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.
Several boards in the Toronto area, like the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board, the Toronto Catholic District School Board and the York Region District School Board, said classes will go ahead remotely through online learning today. The Durham District School Board cancelled all in-person classes. Secondary students will shift to remote learning, while elementary students will have a snow day.
While the most challenging days of COVID-19 are predicted to be ahead for British Columbia’s health-care system, representatives for doctors and nurses say their members are on the verge of a possible collapse. Doctors of BC president Dr. Ramneek Dosanjh said it has been an overwhelming three years for her members.
That's when restrictions were set to expire, but Dr. Bonnie Henry said last week that they believed COVID-19 hospitalizations were expected to spike after cases within the community had peaked.
There are 35,985 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 257,677 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 819 COVID-positive individuals are in hospital and 99 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.
The small meteorite broke through a woman's ceiling in Golden, B.C., in October, landing on her pillow, next to where she had been sleeping moments earlier.
Horgan posted the update on Twitter, saying he is "so grateful" for the compassion and professionalism of the BC Cancer team and health workers across the province who are under incredible strain right now.
