National

COVID-19 down, influenza and RSV up in B.C, says CDC

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 17 Nov, 2023 11:43 AM

New data suggest that COVID-19 activity in British Columbia is trending downward, while influenza and RSV are on the rise.

A weekly update provided Thursday by the BC Centre for Disease Control says COVID-19 cases, new hospitalizations and deaths are all declining from a peak in the first week of October.

It says there were 25 deaths of patients with COVID last week, down from 70 three weeks earlier.

But the number of people in hospital with COVID-19, including new and previous admissions, has risen to 263 as of Thursday.

The CDC says Influenza A is behind a rise in flu activity, accounting for 96 per cent of tested cases this season, while positive test rates for respiratory syncytial virus are also up, particularly among children.

However, it says emergency department visits due to all respiratory diseases remain comparable to or below historical averages.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

RCMP search for puppy, Lil Bit, stolen in alleged home invasion in Surrey, B.C.

Police in Surrey, B.C., are appealing for public help to find a puppy that was stolen during an alleged home invasion robbery. They say the six-month-old female miniature pinscher and Shih Tzu cross named Lil Bit was snatched when two people forced their way into a home on 147A Street last month and made off with the residents' belongings.

RCMP search for puppy, Lil Bit, stolen in alleged home invasion in Surrey, B.C.

Multiple charges as 27-year-old accused in crash that killed two B.C. teens

A statement from Metro Vancouver Transit Police says Cory Brown faces two counts of criminal negligence causing death, one count of driving while disqualified and one count of flight from police. He remains in custody and is expected to return to court on July 19.

Multiple charges as 27-year-old accused in crash that killed two B.C. teens

Get another COVID-19 booster in the fall, Canada's immunization panel recommends

NACI continues to strongly recommend that anyone five years of age and older who hasn't yet been vaccinated should be immunized with a primary two-dose series of an mRNA vaccine. It also has a "discretionary recommendation" that children six months to five years of age who haven't yet been vaccinated get the two-dose primary series of an mRNA vaccine.

Get another COVID-19 booster in the fall, Canada's immunization panel recommends

Southbound surges of U.S. agents causing delays, 'disarray' at Canada-U.S. border

New York Democrat Rep. Brian Higgins says Customs and Border Protection personnel are being temporarily reassigned to help fortify the U.S. border with Mexico. Higgins says as a result, busy points of entry along the Canada-U.S. border are seeing longer delays and unstaffed kiosks.

Southbound surges of U.S. agents causing delays, 'disarray' at Canada-U.S. border

NATO leaders agree to spend at least two per cent of their countries' GDP on defence

A statement released this afternoon in Vilnius, Lithuania, says NATO members pledge to make two per cent of GDP the minimum spend each year, with one-fifth of that going to equipment.

NATO leaders agree to spend at least two per cent of their countries' GDP on defence

As pandemic business loan repayment deadline looms, calls for extending deadline grow

The Canada Emergency Business Account program provided about 900,000 small businesses and not-for-profits up to $60,000 in interest-free loans during the pandemic. The deadline to repay these loans was extended last year to December 31, 2023 to ease pressure on businesses still recovering from the pandemic.