Provincial health officials says uncertainty about new variants BA.2
Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 02 Mar, 2022 11:05 AM
British Columbia's provincial health officer says there are still some uncertainties about new variants, including B-A-point-2, with some cases present in B-C.
Doctor Bonnie Henry says the province is prepared for a potential uptick in COVID-19 cases during the next respiratory season.
She says the province will integrate wastewater surveillance testing into its regular surveillance of respiratory illness including influenza, and also include other pathogens to get a periodic snapshot of what else may be circulating in communities.
Henry says a decline in hospitalizations, immunity from vaccination and the availability of at-home rapid tests point the way forward to normal activities like high school graduations, which young people need to feel connected to others.
The meeting at the Lester B. Pearson Building in Ottawa took place as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was meeting virtually Thursday with G7 partners to discuss a response. Trudeau said before the meeting that Russia’s actions will be met with severe consequences.
Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act, which replaced the War Measures Act in 1988, for the first time last week, saying police needed extra help to end protests against COVID-19 restrictions that had occupied downtown Ottawa for weeks and spread to key Canada-U.S. border crossings.
Today’s funding announcement comes after The Canadian Press reported earlier this month that the government was poised to lose hundreds of temporary staff next month.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Tuesday that Canada will deploy an additional 460 Canadian troops to help NATO in its standoff with Russia, including an artillery unit, a naval frigate and a surveillance aircraft.
