuaig-Johnston, a University of Ottawa China expert who spent more than three decades in the federal public service working on China issues, says it is ludicrous to suggest it could have survived on an envelope or a package that had travelled such a distance through international mail.

McCuaig-Johnston says the Chinese allegation shows that its leadership is still targeting Canada after its long-running dispute over the arrest of high-tech executive Meng Wanzhou in 2018, an extradition case that was dropped last year, which allowed her to return to China.

Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos says he may have his own opinion of why China was making that claim but that he deferred to experts on how COVID-19 can be spread.

 

MORE National ARTICLES

Canada fires back at U.S. over EV tax credits

Canada fires back at U.S. over EV tax credits
In a letter to key members of the U.S. Senate, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and Trade Minister Mary Ng are promising retaliatory tariffs on American products if the tax credit proposal becomes law.    

Canada fires back at U.S. over EV tax credits

Agriculture ministers moved by B.C. floods

Agriculture ministers moved by B.C. floods
Popham says the devastation has stressed the need and importance of a federal partnership to ensure support for the farmers who have fed Canadians for years. She says visiting the area gave them a first-hand understanding of the situation and priorities.    

Agriculture ministers moved by B.C. floods

Surrey mayor Doug McCallum charged with public mischief: BC Prosecution Service

Surrey mayor Doug McCallum charged with public mischief: BC Prosecution Service
The BC Prosecution Service says the charge comes after Mayor Doug McCallum complained to the RCMP that he was verbally assaulted and hit by a car. There were public discussions at the time about Surrey replacing the RCMP with a municipal police force and McCallum said he was attacked during a "Keep the RCMP in Surrey" gathering at a grocery store.    

Surrey mayor Doug McCallum charged with public mischief: BC Prosecution Service

Feds face calls to fix GIS snafu in fiscal update

Feds face calls to fix GIS snafu in fiscal update
The federal Liberals are under increasing pressure to fix an issue in the pandemic safety net that has rolled back or cut off benefits to low-income seniors. About 83,000 seniors lost a key income support this year because they received emergency aid last year, money that bumped their earnings above the threshold to qualify for the guaranteed income supplement.

Feds face calls to fix GIS snafu in fiscal update

COVID-19 cases to rise if Omicron dominates: Tam

COVID-19 cases to rise if Omicron dominates: Tam
If Delta remains dominant, then the number of cases by that date could be as low as 2,900, if transmission is reduced by 15 per cent, or as high as 15,000, if transmission increases 15 per cent. If transmission remains the same, Canada could see 7,000 daily cases.

COVID-19 cases to rise if Omicron dominates: Tam

Two Michaels confessed to crimes: envoy

Two Michaels confessed to crimes: envoy
China's ambassador to Canada says Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor confessed to crimes before their release from his country's prisons this past September.

Two Michaels confessed to crimes: envoy